Gender Discrimination in Enrolment in Private Primary Schools in Rural India: An Investigation Using Fairlie’s Decomposition Analysis

Using the 75th round National Sample Survey (NSS) unit-level data on social consumption on education this article identifies the various household and school-related factors which influence the household choice of private schooling for their children at the time of enrolment in primary school in rural India. Parents often choose private schools over government ones due to perceived shortcomings in education quality and infrastructure. This article will also attempt to identify the possible reasons for the gender gap during enrolment in private primary schools in rural India. The contribution of each factor explaining the gender gap in school enrolment is quantified with the help of Fairlie’s Decomposition technique. Economic attributes such as household income, computer ownership in the household, and stable employment decrease gender disparities during the time of enrolment in private primary school in rural India, while social attributes like household religious practices, household size, social group and school-related factors like English medium school, the distance between the household and primary school exacerbate these disparities.