India+3

=**India**= (Lauren Miller)


 * Introduction:** The educational system in India has changed significantly since they gained independence in 1947. Free, compulsory education is provided from ages 6-14, although not all children are able to take advantage of this education because of serious inequality in poor and rural areas.


 * Primary Education:** Students enter primary schools at age 6 and schooling lasts for 5 years. 65,956,288 females are enrolled in primary schools in India, making up about half of the total primary enrollment: 140,357,454. The survival rate is not high, at about 65% across all measures. About 3.5% of students repeat a grade. The student/teacher ratio is very high, at about 40:1.


 * Secondary Education:** The transition rate from primary to secondary schools in India is about 84.2%. This could certainly be higher; if education is supposed to be compulsory, all students should attend secondary school in addition to primary school. Females still make up slightly less than half of the enrolled population at this point: 42,235,247 in a total enrollment of 96,049,060. It is quite clear from these numbers that a large number of children are lost between primary education and secondary education. Vocational and technical school does not seem to be a popular or plentiful option in India, with only 742,331 enrolled in these schools. The student/teacher ratio in secondary schools is a bit lower than in primary schools, at about 33:1. However, this number is still quite high.


 * Tertiary Education:** 54,350,698 females are enrolled in tertiary education, again making up a bit less than half of the total enrollment of 113,572,900. These numbers represent an increase from secondary education so either the population is larger at this age, students are coming in from outside of India, or students are in school for a longer time.


 * Human & Financial Resources:** 44.00% of primary teachers are female and 33.9% of secondary teachers are female. Education spending represents 10.7% of government spending and 3.2% of the country's GDP. 83.1% of the educational expenditure goes towards primary and secondary teacher salaries. Given the high teacher/student ratio in India, this fact is surprising.