This report considers the current statusof upper primary school education in India. It looks atfuture impacts and recognizes the national level focus onelementary education. The importance of specific contexts indefining how states fulfill their constitutionalresponsibilities in upper primary education are studied. Thereport is based upon two studies whose findings include:length, structure & organization vary across and withinstates; the transition rate between primary and upperprimary is high; transition rates and enrollment are lowerfor girls; school place is provided for current, but notfuture, demand; private unaided school enrollment isincreasing; state qualification policies for teachers arenot always relevant to instruction needs; in-service teachertraining is very limited; discontinuity exists for curriculaand subject weight between primary and upper primaryschools; information overloads exist in syllabi, textbooks,and classroom processes; upper primary grades are cheaperwhen combined within an elementary school; a constitutionalrequirement for decentralized educational management exists;and expenditures need to increase before universalization ofelementary education. Specific recommendations are given.Expansion and improvement of upper primary schooling, asendorsed by the Supreme Court of the Constitution'sreference to the provision of education up to 14 years ofage, will require both resources and reform.
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