The article presents empirical observations regarding the private household expenditure on male and female students incurred by Indian households at the disaggregated level of education. By using the data sets of two consecutive rounds of National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), that is, 64th and 71st, which were based on social consumption survey of health and education, the article explores the bias in household expenditure on education by the variable of gender. The result presents a different analysis when compared to the findings of earlier studies, in terms of persisting gender gap in expenditure on education at different levels of education like higher, technical or at diploma levels as compared to elementary level. The study finds that the biasness in expenditure decreases and, in some cases, even higher for female students for technical and diploma level of education. For the analysis of data, the statistical tool of percentage relative gap has been used.

Sixty years of policymaking in the arena of elementary educational reforms in India and global focus through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have seen progress along with persisting inequality in access to education especially for socioeconomic and marginalized sections across the regions. This article focuses on analysis of two goals of MDGs which is related to universalization of education and reducing gender inequality in access to elementary education after introduction of policy interventions such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Right to Education (RTE) Act in India through Gender Equity Index (GEI) and Disparity Index (DI) in Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER). Results are still consistent with the fact that even after incentives such as SSA and RTE, the scenario of elementary education has not changed much for the deprived sections, even it has shown a declining trend after 2009 for Scheduled Tribes (ST) children. The social reproduction of inequality is being manifested now in the quality of elementary education in India.

The initiative taken by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) for removing the legislative deadlock over the Foreign Education Providers (FEPs) bill is going to involve changes in the recently passed Companies Act, 2013, and also a reframing of some of the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines. This initiative has certain implications and possible future repercussions which have given rise to many questions regarding the objectives and functioning of India's higher education system. The way this bill has been posed, it seems poised to usher in a fresh bout of private and foreign education institutions with their positive and negative dimensions for higher education. This commentary aims to bring these and many other contradictory aspects of this bill under the ambit of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the UGC guidelines.