Poverty and demand-side problems of primary education: A theoretical note

Thirty six per cent of the population in India is still illiterate even after fifty-nine years of independence. Poverty is identified as one of the major factors of illiteracy. There are many supply side factors behind this problem. The country is lacking adequate no. of schools, teachers, and the necessary infrastructure. But the problem is that even when free education facilities are available the poor parents do not feel the necessity of sending their children to the school. So, we need to investigate into the demand side problems that prevent the poor households from taking the advantage of free schooling. This paper argues that govt. can provide free nutritional benefit to the poor households and that benefit should be conditional on sending the children to the school. That means distribution of free food to the poor households will act as an incentive for the parents in educating their children.