The last few weeks have seen a rash of national stock-taking as India turned 60. The country today has a strong, vibrant economy with a confident middle class, but governance — especially the capacity to deliver basic amenities such as education and health — is its greatest weakness. For India’s burgeoning middle class, the solution seems to lie in the market, but what of the poor?

India’s poor depend largely on the government for essential services such as education, health, food, shelter and even employment. But when the poor access government services they are faced with chronic absenteeism, incompetence and corruption. Take education.

According to a recent study by the Public Affairs Centre, as many as 76 per cent of rural households send their children to government or government-aided schools. But once the child reaches school, chances are that there are no teachers. Absenteeism rate in India, at 25 per cent, is amongst the highest in the world. Worse still, the quality of teaching is abysmally low. According to a study by Kremer and Murlidharan, only one in four teachers present in government schools actually teach. Consequently, the typical school-going child in rural India is woefully undereducated.

The poor are no better off when they go to primary health care centres for treatment. Absenteeism rates here are even higher, at an

average of 40 per cent, with Bihar topping the list at 60 per cent. More shocking is the extremely poor quality of medical care provided.

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