The enrolment in secondary education in India has increased from 39 percent in 1999 to 43 percent in 2006.

With 7.6 million out-of-school children, Nigeria will be worst off, followed by Pakistan (3.7 million), Burkina Faso and Ethiopia with 1.1 million are at joint third spot.

In terms of absolute numbers, 80 percent of adult illiterates worldwide live only in 20 countries -- 50 percent of them live in India, China and Bangladesh.

The report also emphasises that with the share of government expenditure on education dropping between 1999 and 2006 in 40 countries including India, low fee private primary schools were filling the slot.

In South Asia, Bangladesh devotes 2.6 percent of national income to education, Pakistan 2.7 percent and 3.3 percent of India's national income goes to education.

Poor quality government schools are important factors in the growth of private players. In India, the, contract teachers (para-teachers) have been used to increase the supply of teachers to remote rural schools.

"As they are often less qualified and more inexperienced than civil service teachers (trained teachers), the situation raises concern about providing teaching of equal quality to all areas," the report underlines.