Determinants of Primary Schooling in British India

This paper explores the provision of schooling in colonial India when British administrators dictated education policy. Although public and private funds were used to expand and improve the public education system, there were fewer than 3 primary schools for every 10 villages as late as 1911. To explore the impact of the funding system on the provision of schools, I empirically analyze the links between local factors and schooling using a new historical dataset. I find that districts with higher levels of caste and religious diversity had fewer privately managed primary schools and fewer total primary schools. Heterogeneous preferences across groups, unequal political power in more diverse districts and low demand for education by lower castes are all potential explanations for this pattern. Broadly, the results highlight the challenges involved in the provision of primary education in the presence of numerous and perhaps unequal groups.