ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the limits and possibilities of Education for All with respect to inequalities in access to basic education. Employing a comparative historical perspective it explores the underlying political drivers of change in national policy and the range of interests that surround, promote and resist policy formulation and implementation in two lower-middle countries and former British colonies, India and Sri Lanka. It identifies in each country a range of policy goals (e.g. reduction of poverty, increase in equality, inclusion into political and cultural mainstreams) and reviews progress since independence (1947 in India; 1948 in Sri Lanka) in relation to national policy agenda and international policy frameworks to the present day (including the Sustainable Development Goals). Empirical evidence is drawn from secondary sources from the mid-twentieth century and primary interviews carried out by the author with policy elites, trade union officials, teachers, education officials, students and parents.
