In line with the perspectives of human capital, human development
and human rights, this paper conceives education to be the basic right of
children and re-christens all children who are not in school including
child labourers and ‘no-where children’, as educationally deprived
children. It examines the prevalence rate, trends, disparities and factors
associated with the phenomenon of educational deprivation of children
in Andhra Pradesh. The incidence of this deprivation is examined by
using data sources available from Census and the National Sample Survey
Organisation (NSSO).
In our analysis it is observed that the incidence of educational
deprivation of children is coming down over the period, albeit at a slow
pace. The state, during the 1990s, experienced a dramatic change in the
decline in the incidence of educational deprivation of children. Children
who live in rural areas, who are female by gender and belong to SC/ST
social groups are relatively the most disadvantaged. It seems that the
location effect dominates the gender and caste effects and the interaction
of these factors affects the chances of schooling crucially. The district
level analysis shows that the leaders and laggards of educational
development during pre-independence or pre-state formation retained
their relative positions in the early phases of post-state formation period
but these positions changed by the year 1991. Few districts from the
backward regions were catching up, rising to the positions of the districts
in the developed region and even forging ahead. Nevertheless the regional
averages show that the historical legacy of educational development/
backwardness still holds. Finally, it is observed that the phenomenon of
child deprivation is a rural phenomenon closely associated with agrarian
economy.