Why Do More Boys Enrol in Private Schools? Evidence From India
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6451817 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Pradeep Kumar Choudhury (0000-0001-7378-9426, Jawaharlal Nehru University), Amit Kumar (0000-0003-4000-1780, University of Delhi), Angrej Singh Gill (0000-0003-0381-5785, Panjab University Rural Centre, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Punjab, India) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 387-413 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Change (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0049-0857 • E-ISSN: 0976-3538 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00490857251369064 |
| OpenAlex | W4414374345 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 35 |
While it is evident that the gender parity in schooling has improved considerably in India in the last few decades, research on pro-male bias in accessing privately managed schools is sparse. This study, using a national household survey data, analyses the association of household resources with gender inequality in private school enrolment in India. Results show a clear pro-male bias in private school enrolment in India—households are 2.1 per cent less likely to enrol their daughters in private schools compared to sons, and this varies widely with households' socioeconomic positions and their location. For instance, this gap is higher among low-income families compared to rich households. Also, we find that the pro-male bias in private school enrolment is significantly higher among illiterate heads, and this gap reduces as the household head’s education improves. The analysis further shows that girls in rural India have a significantly lower likelihood of accessing privately managed schools in comparison to urban families. Our results show considerable gender inequality in private school participation across different states in India, the highest gap being 10.4 percentage points in Rajasthan. With pressing policy recommendations to reduce pro-male bias in provisioning of quality schools in India, our findings have important policy implications
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The Quality and Efficiency of Private and Public Education
School choice in rural Odisha, India
Intra-Household Gender Disparity in School Choice
The Private Schooling Phenomenon in India
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Traditional Institutions Meet the Modern World
Hierarchies of Access in Schooling
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Low fee private schooling in India – More questions than answers? Observations from the Young Lives longitudinal research in Andhra Pradesh
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Absence of Altruism? Female Disadvantage in Private School Enrollment in India
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Are Girls the Fairer Sex in India? Revisiting Intra-Household Allocation of Education Expenditure
The relative effectiveness of private and public schools
The effectiveness of private versus public schools
The demand for primary schooling in Madagascar
Private school effects in urban and rural India
School choice, social class and distinction
Determinants of private school participation
Private schooling and labour market outcomes
Dalits and Choice of School
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |