The book studies the scenario of elementary education in India and other countries of the world spread across the continents. It starts off by discussing the national policies of education in India, its movement of Education for All, the Right to Education Act, and aspects like pre-school education, girls’ education, curriculum and evaluation. It then views the situation in 35 other countries throwing light on elementary education provided in them. It throws light on the plight of developing countries in particular, and some problems shared by them like inadequate budgets, lack of schools and teaching staff, high illiteracy and equity and gender issues in education.