ABSTRACT
A sharp decline in the state system of schooling in terms of its effective functioning and learning is a widely perceived phenomenon. As study after study communicates a narrative of its embodied dysfunctionality, the system has been thrown into a crisis of legitimacy so much so that even poorer people have opted out of it in favour of private, low-cost options. The market for private schools which are widely perceived to be ‘better’ than government schooling has escalated, as evident in the rising share of private institutions and enrolment. This is also a clear reflection of a definitive shift to neo-liberalism in state educational policy. Public debate about the policy change is thus predominantly cast within a ‘state vs. private’ schooling framework that compares the two types of schools in terms of select notions of academic ‘quality’ and performance. However, such a narrow posing of issues leaves unaddressed fundamental questions relating to the historical failure of the state to meet educational aspirations of the people: why has the state failed to deliver? Is the state truly withdrawing from education? How is state abdication manifested within the system? What does this spell for the large and sprawling network of state schools that exists and still constitutes the major part of the education system? What are the prospects of improving education levels of the poorest who continue availing state schools?
