Education in South Asia: A Bibliography

Research on education in South Asia is diverse, complex and diffuse. The countries of the region Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka inherited colonial and elitist educational systems which ignored the richness of traditional education. Till recently, the impact and history of traditional educational ideas and practices in South Asia were ignored in the literature. However, with the recent revival of interest in religious ideaologies there has been a resurgence of interest in the historical and traditional underpinnings of education.
Among Third World regions, South Asia is the most prominent in terms of educational research and publication. Yet, the countries of this region are largely dependent on research trends and publications of the industrialised world, and there is little regional consciousness. This is partly due to political disagreements among the South Asian nations. It is clear that these countries need to develop educational policies to cope with the new demands on their educational systems, to create a national system of education out of the colonial heritage, and to plan for future developments.
This comprehensive and annotated bibliography covers material on education in the five major South Asian countries. It includes books, journal articles and published reports of governmental or national agencies produced between 1960 to 1985. This bibliography will enable the reader to understand the research on education as well as the context in which research was produced in South Asia.
An extremely valuable resource that will be welcomed by students, scholars, policy-makers and others interested in education in South Asia.