Rising inequality in Income and Education in India

Abstract

Return to Education in Asia has more values around the world average.  Private rate of returns are concerned individuals while public rate of returns consider the overall returns to society.  The low and middle income countries record higher social rates of return compared to higher income countries.

There is significant relationship between income levels and educational levels. Higher the education level, the higher the income i.e. people with professional degrees earned 6 times more as much as people who did not graduate from high school level.

Unequal incomes translate into unequal access to higher education. Private and private aided institutions are quite costly, making them difficult to access for the poor. With little regulation of the quality of education and cost differentials, the poor and deprived are often trapped in low quality education.

One portion of population in India has attained universal literacy long ago while a major portion of population still striving to achieve it, this leads to harmful economic disparities, resulting in perpetuating the cycle of inequality across generations.

Despite many attempts to improve the access and outreach, social disparity persists in higher education.