Education, Human Development and Quality of Life: Measurement Issues and Implications for India

Sub-national goals and targets of education have also been complementary to attainment of higher levels of human development in India. This is evident, for instance, in the following select goals and objectives for primary and secondary education in Karnataka State in 2002 (Government of Karnataka 2002): (a) to ensure that all 6–13 year old children are in classes 1–8 by 2007; and (b) about 65% children in the relevant age group should participate and about 80% of those who join should successfully complete secondary education.

Education indicators and variables in the UNDP-HDRs are constructed beyond the requirements for HDI. The nature and number of these additional indicators and variables vary between years. For instance, additional indicators in UNDP-HDR 2007/2008 (UNDP 2007) include commitment to education public spending, literacy and enrolment, technology diffusion and creation, priorities in public spending, gender-related development index and gender inequality in education. Literacy and enrolment variables are dominant under the literacy and enrolment, gender-related development index and gender inequality in education. Further, as compared to UNDP-HDR 1991, public finance variables are modified and extended by including (a) public expenditure on pre-primary and primary education as a percentage of all levels of education; (b) public expenditure on secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education as a percentage of all levels of education; and (c) public expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of all levels of education. To restrict the scope of this paper, these additional education indicators from the global HDRs are not elaborated. In the same way, additional indicators in India’s HDRs are not analysed below.

For instance, the UNESCO Institute of Statistics (UIS) provides with, among others, India’s adult literacy rate for 2000–2004 (UNESCO 2005a).

Methodology for estimation and projection of adult literacy are described in UNESCO (1995).

These figures are taken from the Government of India (2002b) and UNDP (2004). In fact, there is self-recognition of incomparability between national estimates and international estimates by both UNESCO (2005b) and UNDP (1999, p. 143).

Complete reports of all Sub-national HDRs are available from the UNDP India website: http://​www.​undp.​org.​in/​index.​php?​option=​com_​content&​task=​view&​id=​239&​Itemid=​322.

Following Sirgy et al. (2006, pp. 334–335), subjective indicators refer to personal feelings, attitudes, preferences, opinions, judgments or beliefs (e.g. satisfaction with one’s health, attitudes toward science or scientists, beliefs about the dangers of some new technology) and objective indicators are relatively easily observable and measurable (e.g. the height and weight of people, numbers of automobiles manufactured or sold each year, numbers of people employed in research and development). Further, Sirgy et al. provides with a good review of sociological, economic, psychological, health, marketing, industrial/organizational psychological and management perspectives of QOL.

The latest QOL that does not include education indicators/variables is The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Quality of Life Index. This is constructed based on 9 indicators for 111 countries including India in 2005. Details are available on: http://​www.​economist.​com/​media/​pdf/​QUALITY_​OF_​LIFE.​pdf.

These 15 states are: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Ranking of these states by PQLI is based on data in Government of India (2001) and by HDI is based on Government of India (2002b).