A new study of Indian states with high illiteracy rates found that most impoverished villagers want their children to be educated but are deeply discouraged by the poor quality of their local government schools, which lack the necessary teachers or educational materials for meaningful instruction. The Public Report on Basic Education was published by Oxford University Press and was based on a survey of school facilities in 188 randomly selected villages in the large north Indian states of Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.