Vol. 2, Issue 3, Part J (2016)

Abstract
Market fundamentalism rules the roost in Indian society by encouraging the private sector to have a dominant say in most sectors of the economy. This has improved the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) significantly in the higher education segment. Initiatives like Right to Education (RTE) Act (2009) and Sarva Sikshya Abhiyan (SSA) have ensured high universal access in primary education. However social exclusion remains unacceptably high levels for SC/ST. Private sector initiatives, even after initiation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the field of education, remain significantly unsatisfactory unlike the experience in the USA. The paper brings out the inadequate impact of state initiatives on equity and quality and brings out the findings at ASER in regard to quality and infrastructure deficits. The unique experiment of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) Odisha, a private sector initiative to minimize gender disparity, bolster employment opportunity and empowerment stand in sharp contrast to the prevailing apathy to education and is a template for replication.