ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the access to, and equity and quality in, lower and higher secondary education in India and examines some ideas for improvements. Responsibility for the provision and financing of secondary education is like other aspects of education a shared responsibility between union and state governments. However, until the last five years or so, both levels of government had given priority to policy development and financial investments in elementary education. The recent focus on secondary education was generated by the 2005 Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) Report. This pattern of investment has been common in many countries. Whether through domestic pressures or the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals, countries have devoted time, effort and resources to elementary education; and higher education has long received generous funding but remained small and elite. Secondary education in this context has served to filter out those who would not go on to higher education.
