Subject(s): Education and state -- Elementary ,Education -- Finance -- What ails the educationally backward states- challenges of public finance, private provision and household costs, mapping change in elementary education in UP, including the excluded and addressing the failures of public provision in elementary education in Bihar, cost and financing of universalizing elementary education in Rajasthan, universalizing elementary education in MP - can successes of decentralized governance offset problems of public finance, private provision and private cost -- Challenges of financing universal elemortary education in a poor states, cost and financing of elementary education in West Bengal, private costs and public financing of elementary education in higher achiever state in Tamil Nadu