The volume of Education and Development in India, Critical Issues in Public Policy and Development provides detailed information about the nexus between education and development in India, despite being useful to other developing nations too. It draws various theories and, cites examples from India, on how the two variables suture or interlink. Readers may refer to the introduction section (page xxxi), for the handy discussion on the subject. The author conjectures that, the relationship between education and development is bidirectional because the level of socio-economic development can sway or influence the rapidity of education as well. I will focus the review on two salient features that have emerged to attract my eyes as a book reader from one of the developing countries: adult literacy, regional disparities and international aid in education.

There is insufficient location of funds to the education budget among the developing countries (not only in India). As the result, educational measurements like enrollment rates, transition rate, completion rates, adult literacy rates and, inclusiveness become relatively low. In Tanzania for example, the regional disparity in adult literacy rate is high (96% in Dar es Salaam Region, and 59% in Dodoma). High adult illiterate rate leads to low economic productivity and poor health in one region than the other. Illiterate individuals or households are less productive, join less paying occupations, earn less, and thus, remain at very low levels of living. A nation or region with high illiterate or less educated populace will remain at low standard of living, as they cannot progress and increase their output substantially, and hence, incapability to sufficiently finance education. This is one of the descriptive evidences that can support the authors’ point that the relationship between education and development is bidirectional. 

Here is a point to be taken by nations of the world, especially developing ones (i.e. India, Tanzania, Morocco, Sudan and Kenya to mention few). Human Capital Index (HCI) released by the World Bank in 2017 qualifies the contribution of education to the productivity of next generation of workers [1]. Nothing is vital for country’s development than financial and physical investment in education. Education contributes to country’s economic growth, reduces poverty among the citizens, reduces inequalities among societies and transforms socio-political systems of those societies. It only needs political willingness and prioritization of education to sufficiently invest in education [2].

I hereby argue that, despite the fact that the relationship between education and development is bidirectional as proposed by the author; the influence of education to socio-economic development remains greater than the other way round. As the author of the book argues, education not only contributes to development, but education is development itself (Introduction, pp. xxxi)

However, due to the expertise and experience of the author in educational economics, the volume provides insightful recommendations on the subject of investment in education.  Tracing back in 1965, the Indian Economic Association (IEA) organized in its annual conference a special session on “Investment in human resource’, discussing several important educational issues like human capital, measurement of cost and benefits of education, efficient of expenditure, rate of return and criteria for investment.   About the    government    expenditure    on 

education, the author draws several points from Human Capital theory. Explaining about the importance and how vital investment in education is, the theory shows that, expenditures on schooling constitute investment in human beings, enhancing the capabilities of the people as producers and consumers in the labor market (in the households as well as in the society at large). Education and health are considered to be the most important components of human capital. Human capital is also largely defined as the stock of skills and productive knowledge embodied in people, which is hereby done through education processes. Universal elementary education is urged to be defined by including not only the enrolment and completion of all the school-age children and youths, but also the fact that every recipient needs to come out of such system with at least a minimum level of learning.

After several years of spending in education, in the early 1970s, the problem of graduate unemployment in India attracted the attention of many educational economists, with the widespread pessimism on the potential role of education in promoting economic growth, and in reducing income inequalities. Here, the question of education outputs (i.e. skills of graduates) is raised to the current world and the fact that long term plan of education needs to correlate with the country’s long term economic priorities. A cycle of educational process is of more than 18 years, and the effects of such an educational cycle can be felt over generations. Education curriculum planners need to consider not only the current situation of societies, politics, science and technology, but that which is expected to emerge after those 18 years of education cycle. Denial of this consideration results into higher rate of unemployment among university graduates. With this argument, in developing countries, there is a need for a long-term plan in education, of which until 2018, there was no such plan that had been attempted in India.

Education started to experience the major stress with respect to financing, particularly since the introduction of adjustment policies in 1990. Because it has been generally  felt that resources are limited and the government does not have adequate funds, international aid has been taking part in India and other developing countries. However, not only the national governments, but also international ones like World Bank had been very reluctant in supporting by investing financially in education. Despite Maynard Keynes (British economist) suggesting in the Bretton Woods conference 1944 for the inclusion of education in the World Bank’s operations, education was not on the agenda of the Bank until 1962, when the first education loan was given to Tunisia. From the point of view of the international organizations, education and health sectors were not regarded as a productive sector that would bring enough returns for the aid recipient countries to repay the loan. 

Generally, the implication of the book is diverse while the arguments it raises are imperative for contemporary efforts of national and international development which passes through investment in education. The authors should be applauded for bringing such an informative content and the awareness he brings to education stakeholders and political leaders in different nations. As developing countries continue to show efforts toward socio-economic development, the volume of the book contributes a lot. The author has also shown a gap that has left unfilled among many nations in the world. From this volume, other developing countries may as well come up with a historical analysis of the contribution education has made in their socio-economic development, and suggesting the best possible ways of improving education for further economic development.