Publications
Publications
- April 2018
- Governance
Elite Strategies and Incremental Policy Change: The Expansion of Primary Education in India
By: Akshay Mangla
Abstract
This article analyzes India’s recent enactment of universal primary education. This programmatic policy change is puzzling given the clientelistic features of Indian democracy. Drawing on interviews and official documents, I demonstrate the catalytic role of committed state elites, who introduced incremental reforms over three decades. These officials operated beneath the political radar, layering small-scale initiatives on top of the mainstream school system. Following India’s globalization in the 1990s, support from the World Bank gave committed officials the political opportunity to experiment with new programs in underperforming regions, which they progressively extended across the country. These incremental reforms supplied the institutional blueprint for India’s universal primary education program. Along with state initiative from above, civil society mobilized from below, using the judiciary to hold the state legally responsible for policy implementation. Reforms exposed acute gaps in service delivery, propelling new civic demands for state accountability.
Keywords
Education; Policy Change; Policy Elites; Institutions; India; Early Childhood Education; Policy; Education Industry; India
Citation
Mangla, Akshay. "Elite Strategies and Incremental Policy Change: The Expansion of Primary Education in India." Governance 31, no. 2 (April 2018): 381–399.