By Nitin Kumar Bharti and Li Yang:
Abstract. A country’s education system is critical to its long-term development. This paper compares the historical evolution of education systems in the two largest emerging economies – China and India, between 1900 and 2018. We create novel time series data for educational statistics related to enrollment, graduation, faculty and costs based on historical statistics. reports. China adopts a top-down approach to expanding its education system, compared to India’s bottom-up approach to enrollment. Although India had a head start in modern education, it has gradually been overtaken by China – in primary education in the 1930’s Middle/Secondary level in the 1970’s and Higher/Higher education in the 2010’s. It led to low levels of secondary education and inequality in higher education in India since 1907. Vocational education is a central part of the Chinese education system, which accounts for a proportion of students in higher education. In India, the majority of students pursue traditional degree courses (Bachelors, Masters etc.), with 60% in Humanities courses. Although India is known as the “land of engineers”, China produces a large proportion of engineers. We think that the type of Chinese people with engineering education and manual work helped to develop their manufacturing sector. Using micro-survey data from the 1980s, we show that the expansion of education has been a catalyst for inequality in India. This is due to both the unequal distribution of educational attainment and the high per capita returns to education in India.
Interesting throughout, with Pseudoerasmus.
Source link