Vinala Ramachandran (ed.). Gender and Social Equity in Primary Education: Hierarchies of Access. New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2004. 381 pages. Paperback. Indian Rs 390.00.

Education is a basic human right. Over the past sixty yearsmuch progress has been made in raising literacy levels across a largecross-section of developing countries. For instance, Pakistan has seenan increase in literacy levels from 15 percent in 1951 to just over 50percent in 2004. In India also there has been a significant increase inliteracy levels. The 2001 Census of India showed that 65.4 percent ofthe population could be considered to be literate. A breakdown by sexrevealed that more males (75.85 percent) were literate than females(54.16 percent). Although the figures are impressive, much remains to bedone in India if literacy levels are to be raised to the levels thatprevail in the developed world. Thus, appropriate plans, programmes, andprojects need to be implemented to provide basic primary education toall children. However, there are two sides to the picture; one thatdeals with the demand for education and the other with the supply ofeducation. On the demand side, one of the most important factors is thatof income of the parents. On the supply side, it is the quality ofeducation being imparted, particularly the level of teaching standards,and the up-keep of school buildings.