Development of Education under British Rule

1. Early Efforts & The Orientalist-Anglicist Controversy

Early Individual Efforts: Initially, the East India Company had no interest in the education of its subjects.

• 1781: Warren Hastings set up the Calcutta Madrasa for the study of Arabic and Persian.
• 1791: Jonathan Duncan established the Sanskrit College at Benares for Hindu law and philosophy.
• 1800: Lord Wellesley established Fort William College (Calcutta) to train civil servants in Indian languages (closed down soon after by the Court of Directors).
• These early efforts were purely "Orientalist" (promoting traditional Indian learning) because the British needed administrators conversant in local laws (Hindu and Muslim) to run the lower courts.

Charter Act of 1813:

• For the first time, the British Parliament directed the EIC to take responsibility for education in India.
• The Act sanctioned an annual sum of 1 Lakh Rupees for the "revival and improvement of literature" and the "promotion of knowledge of the sciences."
• Allowed Christian missionaries to enter India to spread English education and preach their religion.

Orientalist-Anglicist Controversy (1820s-1830s): How should this 1 Lakh rupees be spent?

• Orientalists: Led by H.T. Prinsep. Argued that the money should be spent on promoting traditional Indian learning (Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian) through vernacular languages, as Western ideas would alienate Indians.
• Anglicists: Led by T.B. Macaulay and supported by prominent Indians like Raja Ram Mohan Roy. Argued that traditional Indian education was outdated. They wanted to impart Western sciences and literature through the medium of English.

Macaulay's Minute (1835):

• Thomas Babington Macaulay (first Law Member of the Governor-General’s Council) delivered his famous Minute settling the debate entirely in favor of the Anglicists.
• He notoriously claimed that "a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia."
• Downward Filtration Theory: Macaulay proposed educating a small elite class of Indians in English. This class would act as a bridge between the British and the masses, and knowledge would gradually "filter down" from them to the general public. "Our goal must be to create a class of persons, Indian in blood and color, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect."

2. The Magna Carta: Wood's Despatch (1854)

Prepared by Sir Charles Wood (President of the Board of Control), it is considered the "Magna Carta of English Education in India" because it laid the foundation of the modern educational system.

Key Recommendations:

1. Rejection of Downward Filtration: It explicitly rejected Macaulay's downward filtration theory and stated the government must mass-educate the public.
2. Medium of Instruction: Recommended English for higher education (universities) and Vernacular languages for primary education.
3. Educational Hierarchy: A clear hierarchy was established:
   • Vernacular Primary Schools at village level.
   • Anglo-Vernacular High Schools and an affiliated college at district level.
   • Universities at presidency towns.
4. Grants-in-Aid: System introduced to encourage private enterprise in education.
5. Department of Public Instruction: Set up in all provinces to review the progress of education.
6. Universities Established: Universities of Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras were established in 1857 on the model of London University.
7. Highlighted the need for female education and vocational education.

3. Commissions under Crown Rule (1882–1920)

Hunter Education Commission (1882–1883):

• Appointed by Lord Ripon; headed by W.W. Hunter. Its scope was limited strictly to Primary and Secondary education (not universities).
• Key Recommendations:
  • Primary education should be imparted in vernacular languages.
  • Control of primary education was transferred to newly formed District and Municipal Boards.
  • Secondary education should be bifurcated into two streams: (a) Literary (leading to university) and (b) Vocational/Commercial.

Indian Universities Act (1904) / Raleigh Commission:

• Appointed by Lord Curzon; headed by Thomas Raleigh. Curzon viewed universities as hotbeds of nationalist "subversion" and wanted to tighten government control.
• Provisions:
  • Increased government control over university senates (fewer elected members).
  • Stricter conditions for affiliating private colleges to universities.
  • Granted ₹5 lakh per year for 5 years for higher education and university research.
  • Gokhale heavily criticized it as a "retrograde measure."

Sadler University Commission (1917–1919):

• Also known as the Calcutta University Commission. Though set up to study Calcutta University, its findings applied all over India.
• Key Recommendations:
  • A 12-year school course (introduction of "+2" stage). Students should enter university after the intermediate stage, not matriculation.
  • A separate Board of Secondary and Intermediate Education should be established.
  • Universities should be centralized, unitary, and residential teaching bodies, rather than just affiliating exams (leading to the creation of Aligarh, BHU, Dacca, Patna, and Osmania universities).
  • Recommended special boards for women's education.

4. Later Developments (1930s-1947)

Wardha Scheme of Basic Education (1937):

• Brainchild of Mahatma Gandhi, articulated in his weekly "Harijan". A committee under Dr. Zakir Hussain formulated the national scheme.
• Core Principle (Nai Talim): Education must revolve around manual, productive work (handicrafts, spinning). It focused on learning through activity rather than rote memorization.
• Key Features:
  • Free and compulsory education for ages 7 to 14.
  • Mother tongue as the medium of instruction.
  • Concept of self-supporting education (selling the goods made by students to fund the school).
  • Due to the start of WWII and resignation of Congress ministries, it could not be implemented effectively.

Sargent Plan of Education (1944):

• Prepared by John Sargent, Educational Advisor to the Government of India.
• Objective: To recreate the educational standard of India equal to that of England within 40 years.
• Key Features:
  • Pre-primary education for 3–6 years.
  • Free, universal, and compulsory education for 6–11 years.
  • High school education for selected, promising students for 11–17 years.
  • Abolition of intermediate courses.
  • It was a bold and comprehensive scheme but heavily criticized for its 40-year timeline, which Indians felt was too slow.