Insights from Bihar’s endeavours to decentralize educational administration

Decentralized educational administration has been embraced globally to address the challenges associated with centralized administration. It is argued that decentralization can enhance political legitimacy, efficiency, and effectiveness of the system, reduce public expenditure, and value local culture and tradition if it is designed and implemented mindfully. In this regard, Bihar has taken various initiatives to decentralize educational administration over the last three decades to enjoy the benefits of it. Therefore, this article aims to examine the state initiatives and their outcomes to extract the insights. The study relied on documents and qualitative empirical data. The relevant policy, acts, program, and official executive orders are collected and analysed to explore the state’s initiatives, and the empirical data were collected through semi-structured interviews of related stakeholders and observation of public-school functioning to examine the impact. The findings highlight that the state has taken initiatives to decentralize the school functions but has been undermined by the inconsistent political will, weak local institutions, limited capacity, and individual and structural inequality, which are prerequisites for any state to address when decentralizing administration. It further discusses the role of effective educational decentralization in shaping the broader process of human development and the local economy.