ABSTRACT
Maharashtra is widely acclaimed as the most progressive state and the per capita i ncome at current prices is estimated at Rs 95,339 (provisional estimate) in 2011–12, as against Rs 83,395 during the previous year and fourfold increase since 2001. The per capita income is higher than the per capita National Income and the state maintained the fourth rank after Goa, Delhi and Haryana (Government of Maharashtra 2013). Maharashtra is the second largest state in India after Uttar Pradesh as far as population is concerned as per 2011 census. On the education front, historically, the social reform movements in Maharashtra have played a significant role in bringing education to the disadvantaged sections of the population, namely girls in general and children from lower castes in particular. ‘An egalitarian thrust led to multifaceted innovations and interventions in education including starting of hostels for children of all castes, reservations for dalits, and schools for girls’ (Government of Maharashtra 2002). The movements led by thinkers and social reformers like Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Shahu Maharaj, Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Maharishi Karve in the nineteenth century and Babasaheb Ambedkar in the twentieth century influenced the post-independence status of education as well as its spread in Maharashtra. Karmveer Bhaurao Patil, founder of Rayat Education Society, played a pioneering role in educating people from backward castes and poor masses. Indeed, as early as in 1918, a bill called Bombay Primary Education Act was introduced in the legislature providing for compulsory education of children between the ages 6 and11 years in six towns of Bombay. However, it did not succeed due to insufficient funds and poor response of the people (Prabhu and Kamdar 2001).
