Neoliberalism, School Affiliation Boards and Households' Educational Spending: An analysis of Secondary Education in Haryana

Abstract The neo-liberal economic reforms affect the education system and there is massive transformation in India and sub- national context i.e. Haryana also during the last three decades. These free marker policies and deregulation reduced the government expenditure on education. The present study analysed private educational allocations for the secondary level education in the state of Haryana using the primary survey data collected in the academic session 2018-19. The study explained the variations in enrollment rural vis-a vis urban regions in H.B.S.E (Haryana/ State Board) and C.B.S.E./Central Board schools. The study found that majority of the students attended government schools/State board schools while the proportion of students going to such schools is lower in urban areas. The household educational spending on secondary education exhibits that the parents incur a significant amount of Rs. 31,643 (per student per year) for this purpose, which constitutes a significant financial burden on the households. There are sizeable differences in the spending patterns of households; the per student annual expenditure made on central board school is 10.99 per cent of annual income of the household while the corresponding proportion in case of Haryana board schools is only 4.61 per cent annually. Further, the variations in the spending patterns are found by the gender, region and sub-levels of secondary education in Haryana.