Education During Modern Period

Education During Modern Period

Education Under British Rule

First Phase (1758 – 1812) :

·                The British East India Co. showed very little interest in the education of its subjects during this period, the 2 minor exceptions being :

1.              The Calcutta Madrasah set up by Warren Hastings in 1781 for the study and teaching of Muslim law and subjects.

2.              The Sanskrit college at Varanasi by Jonathan Duncan in 1792 for the study of Hindu Law and Philosophy.

·                Both were designed to provide a regular supply of qualified Indians to help the administration of law in the courts of Co.

Second Phase (1813 – 1853) :

·                Due to the strong pressure exerted on the Co. by the Christian missionaries and many humanitarians, including some Indians, to encourage and promote modern education in India, The Charter Act of 1813 required the Co. to spend rupees 1 lakh annually for encouraging learned Indians and promoting the knowledge of modern science in India.

·                Two controversies about the nature of education arose during the part of this phase. They were :

·                Whether to lay emphasis on the promotion of modern western studies or on the expansion of traditional Indian learning?

·                Whether to adopt Indian languages or English as the medium of instruction in modern schools and colleges to spread western learning?

·                These 2 controversies were settled in 1835 when Lord William Bentinck (with the support of R.M. Roy) applied English medium.

·                In 1844, Lord Hardinge decided to give govt, employment to Indians educated in English Schools. The success was thus assured (of English education). It made good progress in the 3 presidencies of Bengals Bombay and Madras where the number of schools and colleges increased.

·                Three other developments were :

1.              A great upsurge in the activities of the missionaries who did pioneer work in quite a few fields of modern education.

2.              Establishment of medical, engineering and law colleges, which marked a beginning in professional education.

3.              Official sanction accorded to education of girls (Lord Dalhousie, in fact, offered the open support of govt.).

·                The Govt, policy of opening a few English schools and colleges instead of a large number of elementary schools led to the neglect of education of masses.

·                To cover up this defect in their policy, the British took recourse to the so – called ‘Downward Filtration Theory’ which meant that education and modern ideas were supposed to filter or radiate downward from the upper classes.

·                This policy continued till the very end of British rule, although it was officially abandoned in 1854.

Third Phase (1854 – 1900) :

·                The Educational Dispatch of 1854 was also called Wood’s Dispatch (after Sir Charles Wood, the then President of Board of Control, who became the first Secretary of State for India).

·                It is considered as the Magna Carta of English Education in India (forms a landmark in the history  of modern education in India).

·                It rejected the ‘filtration theory’ and laid stress on mass education, female education and improvement of vernaculars, favoured secularism in Education.

·                Creation of Education Departments in the provinces of Bombay, Madras, Bengal, N.W. Provinces and Punjab in 1855; Organizations of Indian Education Service in 1897 to cover the senior most posts.

·                Establishment of universities of Calcutta (Jan 1857) Bombay (Jul 1857), Madras (Sep 1857), Punjab (1882) and Allahabad (1887).

·                Lord Ripon appointed Hunter Commission (under Sir WW Hunter) :

1.              It recommended that local bodies (distt. boards and municipalities) should be entrusted with the management of primary schools.

2.              Also said that govt, should maintain only a few schools and colleges; others to be left to private hands.

Fourth Phase (1901 – 1920) :

·                Lord Curzon appointed a Universities Commission under Thomas Raleigh (Law member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council) in 1902, and based on his recommendations Indian Universities Act of 1904 was passed.

·                It enabled the universities to assume teaching functions (hitherto they were mainly examining bodies), periodic inspection of institutions, speedier transaction of business, strict conditions for affiliation etc.

·                Criticized by nationalists for its tightening govt, control over universities.

·                In 1910, a separate department of Education was established at the Centre.

·                The Saddler Commission was appointed by Lord Chelmsford to review the working of Calcutta University (2 Indians: Sir Ashutosh Mukherji and Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed.). Main recommendations were:

·                Secondary Education by a Board of Secondary education and duration of degree course be 3 yrs.

·                7 new universities were opened (Total 12 now). They were : Banaras, Mysore, Patna, Aligarh, Dhaka, Lucknow and Osmania.

·                Kashi Vidyapeeth and Jamia Milia Islamia were established.

·                University course divided into pass course and Honours.

Fifth Phase (1921 – 1947) :

·                Came under Indian control officially, as it became a provincial subject administered by provincial legislature. Thus, expansions started everywhere.

·                Increase in number of universities (20 in 1947); improvement in the quality of higher education (on recommendations of Saddler Commission); establishment of an inter – University Board (1924) and beginning of inter collegiate and inter – university activities.

·                Achievement in women’s education and education of backward classes.

MACAULLAY MINUTES

The historian, essayist, and parliamentarian Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800–1859) served as a member of the supreme council of the East India Company from 1834 to 1838, where he oversaw major educational and legal reforms. The "Minute" was written as a rebuttal to those council members who believed that Indian students should continue to be educated in Sanskrit and Arabic as well as English.

        Macaulay rejected the claim of Sanskrit and Arabic on the following grounds ;

Ø  English is the key to modern knowledge.

Ø  It stands eminent among the languages of the west.

Ø  It is the language of the ruling class in India.

Ø  It would bring about renaissance of learning English.

By getting the recommendation approved in total, Macaulay could gradually anglices the whole of India. In 1845 English became the official language of the country.

Wood’s Despatch

It is known to us that the Charter of the East India Company had to be renewed after every twenty years. Accordingly while renewing the Charter in 1833 the British Parliament increased the sum of money to one million yearly from the one lakh in 1813 to be sent on education in India. When the time for renewal came in 1853, education in India had come to suffer numerous problems. The directors of the company decided to lay down a definite policy for education in India. Therefore, it became necessary to make a comprehensive survey of the entire field of education. As such, a Selection Committee of the British Parliament was set up in order to institute an enquiry into the measures for their reforms. The Committee studied the issue thoroughly and reported that the question of the Indian education should not be ignored and its development will not be in any case harmful to the British Empire. The suggestions of the Committee were favourably considered by the Board of Directors. Sir Charles Wood was the president of the Board of Control. Therefore, the declaration issued on July 19, 1854 was known as “Wood’s Despatch”, although it is said that the Despatch was written by the famous thinker John Stuart Mill, a clerk of the company at that time. On the basis of the recommendations of the Wood’s Despatch, new educational policies were formed.