"Educational Attainment and Rural Poverty in Barpeta District, Assam: An Empirical Investigation"

Education plays an important role in reducing poverty and improving living standards. However, empirical evidence on the relationship between education and poverty at the district level is limited in rural Assam. This study examines the relationship between educational attainment and rural poverty in Barpeta district, Assam. The study has two objectives: (i) to assess the poverty status of rural households and (ii) to analyse the relationship between education and poverty. Primary data were collected from 400 households in eight villages of four development blocks using a multistage random sampling method. Secondary data were collected from government reports and published studies. The Head Count Ratio, Poverty Gap Ratio, Severity of Poverty Index, and Multidimensional Poverty Index were used to measure poverty. Descriptive statistics, correlation, regression, and ANOVA were used for data analysis. The findings show that 40.58% of the surveyed households live below the poverty line. Most poor households have earning members with no formal education or only primary education. Regression and ANOVA results show a significant positive relationship (p < 0.05) between educational attainment and household income. Landlessness, frequent floods, and limited livelihood opportunities also increase rural poverty. The study concludes that improving access to education, skill development, and employment opportunities can help reduce rural poverty and support sustainable development in Assam.

Educational Attainment, Rural Poverty, Barpeta District, Multidimensional, Poverty Index (MPI), Poverty Reduction.

1. Afrin, F., & Barbhuyan, M. N. I. (2026). Influence of parental status and socioeconomic factors on secondary school dropout in Nagaon district, Assam, India. Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies, 52(5), 379–390. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Diwakar, V. (2023). Learning outcomes amidst violent conflict and poverty in India. International Journal of Educational Research, 119, 102159. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Economic Survey of Assam. (2025). Economic Survey of Assam 2025–26. Government of Assam. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Grover, R. G., et al. (2022). An overview of educational inequality in India: The role of social and demographic factors. Frontiers in Education, 7, 871043. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Hussain, N. (2026). Status and determinants of women’s education in Hojai district, Assam: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Advances in Education and Philosophy, 10(1), 1–5. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Kayani, M. M., Akbar, R. A., Faisal, S., Kayani, A., & Ghuman, M. A. (2017). Analysis of socio-economic benefits of education in developing countries: An example of Pakistan. Bulletin of Education and Research, 39(3), 75–92. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Liu, S., Zhang, Y., Liu, Y., & Wang, N. (2025). The impact of higher education investment on the urban-rural income gap: An analysis of mediating and threshold effects based on data from China's eight major comprehensive economic zones. PLOS ONE, 20(6), Article e0326059. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0326059 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Maity, S. (2023). Poverty, women's autonomy, and girls' educational attainment at the higher secondary level: Insight from the Indian states. Poverty & Public Policy, 15(3), 332–358. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Mehta, A. C. (2025). School education in India: Where do we stand? Analysis based on UDISE+ 2023–24 data. Ministry of Education. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Neupane, P. (2020). Policy framework for education development in Nepal. International Education Studies, 13(1), 89–97. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v13n1p89 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. NITI Aayog. (2021). National multidimensional poverty index: Baseline report. Government of India. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Njong, A. M. (2010). The effects of educational attainment on poverty reduction in Cameroon. Journal of Education Administration and Policy Studies, 2(1), 1–8. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Parizale, F., & Scotti, I. (2016). Education as a resource of social innovation. SAGE Open, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016662691 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Parveen, A., & Qounsar, T. (2018). Inclusive education and the challenges. National Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, 3(2), 64–68. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Rose, R., Narayan, J., Matam, S., & Reddy Sambram, P. (2021). A comparison of provision and access to inclusive education for children with disabilities in a metropolitan city and a rural district in Telangana State, India. Education Sciences, 11(3), Article 111. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11030111 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Roy, J., Tschakert, P., Waisman, H., Abdul Halim, S., Antwi-Agyei, P., Dasgupta, P., ... Suarez Rodriguez, A. G. (2018). Sustainable development, poverty eradication and reducing inequalities. In V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, H.-O. Pörtner, D. Roberts, J. Skea, P. R. Shukla, A. Pirani, W. Moufouma-Okia, C. Péan, R. Pidcock, S. Connors, J. B. R. Matthews, Y. Chen, X. Zhou, M. I. Gomis, E. Lonnoy, T. Maycock, M. Tignor, & T. Waterfield (Eds.), Global warming of 1.5°C: An IPCC special report. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Saluja, A. (2023). Education for social justice: A critique of national education policies of India. Policy Futures in Education, 21(2), 136–144. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Sarma, H. S., & Sarma, I. (2025). Bridging the digital-language gap: School education in rural and urban Assam. Indian Journal of Educational Technology, 7(2), 295–306. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Serneels, P., & Dercon, S. (2020). Aspirations, poverty and education: Evidence from India (RISE Working Paper No. 20/053). University of Oxford. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Shah, A. H., & Mushtaq, M. (2024). The relationship between poverty and education: A comprehensive analysis. Educational Quest: An International Journal of Education and Applied Social Sciences, 15(3), 179–185. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Shullai, K. R., & Panda, B. (2026). Household's characteristics and learning poverty: An empirical study. The Indian Economic Journal, 74(3), 572–587. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Sutradhar, A., & Daspattanayak, P. (2023). A regional model for the variability of agricultural development: Evidence from a drought-prone region of Rarh Bengal, Eastern India. Modeling Earth Systems and Environment, 9(3), 3663–3691. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Umair, A., & Awan, A. G. (2019). Impact of globalization on poverty in Pakistan. Global Journal of Management, Social Sciences and Humanities, 5(4), 624–644. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Vincze, E., Ban, C., Gog, S., & Friberg, J. H. (Eds.). (2024). The political economy of extreme poverty in Eastern Europe: A comparative historical perspective of Romanian Roma. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003485764 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Walker, J., Pearce, C., Boe, K., & Lawson, M. (2019). The power of education to fight inequality: How increasing educational equality and quality is crucial to fighting economic and gender inequality. Oxfam International. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Impact of Foreign Direct Investment in India
• Issues Involved in Digitalisation Special Reference to Indian Tourism Growth
• Relationship Marketing and Customer Loyalty in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Industry in Nairobi County
• Financial Literacy or Financial Inclusion? Which is Which, What is What—To Achieve Uganda’s 10-Fold Economic Growth By 2040
• Harnessing Natural Gas for Economic Transformation: Overcoming the Regulatory and Infrastructural Bottlenecks in Nigeria