Charu Jain, PhD, is an Associate Fellow at the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), New Delhi. Prior to this, she had worked at various other reputed organisations like TNS India and PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Her areas of research interest include socio-economic studies, gender and educational studies, developmental changes and consumer studies. She has extensively worked in the area of large-scale consumer studies, industrial surveys, housing studies, agriculture and macro-economic policy issues. Her current research focuses on educational issues, the handloom sector and agricultural outlook. She has also contributed a few research papers and articles in reputed national journals and has also presented papers in international conferences. She has a gold medal from Guru Jambeshwar University in her post-graduation. She received a PhD from the School of Social Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi in the area of education, particularly looking at the quality issues of secondary education in India. Email: charujain13dec@gmail.comNarayan Prasad, PhD, is Director, Research Unit and Professor of Economics at the School of Social Sciences, IGNOU. He has been associated with this institution since 1992. Prior to joining IGNOU, he has worked in several reputed organisations like Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Commission, Association of Indian Universities (AIU) etc. He was awarded post-doctoral fellowship by the University Grants Commission and visited France under the Indo-French Cultural Exchange Programme. He has completed three research projects and written three books, published by SAGE and Springer. Recently, he has completed another major research project entitled “Assessment of Human Well-being in India” financially sponsored by ICSSR. He has contributed 25 research papers and three review articles to reputed national and international journals. His areas of researchinterest are: human well-being, human development, spiritual economics and the philosophical foundation of economics. Email: nps20@rediffmail.com

• 1. Introduction. Part I- Theoretical and Conceptual Framework.- Chapter 2. Quality in Education: Concept, Origin and Approaches.- Chapter 3. Review of Literature.-Chapter 4. Conceptual Framework of the Study. Part II- Research Methodology and Study Methods.- Chapter 5. Research Design.- Chapter 6. Study Methods and Measurement of Variables. Part III- Secondary Education in India: Growth, Disparities and Linkages.-Chapter 7. Indian Education System: Structure and Key Challenges.- Chapter 8. Secondary Education in India: Growth, Performance and Linkages.- Chapter 9. Identifying Inter-State Disparities and Socio-Economic Linkages. Part IV- Determinants of Quality of Education: Empirical Results and Discussion.- Chapter 10. Profile of Study Population: An Overview.- Chapter 11. Understanding Factors Affecting Students Outcomes and Learning Behavior.- Chapter 12. Teachers Perspectives on Quality of Teaching in Schools. Part V- Summary and Suggestions.- Chapter 13. Conclusion and PolicyRecommendations.- Appendix - Boxes List of Abbreviations.- Glossary.

Charu Jain, PhD, is an Associate Fellow at the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), New Delhi. Prior to this, she had worked at various other reputed organisations like TNS India and PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Her areas of research interest include socio-economic studies, gender and educational studies, developmental changes and consumer studies. She has extensively worked in the area of large-scale consumer studies, industrial surveys, housing studies, agriculture and macro-economic policy issues. Her current research focuses on educational issues, the handloom sector and agricultural outlook. She has also contributed a few research papers and articles in reputed national journals and has also presented papers in international conferences. She has a gold medal from Guru Jambeshwar University in her post-graduation. She received a PhD from the School of Social Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi in the area of education, particularly looking at the quality issues of secondary education in India. Email: charujain13dec@gmail.comNarayan Prasad, PhD, is Director, Research Unit and Professor of Economics at the School of Social Sciences, IGNOU. He has been associated with this institution since 1992. Prior to joining IGNOU, he has worked in several reputed organisations like Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Commission, Association of Indian Universities (AIU) etc. He was awarded post-doctoral fellowship by the University Grants Commission and visited France under the Indo-French Cultural Exchange Programme. He has completed three research projects and written three books, published by SAGE and Springer. Recently, he has completed another major research project entitled “Assessment of Human Well-being in India” financially sponsored by ICSSR. He has contributed 25 research papers and three review articles to reputed national and international journals. His areas of researchinterest are: human well-being, human development, spiritual economics and the philosophical foundation of economics. Email: nps20@rediffmail.com

• 1. Introduction. Part I- Theoretical and Conceptual Framework.- Chapter 2. Quality in Education: Concept, Origin and Approaches.- Chapter 3. Review of Literature.-Chapter 4. Conceptual Framework of the Study. Part II- Research Methodology and Study Methods.- Chapter 5. Research Design.- Chapter 6. Study Methods and Measurement of Variables. Part III- Secondary Education in India: Growth, Disparities and Linkages.-Chapter 7. Indian Education System: Structure and Key Challenges.- Chapter 8. Secondary Education in India: Growth, Performance and Linkages.- Chapter 9. Identifying Inter-State Disparities and Socio-Economic Linkages. Part IV- Determinants of Quality of Education: Empirical Results and Discussion.- Chapter 10. Profile of Study Population: An Overview.- Chapter 11. Understanding Factors Affecting Students Outcomes and Learning Behavior.- Chapter 12. Teachers Perspectives on Quality of Teaching in Schools. Part V- Summary and Suggestions.- Chapter 13. Conclusion and PolicyRecommendations.- Appendix - Boxes List of Abbreviations.- Glossary.

Charu Jain, PhD, is an Associate Fellow at the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), New Delhi. Prior to this, she had worked at various other reputed organisations like TNS India and PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Her areas of research interest include socio-economic studies, gender and educational studies, developmental changes and consumer studies. She has extensively worked in the area of large-scale consumer studies, industrial surveys, housing studies, agriculture and macro-economic policy issues. Her current research focuses on educational issues, the handloom sector and agricultural outlook. She has also contributed a few research papers and articles in reputed national journals and has also presented papers in international conferences. She has a gold medal from Guru Jambeshwar University in her post-graduation. She received a PhD from the School of Social Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi in the area of education, particularly looking at the quality issues of secondary education in India. Email: charujain13dec@gmail.comNarayan Prasad, PhD, is Director, Research Unit and Professor of Economics at the School of Social Sciences, IGNOU. He has been associated with this institution since 1992. Prior to joining IGNOU, he has worked in several reputed organisations like Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Commission, Association of Indian Universities (AIU) etc. He was awarded post-doctoral fellowship by the University Grants Commission and visited France under the Indo-French Cultural Exchange Programme. He has completed three research projects and written three books, published by SAGE and Springer. Recently, he has completed another major research project entitled “Assessment of Human Well-being in India” financially sponsored by ICSSR. He has contributed 25 research papers and three review articles to reputed national and international journals. His areas of researchinterest are: human well-being, human development, spiritual economics and the philosophical foundation of economics. Email: nps20@rediffmail.com

• 1. Introduction. Part I- Theoretical and Conceptual Framework.- Chapter 2. Quality in Education: Concept, Origin and Approaches.- Chapter 3. Review of Literature.-Chapter 4. Conceptual Framework of the Study. Part II- Research Methodology and Study Methods.- Chapter 5. Research Design.- Chapter 6. Study Methods and Measurement of Variables. Part III- Secondary Education in India: Growth, Disparities and Linkages.-Chapter 7. Indian Education System: Structure and Key Challenges.- Chapter 8. Secondary Education in India: Growth, Performance and Linkages.- Chapter 9. Identifying Inter-State Disparities and Socio-Economic Linkages. Part IV- Determinants of Quality of Education: Empirical Results and Discussion.- Chapter 10. Profile of Study Population: An Overview.- Chapter 11. Understanding Factors Affecting Students Outcomes and Learning Behavior.- Chapter 12. Teachers Perspectives on Quality of Teaching in Schools. Part V- Summary and Suggestions.- Chapter 13. Conclusion and PolicyRecommendations.- Appendix - Boxes List of Abbreviations.- Glossary.