Centre for Lifelong Learning Research and Development, The Hong Kong Institute of Education emiliaszekely@gmail.com Centre for Lifelong Learning Research and Development, The Hong Kong Institute of Education mmason@ied.edu.hk Chapter 11 Global Agendas versus Local Needs in Educational Development: The Barefoot College's Solar Night Schools Program in India Emilia Szekely and Mark Mason Abstract India is currently undertaking at national level a process of substantial educational reform intended to guarantee the right to education for every child. Ironically, however, in many cases India's Right to Education Act (2009) may be depriving children of access to education. This chapter considers the response that a non-formal education project in India offers to balance this conflict between global and national interests on one hand, and local needs on the other: the Bare- foot College's Solar Night Schools Program. An investigation involving site visits, interviews and bibliographical research identified the importance for education of drawing on local knowledge and resources, in the context of local conditions, in the pursuit of the Act’s goals of universal, equitable and quality education for all. Keywords: Self-sustainability, Integrated service delivery, Ownership, Rele- vance, Education quality Please quote as: Szekely & Mason (2016). “Global interests and local needs in educational development: The Barefoot College's solar night schools initiative in Rajasthan” (Book Chapter) in Robertson M. (Ed.) (2016) Everyday knowledge, education and sustainable futures: Trans-disciplinary research in the Asia/Pacific Region, Springer.