Educational Achievements and Gaps: Insights from Longitudinal Village Studies in Uttar Pradesh

This paper examines achievements and gaps in the progress of literacy and school education in rural Uttar Pradesh. The analysis in the paper is based on longitudinal data from two villages surveyed in 2006 and 2023 by the Foundation for Agrarian Studies. It examines changes in literacy, the number of years of schooling completed by individuals, and data on school attendance, disaggregated by gender, caste, and class. Mahatwar, in eastern Uttar Pradesh, is a Dalit-majority village dependent on non-agricultural incomes and characterised by relatively low agricultural productivity. Harevli in western Uttar Pradesh, by contrast, is a multi-caste village with a more dynamic agrarian economy and higher absolute incomes. While data from both villages show a substantial rise in overall literacy, the gender gap with respect to literacy has widened in Harevli. Neither village has attained universal literacy. Educational progress is evident among younger cohorts, while illiteracy is concentrated among older generations, particularly older women. The mean number of completed years of schooling among individuals has increased significantly. The number of women graduates has risen in both villages. School attendance and enrolment among children have increased, with a growing bias towards enrolment in private institutions. Dropout rates rise after the age of 14, especially among children from Scheduled Caste households.