The Educational Policy in Colonial India:Causes and Effects

7/26/2019 The Educational Policy in Colonial India:Causes and Effects

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70 History Today, No.15, 2014

Education is the basic element for development of anysociety. India has a long and prosperous tradition since the

Vedic age. During the Vedic and post-Vedic era, Indianeducation was based on Shrutitradition and continuedthrough the temples, mathas, viharas and other religious

and social institutions. Gradually, these religious centreswere converted into educational institutions such as

Takshashila, Nalanda and other universities, which werethe backbone of education in India. During the medieval

period, these educational patterns continued alongwith Islamic educational system. In the colonial period,tralatitious education system was drastically changed. In

this paper, author has tried to give an outline about thechanges in education system during the colonial period

and the factors responsible for these changes along withthe positive and negative impacts on contemporary

society as well as the present day educational system ofthe country.

First of all, we have to understand the objectives ofcolonial powers in their colonies. The main objectives

were to utilize the resources of colonies for promoting the

needs and interest of their own nation. Generally, thesepowers shaped and guided the educational policies andinstitutions of their colonies according to the needs of thecolonizer and ignored the aspiration of the colonized.

Therefore, the policies of different colonizers had certaincommon characteristics. Sometimes the same colonial

The Educational Policy in Colonial India:Causes and Effects

Ankit Agarwal*

* Research Associate, Indian Archaeological Society, New Delhi. Email: [email protected]

power had differing policies in different countries andin the same country at different times. While there weresome similarities in the education policies of the African

colonies of two different colonizers British and French,some fundamental differences were also there.1Again,

the British policy in India in the eighteenth century wasdifferent from that in the nineteenth or twentieth century.

In Indonesia, the Dutch had followed two differenteducational policies in the first four hundred years andthereafter in twentieth century.2

In Indian context, British were the main colonizers,

who came as a trading company to India after receivinga Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth in 1600. This

Company was known as English East India Company.Formally known as Governor and Company of Merchants

of London Trading into the East Indies (16001708),or United Company of Merchants of England Tradingto the East Indies (17081873), it was formed for the

exploitation of trade with East and Southeast Asia andIndia. Before the Battle of Plassey (1757), the primary

interest of Company was to trade and get economic

benefits from India such as exploiting their prosperousresources and exploring a market for her products. Forfulfilling these motives, Company did not feel any needfor promoting education and did not take any initiative to

promote the educational institutions during the first twohundred years in India.


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71The Educational Policy in Colonial India: Causes and Effects

During this time, traditional education system

existed in India. The ancient Indian educational system,Gurukulacontinued in the colonial phase, which led to

the origin of Monitorial System. This system was very well

understood and appreciated by the officials of the EastIndia Company.3Some other educational institutions such

as maktabs(part-time schools that offered basic instructionin reading the Quran and basics of Islam)and madrasahs

(institute of comprehensive study of Islamic education),mosques, khanqahs (Sufi centers), and private houses

were also providing education. All kinds of institutionsexisted in harmony.4Local Nawabs, political entities andother well-to-do people considered it an act of virtue to

build educational institutions and to support teachersand students.

After the Battle of Plassey, East India Company

emerged as a supreme political power in north India.Gradually, British entities and English East India Companyrealized the need for educational expansion in India. The

author has divided the Indian colonial education system infive phases on the basis of the changes and effects of their

education policies to analyze the ideological conflicts,policy decisions, effects of the pressure from Indians and

changes during these different phases.

First Phase (1758-1812 CE)

One can ponder why British took interest in the Indian

education after the Battle of Plassey. Several changes came

into the position as per the needs of the British colonizersin the first phase. The Bengal province came under their

control with the defeat of the Nawab of Murshidabad atPlassey in but the British set their administration only in

1772-1773 CE, beginning with a judicial system.5

After1772-73 CE, the Company required more skilled andeducated indigenous people for lower administration and

for interpreting the religious laws.

During this phase, the English East India Company didnot show any interest directly into the promotion of theeducation in India but the senior officials of the Company

personally took interest and put efforts for establishingsome new educational setups for providing a regular

supply of qualified Indians to help in the administration oflaw in the courts.6Warren Hastings established Calcutta

Madrasah in October, 1780 for the study and teaching

of Muslim law and subjects, whereas Jonathan Duncanset up Sanskrit College at Varanasi in 1791 for the study

of Hindu Law and Philosophy.7During this period, TheMaulavieand Punditsit with the Judge on the Bench, and

give their opinion as to the Mahomdan or the Hindu lawin particular case.8

In the later half, several British scholars alsopressurized the Company and British entities for the

expansion of education in India. Gradually, Britishentities and Company realized the need for expansion

of education in India. Behind this approach, a broadereconomic, political, administrative and religious interest

Fig. 1: British interest in the expansion of education in India


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of British entities and Company were hidden (Fig. 1).

During this time, the Company faced serious financialproblems due to the Bengal famine of 1770 and

commercial stagnation and trade depression throughout

Europe.9

Due to financial crisis, the Company was notable to afford the expenditure on the high salaries of

English officers. So the Company required local Indianemployees, who were able to read, write and speak

English. It was also hoped that education would providea positive bond between rulers and the ruled and lead to

the permanence and stability of the British Raj.

In the 18thcentury, Christian missionaries spread

religious education pertaining Christianity in India. Butthe East India Company felt that it would encourage

adversely religious sentiments among the Indian massesthat could affect the business policy and the diplomatic

role of the East India Company. Therefore, they didnot support the missionaries for the propagation of thereligious education to the common people in India during

the period from1793 to 1812.10Thus, missionaries andEvangelicals (evangelical Christian) created an agitation

and opposed the Company for disrupting the teachings ofChrist and reluctance to provide education for the Indians.

Interestingly, this agitation was supported by many inEngland and pressurized the Company for taking interest

in the Indian education sector.

Second Phase (1813-1853 CE)

In 1813, the Charter of the East India Company wasrenewed and from here, the second phase of colonialeducation started in india. Christian Religious institutions

pressurized the British Parliament so that the CompanyCharter contained a clause setting aside a lakh of rupeesfor education. The British Parliament insisted, in spite of

opposition from the Directors of the Company on insertinga clause in the Charter, giving missionaries full freedom

to settle and work in India. Soon afterwards, there was agreat influx of missionaries into India.11These missionaries

frequently opened schools, hospitals and orphanages.Behind their generosity, the hidden reason of missionaries

was not related to any humanitarian motive but theyused education as a vehicle to westernize the indigenouspeople in every aspect of human life.

During the first part (1813-1835) of this phase, two

controversies about the nature of education arose betweenthe British scholars and the administrators. These were:

Whether to lay emphasis on the promotion of modernwestern studies or on the expansion of traditional

Indian learning?

Whether to adopt Indian languages or use English

as the medium of instruction in modern schools andcolleges to spread western learning?

On these controversies, opinions of British scholarsand administrators were divided into three groups. First

group was headed by H.T. Princep (1792-1878) whosupported the traditional Indian learning system.12Second

group was headed by Thomas B. Macaulay (1800-1859),he supported the Modern Western Studies system. 13

The third group was headed by Sir Thomas Munroand Elphistonson, who supported the Modern WesternStudies in indigenous Language. These controversies got

settled in March 1835, when William Bentinck appliedModern Western Studies system in English language on

the suggestion of his legal advisor Thomas Macaulay.14Indicating the purpose of contemporary western education

system in India, Macaulay said that We must at presentdo our best to form a class who may be interpretersbetween us and the millions whom we govern, a class of

persons Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes,in opinions, in morals and in intellect.15

Some scholars pushed Macaulays Minutes on Indian

Education into the background and argued instead,that Bentinck had already made his Anglicist decision

effectively before Macaulay even arrived. Suresh Ghoshargued that Bentinck had been steadily pursuing a policyof gradual introduction of English education in India since

1829.16Even before Macaulay, Bentinck had opened

subordinate positions in judicial and revenue sections ofthe government to natives who were able to understandEnglish. It is the wish and admitted policy of the British

Government to render its own language gradually andeventually the language of public business throughoutthe country, wrote Bentinck.17Overall, we cannot deny

or ignore the importance of Macaulay in introducing thewestern education system in India.

Secondly, the East India Company had to renew its

Charter after every twenty years. While renewing theCharter in 1833, the British Parliament increased the

sum of money from one lakh rupees in 1813 to onemillion yearly to be spent on education in India. In1844, Lord Hardinges administration announced that

all those educated in English would be preferred in officeappointments.18Given the new importance placed upon

English training, English education began to flourish inIndia through both government and private schools.19Itmade good progress in the three Presidencies of Bengal,

Bombay and Madras where the number of schools andcolleges increased. During this phase, education of girls


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was officially sanctioned. In fact, Lord Dalhousie offered

open support of government for educating girls.

Establishment of medical and engineering colleges

was the other notable event of this phase, which markeda beginning in professional education. Having given the

expense of training to European doctors and engineersfor service in India with their relatively high salaries, it

was imperative from the standpoint of the Company inthe respective fields that Indian subordinates perform

routine duties. To fulfil the growing need for healthprofessionals, Calcutta Medical College was establishedby an order in February 1835 during the regime of Lord

William Bentinck, which was the first institute of westernmedicine in Asia.20With the establishment of Thomason

Civil Engineering College by Colonel Cautley in 1847at Roorkee on the suggestion of James Thomason,

Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Provinces,education in Engineering was introduced in India.21

During this Phase (1813-1853 CE), the colonial entityopened a few English schools and colleges instead of a

large number of elementary schools, this led to the neglectof the education of the masses. This policy of colonial

ruler was called Downwards Filtration Theory, whichmeant coming down of education or knowledge from

the top to the bottom, i.e., from the higher class peopleto the lower classes or the general people.22This policywas well supported by the contemporary higher officials

such as Lord Macualay. Behind this policy, Company

officials had several reasons. One of the main reasonsfor supporting this policy was the need of educatedindigenous lower staff and forming a loyal Indian class

for Company under the limited expense of their moneyresources. Filtration Theory fulfilled the aim of LordMacaulay and the directors of the Company.

Third Phase (1854 -1900 CE)

The British educational policy continued on the basis of

recommendations of Macaulay till changes were madeunder Dalhousie, although it was officially abandoned

in 1854 and hence began the next phase of Colonialeducation in India. The British Empire had grown to fullshape when Dalhousie came to India. Lord Dalhousie

realized the need of mass education and desired toestablish a complete class of vernacular schools to

expand throughout the whole of India, with a view toconvey instruction to the masses of the people.23Whenthe time of renewal of Charter came in 1853, the directors

of the Company decided to lay down a definite policyfor education in India and made a comprehensive survey

of the entire field of education. As such, a Selection

Committee of the British Parliament was set up in order toinstitute an inquiry into the measures for their reforms. The

Committee studied the issue thoroughly and reported that

the question of Indian education should not be ignoredand its development would not in any case be harmful to

the British Empire. The suggestions of the Committee werefavourably considered by the Board of Directors. As Sir

Charles Wood was the president of the Board of Control,so the declaration was christened as Woods Educational

Despatch though it was written by the famous thinkerJohn Stuart Mill.24

Educational despatch of 1854 (Woods Despatch) wasa long document of 100 paragraphs which deals with the

various aspects of educational importance and holds aunique place in the history of Indian education. Therefore,

it is often described as the Magna Carta of moderneducation in India and then the third phase of Colonialeducation (1854 -1900 CE) started in India. For the first

time, it clearly accepted the responsibility of the BritishGovernment for education in India.25It officially rejected

the filtration theory and laid stress on mass education,female education and improvement of vernaculars,

favoured secularism in education and teachers training.

As a result of the Despatchs recommendation, thefirst secondary training school for teachers in the countrywas established in March, 1856 in Madras.26 Woods

Despatch also paid attention to vocational education

and encouraged Muslim education27and presented acomprehensive scheme of education embracing primary,secondary and higher education. It recommended the

creation of a separate Department of Public Instruction infive provinces and scholarships for the poor and deservingstudents. Indian elite class people have shown great

urge for higher education and learning. To satisfy thisurge, three universities were set up in Calcutta (January

1857), Bombay (July 1857) and Madras (September 1857)on the model of the University of London as affiliating

university.28Thereafter, there was a continuous stream toset up universities one after the other. Thus India had 21

universities at the time of Independence (Appendix I).

In 1882, the Government of India constituted a

Commission with the objective to enquire into themanner in which effect had been given to the principles

of the Despatch of 1854 and to suggest such measuresas it may think desirable in order to the further carryingout of the policy therein laid down.29The Commission

was constituted by Lord Ripon under Sir W. W. Hunter,and therefore, it is also known as Hunter Commission.


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The Commission adopted the Policy of Laissez faire and

advocated the gradual withdrawal of the state from thedirect support and management of institutions of higher

education.30

Hunter Commission suggested that local bodies

(district boards and municipalities) should be entrustedwith the management of primary schools. The Commission

advised for increasing the number of High Schools andcolleges31and emphasized that they should not only be

maintained by government but some of them should alsobe run by private bodies. After the recommendations ofHunter Commission, Punjab University was formally

constituted under the Act of 1882 and AllahabadUniversity under the Act of 1887.32 The number of

colleges was also increased. In 1882 the total numberof colleges were less than 75 (68 of them were regularly

affiliated) whereas during 1901-02 the number of collegesincreased to 126.33 When the recommendations ofthe Hunter Commission (1882) were implemented, a

phenomenal growth of secondary and higher educationtook place and both college and secondary education

expanded enormously.

During this phase, emphasis on western educationalso had some important effect on the mind-set of Indian

people. One of these effects was described by Anand K.Coomarswamy in 1908 by a graphic description of theIndians educated under Macaulays education system.

He said that Speak to the ordinary graduate of an Indian

University, of the ideals of the Mahabharata- he willhasten to display his knowledge of Shakespeare: talk tohim of religious philosophy- you find that he is an atheist

of the crude type common in Europe a generation ago:talk to him of Indian music he will produce a gramophoneor a harmonium, and inflict upon you one or both; talk to

him of Indian dress or jewellery - he will tell you that theyare uncivilized and barbaric He is indeed a stranger in

his own land.34These words of Coomarswamy clearlyshow that the colonial education policy of the third phase

was successful in forming a class of persons who wereIndian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, opinions,

morals and intellect.

Colonial education during this phase had also a

domino effect on the Indian Independence movementand the mind-set of indigenous people. Due to the

emphasis on western education during this phase, Indianscould understand Western thoughts such as nationalism,equality, independence, organization etc. and their

values. These thoughts encouraged the Independencemovement, nationalism and social political organizations

in India. During this phase, Arya Samaj was established

in 1875,35 whose founder Swami Dayanand made aforceful plea for Indias political independence and

said that self-government is by far the best. Arya Samaj

played a very important role in spreading awarenessand education among the Indians. The Indian National

Congress was founded in1885, which also played a keyrole in independence movement.36

From the closing years of the nineteenth century,

there was a growing awareness among British officialsof the political dangers of English education. Awarenesswas also growing among them about the impact of English

education on emerging social-political organizations andtheir growing influence among the indigenous people.

British thinkers and officials felt that most of the leadersof these social-political fronts were educated in western

system and well aware about the western thoughts. Theyalso felt that familiarity with western ideas, not enoughjobs for the educated and unemployment was breeding

political discontent and sedition among the Indians.37Sothey stressed on the review of educational system in India.

Fourth phase(1901 1920 CE)

This phase of colonial education started in 1902, when

Lord Curzon tried to introduce some administrativereforms of the university education by instituting aUniversity Education Commission in 1902, followed

by India University Act, 1904. Lord Curzon appointed

University Commission under Chairmanship of ThomasRaleigh (Law member of the Viceroys Executive Council)on 27th January, 1902. The purpose of the committee

was to enquire into the conditions and prospects ofthe universities. The committees main finding was:no change had been seen in university education

because they failed to follow the guidelines of LondonUniversity.38 In addition to this, some other findings

were with regard to defects noticed in the developmentof collegiate education in India. These were lopsided

development of liberal education and the neglect ofprofessional education in general and technical education

in particular, uneven spread of higher education amongdifferent communities and followers of different sections,neglect of women education and Indian languages. The

Commission submitted its report in June 1902 and itsmajor recommendations were39:

The existing universities should be reorganized asteaching bodies and enlarge their legal powers.

No new university should be set up.


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The undergraduate work should be left to affiliated

colleges and only advanced courses should beprovided in the university campus.

The number of Senators should also be reduced and

the period of their tenure should be 5 years at themost.

University and college teachers, renowned scholars

and Government officials should get adequaterepresentation in the senate.

The territorial jurisdiction of a university should bedefined.

The number of members on the Syndicate shouldbe reduced to 9 and to 15 in exceptional cases. All

members should be elected.

Rules of affiliation should be strict and affiliation

should not be granted to second grade colleges. Theaffiliation rules have to be framed in such a way as

to secure-

(a) That no institution shall be admitted to affiliation

unless on the fullest information;

(b) That no institution once admitted be allowed to

fall below the standards of efficiency required foraffiliation and the Syndicate should satisfy itself

from time to time on this point.

Every affiliated college should be under the control

of a Governing Body which should pay attention to

staff, library, hostel and buildings.

The recommendations invited severe criticism

both by press and public opinion in India. It wasconsidered as a step towards checking the spread andthe scope of education and virtually destroying the

limited independence of the Indian Universities. Therecommendations of the Indian Universities Commission

(1902) were incorporated in the Indian Universities Act,1904 which limited the size of the senate, authorised

teaching by the university (hitherto they were mainlyexamining bodies), periodic inspection of institutions,

speedier transaction of business, strict conditions foraffiliation and imposed more close supervision on itswork etc.40 Universities Act of 1904 was criticized by

nationalists for its tightening government control overuniversities.

The Act conferred on the Universities of India aworking constitution investing them with the authority to

control and supervise higher education in accordance withthe principles and policy approved by the Government

of India. But the unfortunate result of Curzons reforms

was the exorbitant officialisation of the Universityadministration. It did not encourage the policy of laissez

faire. No doubt, Curzon was trying to bring education

under the control of the Government to suppress thenationalist movement in India, but his educational policy

introduced efficiency and improvement in the quality ofeducation and was the basis of the educational system

for many years to come.

The educational progress received another impetuswith the initiation by G.K. Gokhale with the introduction ofa Bill to make elementary education free, compulsory for

children aged between 6 and 10 years. Gokhales effortshad far-reaching consequences in the subsequent period.

His efforts were responsible for the creation of a separateeducation department in 1910 and the strengthening of

the movement in favour of mass education.

The Calcutta University Commission was appointed

by Viceroy Lord Chelmsford, the Government of Indiain 1917, under the Chairmanship of M.E.S. Sadler, to

study its working. Two Indians Dr. Zia Uddin Ahmed andSir Asutosh Mukerji were appointed as members of this

Commission. Sir Asutosh Mukerji was the most influentialmember of the Commission. It is said that most of the

recommendations of the Commission were patternedon his views. The Commission submitted a voluminousreport in 1919, practically dealing with every problem of

Secondary and University Education, which was a great

turning point, since its recommendations were adoptedby several other universities. The Commission discussedthe main weaknesses of Higher Education in Bengal and

offered the following recommendations41:

The intermediate classes of the University were to be

transferred to Secondary Institutions and Secondaryand Intermediate Education was to be controlledby a Board of Secondary Education and not by the

University.

The government interference in the academic mattersshould stop.

University course divided into pass course andHonours and duration of the Degree Course shouldbe three years after the Intermediate stage.

The teaching resources of the city of Calcutta were to

be organised to create a real teaching university andthe project of a university at Dacca was to be carriedinto effect at the earliest possible moment.

Special attention was to be paid to womens


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education and a Board constituted for the purpose.

The medium of instruction for most subjects up toHigh School stage was to be Vernacular but for

late stages it should be English (except in dealing

with Classical and Modern English Language).

7 new universities were opened (total 12 now) atBanaras, Mysore, Patna, Aligarh, Dhaka, Lucknow

and Osmania.

Kashi Vidyapeeth and Jamia Milia Islamia were

established.

During this phase, new universities, colleges and

schools were opened rapidly by the colonial entities.Here, some questions can be raised in ones mind. Firstquestion raised is why did Indians go to the new schools

and colleges? Primarily Indians were going to the new

educational institutions for economic self-betterment.During the colonial period, knowledge of Englishwas necessary for traders and businessmen. People in

the colonies joined the new educational institutionsbecause this was means for entering government service

and professions such as law, medicine, teaching orjournalism.42English education was also a means of socialmobility. Men from lower castes could raise their social

status by acquiring western education.

Second question raised in mind is who were theIndians who availed of the new schools and colleges?

While in theory, English education was available to all,but in reality, it was not equally diffused in all regions oramong all communities and castes. Everywhere it was

more widespread among men than women, in cities thanin villages and among the higher castes. The first impact

of English education was felt by the three Presidenciesbecause Britain was a sea empire and these were the first

areas to be captured. Literacy varied enormously betweenprovinces.43The residents of these three Presidencies werenot equally availing the benefits of the new educational

system and institutions. The first beneficiary group of itwas the traditionally literate castes, such as the Brahmins

in Madras and Maharshtra, the Kayasthas, Baidyas and

Brahmins in Bengal or the Kayasthas and Sayeeds inUnited province. Usually the higher castes stood at thetop of the education ladder and the scheduled castesand tribes at the bottom.44Caste was not the only scale

of education but the level of education depended onoccupation and dwelling place. In many cases, middle

class engaged in trade were more literate than otherswhich had a higher social ranking.45We can say that the

distribution of education during the colonial period wasnot equal.

Fifth phase(1921 1947 CE)

The Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) wasestablished in 1921 to bring consensus on policy matters

among provincial governments, but it was not operationaltill 1935. During this phase, education system came underthe Indian control officially, as it became a provincial

subject administered by provincial legislature underthe provision of the Government of India Act of 1919.46

Thus, expansions started everywhere. Most of the Indianpeople and parties were dissatisfied with the act of 1919.Gradually, dissatisfaction of Indians was converted into

storm of protest and agitation against the rulers. Then,the Britishers felt necessary to give due importance to

education in India. By responding to the dissatisfactionof Indian people, Indias government appointed Indian

Statutory Commission on November 8, 1927, which

was commonly referred as Simon Commission.47 ThisCommission was made to enquire into the working of the

administration under the Government of India Act, 1919.

The government authorised Simon Commissionto appoint a committee to help in preparing a report

on education known as Hartog Committee, underthe leadership of Sir Phillip Hartog48 to enquire intothe conditions of education in India. In 1929, Hartog

Committee submitted its report and recommendedthe policy of consolidation, improvement of primary

education. In the opinion of this Committee, theMatriculation of the University still dominated the whole

of the secondary course. In order to obviate this defect, theCommittee recommended the diversified curriculum inthe schools. The Committee also recommended diversion

of more boys to industrial and commercial careers at theend of the middle stage, preparatory to special instruction

in technical and industrial schools and a selective systemof admission to universities (Fig. 2).

The work initiated by the Sadler Commissionwas further carried on by the Hartog Committee. The

Committee was primarily concerned with primaryeducation but it also reviewed the problems relating

to the teachers training and the service conditionsof the secondary teachers, and made far-reaching

recommendations for teacher training as well. It rightlyobserved that the success of education depended on thequality of the training, the status and the pay of teachers.

On the basis of the recommendations of the Committee,13 out of 18 universities setup faculties for education.

Andhra University started a new degree, the B.Ed. in1932. Bombay launched a post-graduate degree, the

M.Ed. in 1936.49


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Since 1931 there had been a slump in the economicfield in India resulting into much unemployment. Muchof the unrest was primarily due to mass unemployment.

Therefore, the U.P. (United Provinces) Government

appointed a Committee, known as Sapru Committeein 1934 to enquire about the causes of unemploymentin U.P. This committee came to the conclusion that

the system of education commonly prevalent preparedstudents only for examinations and degrees and not forany vocation in life and suggested that:50

Diversified courses at the secondary stage should

be introduced, one of these leading to the universitydegree;

The intermediate stage be abolished and thesecondary stage be extended by one year;

The vocational training and education should beginafter the lower secondary stage;

The degree course at the university should extendover a period of three years.

In 1935-36, the Central Advisory Board of Education

(CABE) was revived and it recommended the appointmentof a committee to advise the Government on certainproblems of educational reorganization and particularly

on problems of Vocational education. One of the basicreasons for instituting this enquiry was the fact that alarge number of University graduates were not securing

employment of a kind for which their education qualified

them. So the Government of India invited two Britishexperts, A. Abbott51and S. H. Wood52for preparing a planon vocational education in the country. The committee

strongly believed the problem of unemployment in Indiacould be solved only through industrial development ofthe country.

In June 1937, Abbott and Wood submitted their report

in two parts viz., Technical and General, which was basedon the experience of their visits to UP, Delhi and the

Punjab and known as the Abbot-Wood Report. On thetechnical parts, the report suggested a complete hierarchy

of vocational institutions parallel general education.53On

the general part, the report suggested about the mediumof education, which was similar to the earlier committee

reports. One important result of their recommendationshad been that a new type of technical institution called

the Polytechnic came into existence for training of middlelevel technical personnel. Delhi Polytechnic (1941) which

has now been converted into an Engineering College wasthe first in the chain of such polytechnics.54

Fig. 2:The main recommendations of Hartog committee


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In 1937, the Congress Ministry assumed responsibility

of administration in seven major Provinces of India andconcentrated their attention on educational reforms.

In October 1937, an all-India National Educational

Conference was summoned at Wardha under thepresidentship of Mahatma Gandhi and the following

resolutions were adopted:

Free and compulsory education to be provided forseven years on a nation-wide scale.

Medium of instruction to be the mother- tongue.

Conference endorses the proposal made by MahatmaGandhi, in which Gandhiji proposed that the process

of education should centre around some form ofmanual and productive work, and all other abilities

to be developed or training to be given should be

integrally related to the central handicraft chosen withdue regard to the environment of the child.

The conference expected that this system of educationwill be gradually able to cover the remuneration ofteachers.

The conference then appointed a committee, with

Dr. Zakir Hussain, Principal of Jamia Millia Islamia,Delhi, as its chairman, to formulate a scheme of basic

education on the lines suggested by its resolutions. TheBritish Government had now commenced to understand

the seriousness of the situation of education in India.

On 28th

January, 1938, meeting of CABE was held andappointed a Committee under the chairmanship of the

Honble B. G. Kher, Premier and Education Minister,Government of Bombay, to examine the scheme of

educational reconstruction incorporated in the WardhaScheme in the light of the Wood-Abbott Report on general

and vocational education and other relevant documents,and to make recommendations. Dr. Zakir Hussain wasthe member of this committee. This Committee submitted

its report to the Board on 3rdDecember, 193855and thescheme of education suggested by it is popularly known

as the Wardha Scheme, the main features of which areas follows:-

A basic craft is to serve as the centre of instruction.The idea is not to teach some handicraft side by side

with liberal education, but the entire education is tobe imparted through some industry or vocation.

The scheme is to be self-supporting to the extent ofcovering teachers salaries and aims at making pupils

self-supporting after the completion of their course.

Manual labour is insisted on so that every individual

may learn to earn his living through it in later life. It

is also considered non-violent, since an individualdoes not snatch away the living of others with the

help of a machine.

Instruction is closely coordinated with the childs life,i.e., his home and village crafts and occupations.

In the middle forties, the Government of India realizedthat it could no longer be indifferent to the problem ofIndian education and there was the need of bringing

about radical reform in all aspects of Indian education.During 1937-1944, eight meetings of CABE (Appendix II)

were held in various important centers of India and theirvarious recommendations were published as proceedings.

In 1943-44, as the British became hopeful of its victoryin the Second World War, it directed its attention to dosomething for the Indian people in the field of education

and advised Sir John Sargent, the Educational Advisor tothe Government of India, to prepare a comprehensive

scheme for educational reform in India.

In 1944, CABE submitted a comprehensive reporton post-war educational development, popularly knownas the Sargent Report. It was a full fledged educational

plan for the future educational reconstruction in India.For the first time in India, official attention was given

towards the pre-primary stageof education. The report ofthe committee consisted of 12 different chapters covering

from pre-primary to university education. In the II nd

chapter of report, suggestions were given for this stage.56

Some of the major recommendations in this regard may

be summarised below:-

Provision should be made for free pre-primaryeducation in the form of nursery schools for thesuccess of National Scheme of Education.

Children from 3-6 years of age should be admittedin these schools.

The basic aim of these schools should be to impart

social experience and education of general behaviourrather than giving formal education.

The nursery schools may be attached to junior basicschools in the rural areas. But in the urban areaswhere there are sufficient numbers of children,

nursery schools should have separate existence.

Sargent Report also made suggestions and certainpolicy regarding primary education to university

education.57They may be outlined below:

Universal, compulsory and free primary or basic


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education for all children between the ages 6-11

(junior basic) and 11-14 (senior basic).

High school education for six years for selected

children between the years 11-17.

Degree course for three years beginning after the

higher secondary examination for selected students.

Technical, commercial, agricultural and art educationfor full time and part time students, girls schools areto teach domestic science.

The liquidation of adult illiteracy and the developmentof public library system in about 20 years.

Full provision for the proper training of teachers.

Educational provision made for the physically andmentally handicapped children.

Provision for social and recreational activities andcompulsory physical education.

The creation of employment bureaus.

The creation of Department of Education in the centreand in the states.

The use of mother tongue is to be used as the mediumof instruction in all high schools.

This report was criticized by many scholars anddid not satisfy ardent educationists on several issues.

It had suggested an educational development in India

which required 40 years to be implemented. Accordingto the need of contemporary India, an acceptable planof educational development had been spread over a

much shorter time. It recommended a national patternof education which was completely based on the patternpracticed in England. This pattern was not appropriate in

the social, political and economic conditions of India andwrongly called a national scheme of education. The report

was also criticised on the ground that it was only a patch-work of the recommendations of different committees.

Due to criticism the Government of India decided that

the scheme should be implemented within 16 years insteadof 40 years but in principle the Government accepted therecommendations of the report and tried to implement

some of them. According to the recommendationsof the committee, an education department and

University Grants Committee was established in 1945.The committee of polytechnic school and the All IndiaTechnical Education Committee were set up in Delhi.

In 1946, the Provincial Governments were advised tomake five year plans for education, which were made in

some provinces. The aim of providing compulsory and

free education to children between 6-11 years of age wasaccepted. Overall, it was the first comprehensive report

embracing all aspects of education. For the first time, this

report had drawn the attention of the Government towardsthe education of the handicapped and equal educational

opportunities to all students at various stages.

Discussion and Concluding Remarks

Colonizer prepared the policies of colony accordingto their needs, various conditions of the colony andthe pressure of the people of colony. We saw clearly

the impact of these factors in the different educationalpolicies, which were adopted by Britishers in India (Fig.

3) in different time period. For example, Britishers wantedto form a class of faithful Indian people of western mind-

set. For fulfilling this need, Macualay introduced Englishas a medium of instruction in India. Gradually, it wasfound that knowledge of English familiarized the local

population with ideas of liberty and western thoughtsor made them potential competitors for superior jobs

reserved for Europeans. So, Britishers made attempts tode-emphasize the use of English in India58and Woods

Educational Despatch (1854) gave emphasis on thedevelopment of vernacular languages.

Macualay introduced modern western studiessystem and adopted the Downwards filtration theory

in the second phase. During the third phase of Indian

colonial education system, Revolt of 1857 and originof Congress were the major events of the Indian history,which changed the approach of Britishers and left definite

impact on British policies. Due to these nationalist events,Britishers emphasized mass education and adopted thePolicy of Laissez faire. So, we say that Indian colonial

education system was not only based on Britishers, needsand approaches but also depended on their experiences

in India and the pressure from Indian agitation andNationalist feelings.

In India, British Colonial education policies

were criticized on several grounds such as literacyratio, quantitatively inadequate, qualitative defects,predominantly literary bias and employment opportunities

etc. During the colonial rule, the diffusion of educationwas very disparate in India. Literacy varied enormously

between provinces.59 The first impact of colonialeducation was felt by the three Presidencies becausethese were the first areas to be annexed by Britishers.

But this education was not equally diffused in all parts ofthese presidencies or among all communities and castes.


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Fig.

3:Phase

sofColonialEducationSystemi

nIndia


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Everywhere it was more widespread among men than

women, in cities than in villages and among the highercastes. Usually the higher castes stood at the top of the

education ladder and the scheduled castes and tribes at

the bottom.60

However, much depended on occupationand in many cases, middle castes, engaged in trade, were

more literate than others who had a higher social ranking.

During the Colonial period, not only quantitativeinadequacy was shown but several qualitative defects

were also revealed in education system. As regardscontent, there was an over-emphasis on the study oflanguages and humanities. In schools there was little

provision for vocational training and in colleges, thenumber of students enrolled in the humanities was far

greater than that in the sciences or professional courses. Somuch time of a student was spent on mastering a foreign

language that often the main purpose of education wasdefeated. Most of the students picked up only smatteringof English and a tendency towards repetition of half-

understood sentences from this education system.61Thisencouraged memorizing and did not train a student to

think for himself. To some extent, Britishers abolishedIndian traditional research oriented education system

and established an education system, which helpedthem convert Indians as a follower of western knowledge

and traditions. The side-effect of minimized researchorientation in colonial education system and somehowcontinuation of that education system after independence

appears in present Indian society.

Another great drawback India inherited from colonialtimes is literacy ratio. At the time of independence, literacy

in India was about 12 percent. During the colonial time,the employment opportunities for qualified and highlytrained Indians were very few. All higher appointments

in the engineering service, railway service, irrigationdepartment, ordinance factories, posts and telegraphs

and in fact in all superior services were reserved forEuropeans. In the private sector, except in Bombay,

modern industries were owned by Europeans, who whenthey required men with technical knowledge, always

preferred their own countrymen.

As the well-known American author Napoleon Hill

famously wrote that every negative event contains withinit the seed of an equal or greater benefit.62Similarly, the

colonial education, which had negative effects on the

Indian education system, also had their positive effectson India. In the initial days of British seigniory, Britishers

needed some reputed people, who were able to controlthe people. So, they gave land and titles to small rulers

for making them more powerful and got their supportagainst the local people. These small rulers started to

send their children in U.K. for higher education, fromthe money collected from land revenues. Gandhi, Nehru,Jinnah received western thoughts and knew the value

of independence. When they came back to India, theyspread an understanding about the value of swaraaj

among general people and led the people in Indianindependence movement. Of the participants of these

movements, most of the people were well qualifiedIndians, who did not get employment according to theirability. Due to unemployment, discontent and feelings of

sedition rapidly increased among the educated Indians.So, definitely employment opportunity which was one

of the biggest problems of Colonial India had a positiveeffect on Indian National movements.

In the field of medical education, Britishers

had changed the traditional Indian system such asayurvedic medicines and encouraged the modernmedical education. They opened modern hospitals for the

treatment of their own countrymen, who worked in India.

In present days, both the modern medical system and thetraditional Indian medical system exist simultaneouslyin India. After the pressure of Indians, Britishers also

encouraged engineering and other vocational educationin India, which was the base of present vocationaleducation system in India. In conclusion, we can say

that the colonial education system, which started as thefulfillment of colonial needs, had several positive and

negative effects. After Independence, the need was toutilize the beneficial aspects of colonial education system

and remove their negative impacts from our presenteducation system.

Appendix I

No. University Place Foundation year Character

1. Calcutta University Calcutta January, 1857 Affiliating and teaching

2. Bombay University Bombay July, 1857 Affiliating and teaching


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3. Madras University Chennai September, 1857 Federative, affiliating and teaching

4. Punjab University, Lahore 1882 Affiliating

5. Allahabad University Allahabad 1887 Teaching

6. Banaras Hindu University Varanasi 1916 Teaching

7. University of Mysore Mysore 1916 Affiliating and teaching

8. University of Patna Patna 1917 Affiliating and teaching

9. Osmania University Hyderabad 1918 Teaching

10. Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh 1920 Teaching

11. Lucknow University Lucknow 1921 Teaching

12. Dhaka University Dhaka 1921 Teaching

13. Delhi University Delhi 1922 Federative and teaching

14. Nagpur University Nagpur 1923 Affiliating and teaching

15. Andhra University Hyderabad 1926 Affiliating and teaching

16. Agra University Agra 1927 Affiliating

17. Annamalai UniversityChidambaram, Tamil

Nadu1929 Teaching

18.University of Travancore

(now University of Kerala)Thiruvananthapuram 1937 Affiliating and teaching

19. Utkal University Bhubaneshwar 1943 Affiliating

20. Saugor University Sagar 1946 Affiliating and teaching

21.Rajputana University (now

University of Rajasthan)

Jaipur 1947 Affiliating

Appendix II

CABEMeeting

Place Date Chairman Main Considerations

Third New Delhi28thJan.,

1938Kunwar Jagdish

Prasad

The Report of the Vernacular Education Committee connected with theadministration and control of Primary Education in India,The Report of the Womens Education Committee on the curriculum ofGirls Primary Schools in India,The Abbott-Wood Report on Vocational Education in India.

Fourth New Delhi3rdDec.,

1938Kunwar Jagdish

Prasad

The Report of the Wardha Education Committee,Another important question was the removal of illiteracy, Adult Education

and Village Libraries.

FifthShimla 6-7thMay,

1940Sir Girija

Shankar Bajpai,

Action taken by Provincial Governments on the recommendations of theVernacular Education Committee,Report of the Adult Education Committee,Report of the Second Wardha Education Committee,A draft scheme (received from Sir Francis Younghusband, the Chairmanof the Indian Village Welfare Association, Westminster) for theestablishment of a centre in India for the study of Social Service andPublic Administration.


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Sixth Madras11-12th

Jan., 1941Sir Girija

Shankar Bajpai,The Report of Scientific Terminology Committee,The question of School Buildings.

Seventh Hyderabad 14-15th

Jan., 1942Sir MauriceGwyer

Action taken by Provincial Governments on the recommendations of theReport of Scientific Terminology Committee,

The Report of the School Building Committee,The Uniform Braille Code Committee,The Report of the Joint Committee of the Central Advisory Boards ofEducation and Health.

EighthLucknow

14-15thJan., 1943

Sardar JogendraSingh

Report of the committee on examinations in India,Report of the committee on recruitment, training and service conditionsof teachers,Report of the committee on the recruitment of education officers,The Report of the committee to advise the Government of Bombay inregard to basic education,Question of promotion of technical and industrial education.

Ninth(Special)

Dehradun13-15th

Oct., 1943Sir Maurice

Gwyer

Memorandum prepared by the Educational Adviser to the Governmentof India (lately designated as Educational Commissioner) on Post-WarEducational Development in India.

TenthBaroda

19-21stJan., 1944


Reports of the Committees on Technical Education, Textbooks andTechnique of Examinations,The question of Basic English in relation to the Indian educationalsystem,A proposal for making adequate arrangements for the study of Chinese,

Japanese and Russian languages at selected centres.

EleventhKarachi

16-18thJan., 1945


The reports of the Committees on (i) Training, Recruitment and ServiceConditions of Teachers in Universities, (ii) Agricultural Education and(iii) Administration,The Report of the Joint Committee of the Central Advisory Boards ofEducation and Health.

Twelfthmysore

24-26thJan., 1946

Right Rev. G.D.Barne

The views of the reconstituted Committee on Religious Education,

Thirteenth Bombay9-11thJan.,

1947Shri C. RajaGopalachari

The Report of the Committee on Basic English,The Report of the Committee appointed to examine the formation of aSecondary Schools Examination Council for India.

1 Khapoya, Vincent B., The African Experience: an Introduction (4thedition), Pearson, 2010, pp. 99-134.

2 Basu, Aparna, Essay in the History of Indian Education, concept,

New Delhi, 1982, p. 60.

3 Bose, Sujatha Freeda Nesamani and L. Selvamuthu Kumarasami,Evolution of Colonial Educational Policy In India And MadrasPresidency, Review of Research, Vol. 2, Issue. 1, October 2012,p. 1.

4 Bashir, Aamir, Some Aspects of the Muslim Educational Systemin Pre-Colonial India. http://www.academia.edu/806133/Aspects_of_Muslim_Educational_System_in_Precolonial_India.

Notes and References

5 Kochhar, R., Muslims and English Education in Colonial Bengal:Calcutta Madrasa and Hooghly Mohsin College in a historicalperspective, Hooghly College 175, Hooghly Mohsin College,Hooghly, 2011, pp. 18.

6 Ibid, p. 22.

7 Ibid, pp. 22, 27.

8 Thomas, Alexander, Wise before the Select Committee of Houseof Lords, 30 June 1853,in Lords 1853, p. 223, para 6925.

9 Snyder, Michael R., A Victim of Circumstance: The Timber Bill of1772 and the East India Company, Past Imperfect, Vol. 1, 1992,pp. 27-47.


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10 Ingham, Kenneth, Reformers in India, 1793-1833: An accountof the work of Christian missionaries on behalf of social reform,Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1956, P. 6.

11 Farquhar, J.N., Modern Religious Movements in India, TheMacmillan Company, New York, 1915, p. 15.

12 Kachru, Braj B., The Alchemy of English. The Spread, Functionsand Models of Non-Native Englishes,Pergamon Press Ltd., Oxford,1986, p. 35.

13 Ibid.

14 Caton, Alissa, Indian in Colour, British in Taste: William Bentinck,Thomas Macaulay, and the Indian Education Debate, 1834-1835,

Voces Novae: Chapman University Historical Review, Vol. 2, No.2, Chapman University, USA, 2011, p. 39.

15 Macaulay,Thomas Babington, Minutes Dated Feburary 2, 1835, inH. Sharp (ed.) Bureau of Education: Selections From EducationalRecords, Part I, 1781-1839, National Archives of India, Delhi,1965, p. 107-117. http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00generallinks/macaulay/txt_minute_education_1835.html.

16 Ghosh, Suresh, Bentinck, Macaulay and the Introduction of EnglishEducation in India, History of Education, Vol. 24, issue 1, 1995,p. 17.

17 Ibid, p. 22.

18 Sharma, Ram Nath and Rajendra Kumar Sharma, History ofEducation in India, New Delhi, Atlantic Publishers & Dist,1996, p. 86.

19 Mukherjee, Sumita, Nationalism, Education and Migrant Identities:The England-returned, Routledge, London and New York, 2010,p. 13.

20 Centenary of Medical College, Bengal, 1835-1934, Medical collegeof Bengal, Calcutta, 1935, pp. 6-7; Basu, B.D., Education in Indiaunder Rule of the East India Company, Calcutta, Modern ReviewOffice, 1867, p. 136.

21 The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Vol. 21, Oxford, Clarendon Press,1908, p. 325; For detail- Account of Roorkee College Establishmentfor the instruction of Civil Engineering, with a scheme for itsenlargement, Secundra Orphan Press, Agra, 1851, pp. 3, 5.

22 Sharma, Ram Nath and Rajendra Kumar Sharma, op.cit., p. 85.

23 Sarma, Bina Kumari, Development of Modern Education in India:An Empirical Study of Orissa, M D Publication, New Delhi, 1996,p. 40.

24 Sharma, Ram Nath and Rajendra Kumar Sharma, op.cit., p. 102.

25 Mandal, Madan Mohan, A Critical Note On Wood s EducationalDespatch of 1854, Indian Streams Research Journal, Vol. 3,Issue 9, Oct. 2013. http://www.isrj.net/ArchiveArticleList.aspx?VolumeID=33

26 Bose, Sujatha Freeda Nesamani and L .Selvamuthu Kumarasami,

op.cit.,p. 3.

27 Sharma, Ram Nath and Rajendra Kumar Sharma, op.cit., pp. 102-103.

28 Mandal, Madan Mohan, op.cit.; Sharma, K.R., AccountingEducation in South Asia, New Delhi, Concept PublishingCompany, 2004, pp. 102-103.

29 The Report of the University Education Commission, (December1948 August 1949), Volume I, Ministry of Education, Governmentof India, 1962 (First Reprint Edition), p. 17.

30 Ibid, p. 18.

31 Ibid, p. 19.

32 Ibid, pp. 17-18.

33 Ibid, p. 19.

34 Coomaraswamy, Anand K., Modern Review, Vol.4, Calcutta,Oct.1908, p. 338;

35 Hasting, James and John A. Selbie (ed.), Encyclopedia of Religionand Ethics, Part 3, Kessinger Publishing, 2003, p. 57.

36 Bevir, Mark, Theosophy and the Origins of the Indian NationalCongress, International Journal of Hindu Studies 7, 2003, pp. 99-115.

37 Basu, Aparna, op.cit., p. 66.

38 Report of the Indian Universities Commission, 1902, Shimla:Printed at the Government Central Printing Office, 1902, p. 7.

39 Ibid, p. 57; The Report of the University Education Commission,

op.cit., pp. 19-20; Nurullah, Syed and J. P. Naik, A Students Historyof Education in India - 1800-1947, Macmillan, Bombay, 1949, p.167.

40 A Collection of the Acts passed by the Governer General of Indiain Council in the year 1904, Act no. VIII of 1904, Calcutta, Officeof the Superintendent of government Printing, 1905, pp. 59-82.

41 The Report of the University Education Commission, (December1948 August 1949), Vol. I,p. 22.

42 Basu, Aparna, op.cit.

43 Census of India, 1931, Vol. I, pt. I. p. 326.

44 Ibid, p. 330.

45 Bombay Gazetteer, Vol. II, Bombay, 1877, P. 526; Vol. IV,Ahmedabad, 1879, pp. 34-35.

46 Mitra, H. N. (ed.), The Govt. of India Act 1919 Rules Thereunder& Govt. Reports, 1920,Annual Register Office, Calcutta, 1921,pp. 125-126, 130-132.

47 The Indian Statutory Commission was a group of sevenBritish Parliamentary Members of United Kingdom that had beendispatched to India in 1928 to study constitutional reform inBritains most important colonial dependency. Member of theCommission were Sir John Simon, Clement Attlee, Harry Levy-Lawson, Edward Cadogan, Vernon Hartshorn, George Lane-Foxand Donald Howard.


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48 Sir Phillip Hartog had served as a member of the SadlerCommission. He had also been a Vice-Chancellor of the DaccaUniversity in 1921. Since he was the chairman of the Committee,the Committee was known as Hartog Committee.

49 Mohanty, Jagannath, Teacher Education, Deep & Deep Publication,New Delhi, 2007 (First Published 2003), p. 10.

50 Report of the Secondary Education Commission, October 1952To June 1953, Ministry of Education, Government of India, p. 12.

51 Former Chief Inspector of Technical Schools, Board of Educationin England.

52 Director of Intelligence, Board of Education in England.

53 Report of the Secondary Education Commission, op.cit., p. 13.

54 Rao, V.K., Higher Education, in Encyclopaedia of EducationalDevelopment, Vol. IV, APH Publishing Corporation, New Delhi,2008, pp.180-81.

55 Bureau of Education, pamphlet no. 6; Sargent, John, Progress ofEducation in India, 1937-1947, Vol. I, p. 220-221.

56 Sargent, John, op.cit.,p. 232.

57 Ibid, pp. 231-237.

58 Zvobgo, R., Racism and Education in Southern Rhodesia (1880-1965), Unpublished M. Phil. Dissertation, J.N.U., 1977, p. 145.

59 Census of India, 1931, Vol. I, pt. I, p. 326.

60 Ibid, p. 330.

61 Basu, Aparna, op.cit., pp. 65-66.

62 Hill, Napoleon, Think and Grow Rich, 1937.

The Educational Policy in Colonial India:Causes and Effects

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