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India has seen an explosion in low-fee private (LFP) schooling aimed at the poorer strata of society, and this once-urban phenomenon has spread in the last decade to rural areas, with implications for equity due to the level of direct costs involved. This study explores whether or not LFP schooling in rural India is pro-poor and equitable, and finds that these schools are unaffordable to the bottom two wealth quintiles of families. This conclusion has implications for policy formation and shows that increased reliance on a market in education will not help to achieve equitable access to primary schooling for all. (Contains 2 tables.)

This paper examines whether the recent growth in "low-fee private" (LFP) schools is able to promote Education for All by being accessible to the poor. Based primarily on a 13-village survey of 250 households and visits to 26 private and government schools in rural Uttar Pradesh, India, this paper explores who "chooses" private schooling, in the light of the well-documented failure of the government school system. In particular, the paper explores the issue of whether private provision is affordable and accessible to poor rural parents. It finds that LFP school costs are unaffordable for over half of the sampled children, including the majority of low caste and Muslim families. It also finds that while LFPs are greatly preferred under current conditions, what parents actually want is a well-functioning government school system. (Contains 4 figures, 3 tables and 6 notes.)