(University of Oregon, 2014-10-17) Bajaj, Divya; Weiss, Anita
This thesis investigates the issues within the national education policies implemented in India following global frameworks such as Education for All and the Millennium Development Goal II-Universal Primary Education. India is currently at an interesting crossroad in primary education. The push to achieve Universal Primary Education has resulted in the launch of various policies and campaigns, thereby increasing the enrolment rates in primary schools. However, the increase in enrolment does not guarantee good quality education. While schools are undergoing a complete infrastructural makeover in an attempt to provide better education, the quality of classroom learning is still unsatisfactory. I argue that the loopholes in national policies such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan by the Central Government are affecting the quality of education adversely. I have examined education policies in light of the social, economic and political context of India to understand the challenges in the quality of primary education.
