Background: Infrastructure is an important tool for facilitating quality education in elementary education system. According to the Right to Education Act (RTE) 2009, every school should have an all indicator: classroom, teacher, toilets for boys and girls, safe and adequate drinking water, and playground, kitchen for the mid-day-meal, boundary wall, electricity and computer.
Objectives: The objective of the present study is to construct a physical infrastructure index at school level across 30 districts of Odisha and the role it plays in improving the enrolment.
Methodology: The study uses secondary data collected for the years 2001 to 2017 for 30 districts of Odisha. Principal Component Analysis is done to construct a composite infrastructural index at school level considering 13 infrastructural variables. On the basis of variations the districts are grouped into four categories and the changes over time is observed. Using panel data regression model the impact of the education infrastructure on enrolment at school level is studied.
Findings: It is found that the infrastructure contributes significantly to the enrolment at elementary education level. The enrolment is increasing over time. The availabilities of basic amenities is encouraging children especially girls to come to the schools. It is also observed that the districts like Balasore, Boudh, Keonjhar and Kalahandi are improving in terms of their infrastructure over time.
Policy Implications: As there is a dearth of studies on the role education infrastructure plays in increasing the enrolment at school level across 30 districts of Odisha. It is suggested that the schools should be well equipped with infrastructure so that it can cater to the need of the present generation. Government should take care of this aspect specially emphasizing the case of the districts still undeveloped in terms of educational infrastructure.