In the remaining sections of this paper we describe the institutional context of participatory action, emphasizing the nature of the SSA model (section 2); compare the interventions that are evaluated (section 3); and discuss the data and the empirical strategy (section 4). We present the results in section 5, and conclude with a section that links these results to the related literature and discusses what this evidence tells us about how and when community participation can be effective.

# **2. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Model of Participatory Action in Education**

# **2.1 Policy**

The VECs constitute the primary channel of participatory action under the SSA, which is the primary initiative of the Indian central government toward achieving universal primary education in India. States in India differ in the design of VECs and the roles and responsibilities assigned to them. In UP, VECs consist of the elected head of the village government, the head teacher of the local government school, and three parents of children enrolled in the village public schools. The parent members of the VECs are nominated by block-level public officials (the block is the first administrative level above the village). VECs are responsible for monitoring performance of public schools by visiting the schools, scrutinizing records, meeting teachers, parents, and children, and devising solutions to address any problems encountered. They are entitled to claim specified public monies and powers for this purpose—such as public grants for school development, the power to mobilize community contributions toward school improvement, and the power to identify and hire community members if the school needs additional teachers<sup>7</sup> . These community teachers are called Shiksha Mitras: they are usually paid by the state government (in some cases, the community pays for them), but the community has the responsibility for overseeing them.

Even as it is ideally conceived, the VECs’ control over the school is primarily indirect. It can petition for resources that the school is entitled to ask for—for example for hiring a Shiksha Mitra—but whether the funds show up or not depends on how much pressure they can put on the bureaucracy at the district level. There is no official guarantee that any village is entitled to them. It can also complain about the teachers or the level of education in the schools, but, once again, the ultimate decision on whether anything will be done about it is not in their hands. Nevertheless the VEC can intervene directly in some areas: It can put direct pressure on the Shiksha Mitra to teach better and come to school more often, and it has the right not to rehire a Shiksha Mitra if his/her performance is deemed unsatisfactory. It gets a small amount of money each year (Rs. 7000, about $170) from the SSA to spend on school maintenance and ways to improve teaching in the school. It can also raise and spend resources from the village, but, given that almost all the resources in public schools have traditionally come from the government and the poverty of the average villager in this part of UP, this is probably a relatively limited option.

The VEC by itself is a relatively small group, and since it was nominated, rather than elected, it is likely that it would need the support of a larger group of parents to take any action. It is true that the village head (who is part of the VEC) might be able to exercise control on his own, but given the limited political salience of education, this is probably not a priority for him. In order to get him to act or to bypass him the parents in the VEC would need the mandate of a large

> 7 This description is taken from Uttar Pradesh state government published documents on SSA and VECs.

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