The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) ascribes the importance of secondary education and considers this to be the stepping stone for the youth towards employability, leading to the larger economic and social development of the country. Recent economic studies have shown that secondary education is critical to breaking intergenerational transmission of poverty. The Government’s current policy is to make secondary education of good quality available, accessible and affordable to all young people ages 14-18. Rashtritya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) launched in 2009 is the most ambitious project of the Government of India. The RMSA seeks to attain 90% gross enrolment ratio (GER) by 2017 and 90% retention by 2020. Unfortunately, access to secondary education in India is highly unequal. According to a 2009 World Bank report (Secondary Education in India-Opportunity for Universalisation), there is a 40 percentage point gap in secondary enrolment rates between students from the highest and lowest expenditure quintile groups (70% versus 30% enrolment, respectively). In addition, there is a 20 percentage point gap between urban and rural secondary enrolment rates, and a persistent 10 percentage point gap between secondary enrolment rates of boys and girls. Enrolment of scheduled tribes, scheduled castes and Muslims is well below their share in the population at large. [...]
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