CHAPTER-30
Development of Education
- Under Company Rule-
- Calcutta Madrasah was established by Warren Hastings in 1781 for the study of Muslim law and related subjects.
- Sanskrit College was established by Jonathan Duncan, the resident, at Benaras in 1791 for study of Hindu law and philosophy.
- Fort William College was set up by Wellesley in 1800 for training of civil servants of the Company in languages and customs of Indians (closed in 1802).
- A Humble beginning by Charter Act of 1813-Efforts of enlightened Indians such as Raja Rammohan Roy bore fruit and a grant was sanctioned for Calcutta College set up in 1817 by educated Bengalis, imparting English education in Western humanities and sciences. The government also set up three Sanskrit colleges at Calcutta, Delhi and Agra.
- Orientalist-Anglicist Controversy–
- Within the General Committee on Public Instruction, the Anglicists argued that the government spending on education should be exclusively for modern studies. The Orientalists said while Western sciences and literature should be taught to prepare students to take up jobs, emphasis should be placed on expansion of traditional Indian learning.
- British planned to educate a small section of upper and middle classes, thus creating a class “Indian in blood and colour but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect” who would act as interpreters between the government and masses and would enrich the vernaculars by which knowledge of Western sciences and literature would reach the masses. This was called the ‘downward filtration theory’.
- Efforts of Thomson-James Thomson, lieutenant-governor of NW Provinces (1843- 53), developed a comprehensive scheme of village education through the medium of vernacular languages.
- Wood’s Despatch (1854)
- It asked the government of India to assume responsibility for education of the masses, thus repudiating the ‘downward filtration theory’, at least on paper.
- It systematised the hierarchy from vernacular primary schools in villages at bottom, followed by Anglo-Vernacular High Schools and an affiliated college at the district level, and affiliating universities in the presidency towns of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras.
- It recommended English as the medium of instruction for higher studies and vernaculars at school level.
- It laid stress on female and vocational education, and on teachers’ training.
- It laid down that the education imparted in government institutions should be secular.
- It recommended a system of grants-in-aid to encourage private enterprise.
- Developments-In 1857, universities at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were set up and later, departments of education were set up in all provinces. The Bethune School founded by J.E.D. Bethune at Calcutta (1849) was the first fruit of a powerful movement for education of women which arose in 1840s and 1850s.
- After the Crown Took Over
- Hunter Education Commission (1882-83)-The commission—
- emphasised that state’s special care is required for extension and improvement of primary education, and that primary education should be imparted through vernacular.
- recommended transfer of control of primary education to newly set up district and municipal boards.
- recommended that secondary (High School) education should have two divisions—
- literary—leading up to university.
- vocational—for commercial careers.
- drew attention to inadequate facilities for female education, especially outside presidency towns and made recommendations for its spread.
- More teaching-cum-examining universities were set up like the Punjab University (1882) and the Allahabad University (1887).
- Indian Universities Act, 1904-In 1902, Raleigh Commission was set up to go into conditions and prospects of universities in India and to suggest measures for improvement in their constitution and working. Based on its recommendations, the Indian Universities Act was passed in 1904. As per the Act,
- universities were to give more attention to study and research;
- number of fellows of a university and their period in office were reduced and most fellows were to be nominated by the Government;
- Government was to have powers to veto universities’ senate regulations and could amend these regulations or pass regulations on its own;
- conditions were to be made stricter for affiliation of private colleges; and
- five lakh rupees were to be sanctioned per annum for five years for improvement of higher education and universities.
- Government Resolution on Education Policy—1913-In 1906, the progressive state of Baroda introduced compulsory primary education throughout its territories. In its 1913 Resolution on Education Policy, the government refused to take up the responsibility of compulsory education, but accepted the policy of removal of illiteracy and urged provincial governments to take early steps to provide free elementary education to the poorer and more backward sections.
- Saddler University Commission (1917-19) The commission was set up to study and report on problems of Calcutta University but its recommendations were applicable more or less to other universities also. Its observations were as follows:
- School course should cover 12 years. Students should enter university after an intermediate stage (rather than matric) for a three-year degree course in university. This was done to
- prepare students for university stage;
- relieve universities of a large number of below university standard students; and
- provide collegiate education to those not planning to go through university stage.
- There should be less rigidity in framing university regulations.
- A university should function as centralised, unitary residential-teaching autonomous body, rather than as scattered, affiliated colleges.
- Female education, applied scientific and technological education, teachers’ training including those for professional and vocational colleges should be extended.
- Education Under Dyarchy- Under Montagu-Chelmsford reforms education was shifted to provincial ministries and the government stopped taking direct interest in educational matters
- Hartog Committee (1929)– Its main recommendations were as follows.
- Emphasis should be given to primary education but there need be no hasty expansion or compulsion in education.
- Only deserving students should go in for high school and intermediate stage, while average students should be diverted to vocational courses after VIII standard.
- For improvements in standards of university education, admissions should be restricted.
- Sergeant Plan of Education-The Sergeant Plan (Sergeant was the educational advisor to the Government) was worked out by the Central Advisory Board of Education in 1944. It recommended—
- pre-primary education for 3-6 years age group; free, universal and compulsory elementary education for 6-11 years age group; high school education for 11- 17 years age group for selected children, and a university course of 3 years after higher secondary; high schools to be of two types: (i) academic and (ii) technical and vocational.
- adequate technical, commercial and arts education.
- abolition of intermediate course.
- liquidation of adult illiteracy in 20 years.
- stress on teachers’ training, physical education, education for the physically and mentally handicapped.
- Development of Vernacular Education-
- 1835, 1836, 1838 : William Adam’s reports on vernacular education in Bengal and Bihar pointed out defects in the system of vernacular education.
- 1843-53 : James Jonathan’s experiments in North-West Provinces (UP),included opening one government school as model school in each tehsildari and a normal school for teachers’ training for vernacular schools.
- 1853 : In a famous minute, Lord Dalhousie expressed strong opinion in favour of vernacular education.
- 1854 : Wood’s Despatch made the following provisions for vernacular education:
- Improvement of standards
- Supervision by government agency
- Normal schools to train teachers
- 1854-71 : The government paid some attention to secondary and vernacular education. The number of vernacular schools increased by more than five-fold.
- 1882 : The Hunter Commission held that State should make special efforts for extension and improvement of vernacular education. Mass education was to be seen as instructing masses through vernaculars.
- 1904 : Education policy put special emphasis on vernacular education and increased grants for it.
- 1929 : Hartog Committee presented a gloomy picture of primary education.
- 1937 : These schools received encouragement from Congress ministries.
- Development of Technical Education-
Engineering College at Roorkee was set up in 1847,Calcutta College of Engineering came up in 1856.
- Evaluation of British Policy on Education-
- Even the inadequate measures the government took for the expansion of modern education were guided by concerns other than philanthropic. The government measures for promotion of education were influenced by—
- agitation in favour of modern education by enlightened Indians, Christian missionaries and humanitarian officials;
- need to ensure a cheap supply of educated Indians to man an increasing number of subordinate posts in administration and in British business concerns
- hope that educated Indians would help expand market for British manufactures in India;
- an expectation that Western education would reconcile Indians to British rule, particularly as it glorified British conquerors and their administration.
- Traditional system of Indian learning gradually declined for want of support
- Mass education was neglected leading to widespread illiteracy (1911—84 per cent and in 1921—92 per cent) which created a wide linguistic and cultural gulf between the educated few and the masses.
- Since education was to be paid for, it became a monopoly of upper and richer classes and city dwellers.
- There was an almost total neglect of women’s education because (i) the Government did not want to arouse wrath of orthodox sections; and (ii) it had no immediate utility for the colonial rule.
- Scientific and technical education was by and large neglected.
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