Uneven Gains and Bottom-50 Districts: Intergenerational Educational Mobility in India

Abstract

Using data from the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019–21), it is found that younger individuals (20–40 years) have made impressive gains in education. The average young Indian has a high school education—much better than their mother’s generation that went to school for only three years. Gender differences, large and concerning earlier, have nearly disappeared. However, areas of concern remain. Districts, rather than states, are variously forward and backward in education. People are mired in low-level education traps in a group of bottom-50 districts, which straddle state boundaries and are spread across the country. How much progress is made in the next generation will be determined by what happens in these lagging districts. Local innovation rather than standardised solutions will be required.