British Education System In India - Features and Impact

08-11-2024

09:40 AM

GS I

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Modern History

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Table of Contents

Policies under British Education System in India
Impact of British Education System In India

Prelims: History of India and Indian National Movement

Mains: The Freedom Struggle — its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different parts of the country.

British Education System In India: Different facets of life changed when British territorial rule over India was established. With the handover of power to the British, education was one of those areas that underwent significant change. The colonial rulers created the educational system in a colonial country to legitimise their rule and meet their own economic needs. The British Education System In India was formally established through the Charter Acts.

In 1813, when the Charter was up for renewal, the British Parliament ordered the East India Company to set aside Rs 1 lakh annually "for the revival and promotion of literature, the encouragement of the learned natives of India, and for the introduction and promotion of knowledge of the sciences among the inhabitants of the British territories."

As a result, the Queen made official financial arrangements for the first time, and the East India Company was given responsibility for the natives' education.

Policies under British Education System in India

Before the acquisition of territorial power, the Company had no role in education; however, there were attempts by the missionaries to establish charity schools and to promote learning.

Due to the fear of adverse reactions and opposition to their role by the local people, the Company maintained neutrality on education after becoming a territorial power.
The opinions were also divided on whether the Company should promote western or oriental learning.
Some individuals played a significant role in promoting English education in Calcutta. For example- The establishment of Hindu College by David Hare. Raja Ram Mohan Roy headed its foundation committee.

Education Reformer / Policy	Features / Recommendations
Warren Hastings	- Established ‘Calcutta Madrasa’ in 1781 for the study and learning of Persian and Arabic. - The motive was to develop friendly relations with the elites of the indigenous society and to understand their culture.
William Jones	- Established the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784 to encourage Oriental studies. For roughly fifty years, it served as a significant academic hub and a unique institution that translated significant Sanskrit works. Importance: Asiatic Researches. - Warren Hastings believed that Hindus had laws that had not changed for thousands of years. - Therefore, if the British wanted to establish their rule in the nation, they had to learn these laws and the Sanskrit language in which they were written.
Jonathan Duncan	- In 1791, 'Sanskrit College' was founded by him in Benaras. - The motive was to promote the study of Hindu laws and philosophy. These early attempts at education in the Oriental languages met with little success. It was found that there were more teachers than students.
Lord Wellesley	- Fort William College, founded by Wellesley in 1801 to train young British recruits for the civil service in India - It was meant to serve primarily for the purpose of making local British administrators familiar with Indian culture and tradition. This university developed into a significant repository for information on and about India. There were numerous departments there that conducted only research on Indian languages and literature.
Charter Act of 1813	- The Act was the first step towards education being made an objective of the government. - It enabled the Company to set aside one lakh rupees for the revival and improvement of literature encouragement of learned natives of India - Administrative needs of the Company required Indians well-versed in the classical and vernacular languages. Indians with Sanskrit, Arabic, or Persian skills were required to assess and explain Hindu or Muslim law in various departments of British administration.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy and the demand for Western education	- Progressive Indian elements also favoured the spread of English education and Western learning. Raja Ram Mohun Roy protested against the Government's proposal to strengthen Calcutta, Madras, the Benares Sanskrit College and the establishment of more oriental colleges in Bengal. The administration decided to promote the study of English and other Asian languages. The Calcutta Hindu College, founded in 1817 by progressive Bengalis, received a grant. The college focused on the study of Western humanities and sciences and offered instruction primarily in English.
General Committee of Public Institution (1823)	- Created to oversee the growth of India's educational system. - Majority of members were from the Orientalist movement. Instead of promoting Western education, they fervently supported the promotion of Oriental learning. The committee was headed by Lord Macaulay and consisted of ten European members As a member of the executive council, Macaulay drafted his renowned minute on educational policy, dated 2 February 1835, and presented it to the council. "A class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect," was what he envisioned.
William Bentinck (1828-35)	- William Bentinck accepted the Macaulay Committee report. - He stated that the object of the Company’s Government should be the promotion of European literature and sciences through the English language, and in future, all funds were to be spent for that purpose. - Macaulian system was a systematic effort to educate the upper classes of India. The general education of the populace was not Macaulay's goal. - He put implicit faith in the infiltration theory (‘Downward Filtration Theory’ or ‘Trickle Down Effect’), which held that English-educated persons would act as the class of interpreters. Thus, learning local languages as a support for teaching English was a logical outcome of his theory. - The following are some of the key tenets of the resolution Bentinck declared in 1835: Persian was abandoned as the official court language, and English took its place. Printing and publishing English books was made free and available at a comparatively low price. More funds were provided to support English education, while there was curtailment in the fund to promote oriental learning.
Woods Dispatch (1854)	- The policy that became the cornerstone of the Indian government's educational initiative was established by Sir Charles Wood, president of the Board of Control. The dispatch came to be known as the Magna Carta of English education in India. - Recommendations: The teaching of Western education was stated to be the goal of the government's educational policy. The creation of a department of public instruction in each of the five provinces of the company’s territory to review the progress of education in the province and submit an annual report to the Government. Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras all received university proposals modelled after the London University. Creating a system of graded schools, including high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools The establishment of teachers training institutions on the model then prevalent in England. The promotion of vernacular language in primary schools, followed by Anglo-vernacular at secondary and English at the college level. the implementation of a grants-in-aid system to support and encourage private enterprise in the field of education. The institutions had to hire qualified teachers and uphold appropriate teaching standards in order to qualify for this grant-in-aid. It emphasised education for women. It also proposed for promoting vocational education. - Impact: The new educational scheme was a slavish imitation of English models. Almost all of the proposals in Wood's Despatch were carried out. The Committee of Public Instruction and Council of Education were abolished in favour of the Department of Public Instruction in 1855. In 1857, the three universities of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay were established. Girls' schools were modernised and included in the government's grant-in-aid and inspection systems, largely as a result of Bethune's efforts.
Hunter Education Commission (1882-83)	- It was appointed to examine the implementation of the Dispatch of 1854. Commission avoided investigating Indian universities' general functioning. - Recommendations: It emphasised primary education. There would be two divisions in secondary school: Academic: leading to the university education Technical: leading to commercial, vocational and technical education. It emphasised education for women outside the presidency town. It provided that private enterprises should be encouraged to enter the education sector. - Impact: The twenty years following the report of the commission saw unprecedented growth and expansion of secondary and collegiate education. Another development of the period was the setting up of the teaching-cum-examining universities. Punjab University was established in 1882, focusing on literature, teaching, and examination. Allahabad University was established in 1887.
Indian Universities Act, 1904	- The Act was based on the recommendations of the Indian Universities Commission of 1902 headed by Sir Thomas Raleigh. - The Commission recommended, The reorganisation of university administration strict and organised oversight by the university of the colleges, and stricter affiliation requirements as well as significant curriculum and exam changes. - Commission recommendations led to university control of secondary schools. - The Act of 1904 required university recognition of schools.
Sadler Commission (1917-19)	- It was set up under the realisation of the need for improvement of secondary education for the improvement of University education - Along with Saddler, the Commission also included two Indian members- Ashutosh Mukherji and Zia Uddin Ahmed. - Recommendations: It suggested bifurcation of higher education at the intermediate examination rather than at the matriculation examination. It recommended that a Board of Secondary and Intermediate Education be established and entrusted with the administration and control of Secondary Education. - It recommended for a Special Board of Women Education at Calcutta University. - Impact: Seven new universities came into existence during 1916-21, namely Mysore, Patna, Banaras, Aligarh, Dacca, Lucknow and Osmania. In 1920, the Government of India recommended the Sadler Report to provincial governments.
Education under the Dyarchy, 1921-37	- Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms transferred department education to provincial control.
Hartog Committee (1929)	- Appointed by the Simon Commission to review the position of education in the country. The commission was appointed as the quantitative increase of education inevitably led to the deterioration of the quality and lowering of the standards. There was considerable dissatisfaction with the education system. Recommendations: - It emphasised the national importance of primary education but condemned the policy of hasty expansion or attempt to introduce compulsion in education. - Commission reports Matriculation Examination dominates secondary education, leading undeserving students to university. It recommended a selective system for admission and urged the retention of most of the boys intended for rural pursuits at the Middle Vernacular School stage. After the Middle Stage, students should be diverted to diversified courses leading to industrial and commercial careers. - The Commission pointed out the weaknesses of university education and criticised the policy of indiscriminate admission, which led to lowering of standards. It recommended that efforts should be concentrated on improving university work, in confining the university to its proper function of giving good advanced education to students who are fit to receive it To make the university a more fruitful and less disappointing agency in the life of a community.
Wardha Scheme of Education (1937)	- Background: The Government of India Act of 1935 introduced provincial autonomy, and popular ministries started functioning in 1937. The Congress party came into power in seven provinces. The Congress party set at work to evolve a national scheme of education for the country. Mahatma Gandhi proposed the Basic Education Program, also known as the Wardha Scheme, in a series of articles he published in 1937 in his newspaper, The Harijan. The main principle of Basic Education is 'learning through activity'. - In October 1937 All-India National Educational Conference accepted Mahatma Gandhi's proposal. On a national level, free and mandatory mother tongue education be provided for seven years. During this time, education should revolve around doing manual labor or other productive work. - The main features of the scheme were: A fundamental craft will serve as the focal point of instruction for the entire education, which will be delivered through some industry or profession. Education is to be self-supporting to the extent of covering teachers’ salaries and aims at making pupils self-supporting after the completion of their course. Every individual should learn to earn his living through manual work in life. Learning is intertwined with home, community, life activities, and village crafts. - The responsibility to prepare the syllabus was given to Dr Zakir Hussain. - The Wardha Scheme came to be known as ‘Nai Talim’ and did not include religious instructions; therefore Muslim League rejected it. - The outbreak of the war in 1939 and the resignation of Congress Ministries led to the postponement of the scheme.
Sargent Plan of Education (1944)	- Sargent Report: Central Advisory Board examines post-war educational development. - It visualised a system of education with- Pre-primary education is provided for students between the ages of 3 and 6. Universal, compulsory and free primary basic education for all children between the ages 6-11 (junior basic) and 11-14 (senior basic) as suggested in Wardha Scheme. Senior basic be the final stage for most students. - It envisaged two main types of high schools academic and technical.

Impact of British Education System In India

Impact on governance: The British Education System In India encouraged the teaching of the English language in schools and colleges as they needed people to work in the administrative offices either as clerks or babus.
- It helped in creating a new class of people who later helped them in governance as well as in controlling many aspects of administration in India.
English as a link language: The use of English by Indians provided one language that cut across the entire country and became a common link for them.
Growth of national consciousness: English books and newspapers brought to Indians new ideas from the West, like freedom, democracy, equality and brotherhood.
Neglect of mass education: This was one of the major weaknesses of the British Education System In India. In 1911, 94% of Indians lacked literacy, which changed to 92% by 1921.
Neglect of female education: The almost complete disregard for girls' education, for which there were no funds allocated, was a significant flaw in the early policy of the British Education System In India.
Neglect of scientific and technical education: The Company’s administration also neglected scientific and technical education. By 1857, the country had only three medical colleges at Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras and only one engineering college in Roorkee.
Minimal financial support: The issue of finance was at the heart of many of the drawbacks of the education policies during British India.

The indigenous system of education was replaced by the new British Education System In India. There were many Englishmen who tried to promote oriental learning, but the Anglicists prevailed over such Orientalists. New schools and colleges were established to promote learning. New social, political and economic ideas came through the channel of Western education. But the British Education System In India ignored scientific and technical education. Moreover, the beneficiary of this education was mainly the upper crust of society. So the transformation that came with English education was very limited in nature.

PYQs on British Education System In India

Question 1: Wellesley established the Fort William College at Calcutta because (UPSC Prelims 2020)

he was asked by the Board of Directors at London to do so
he wanted to revive interest in oriental learning in India
he wanted to provide William Carey and his associates with employment
he wanted to train British civilians for administrative purpose in India

Answer: (d)

Question 2: With reference to educational institutes during colonial rule in India, consider the following pairs: (UPSC Prelims 2018)

Institution Founder

Sanskrit College at Benaras William Jones
Calcutta Madrasa Warren Hastings
Fort William College Arthur Wellesley

Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?

1 and 2
2 only
1 and 3
3 only

Answer: (b)

FAQs on British Education System in India

Q) What were the drawbacks of the British Education System In India?

At all levels, the growth of education was uneven. Primary schools were harmed by a lack of funding. Because English was the only language used for instruction, the average person did not benefit from it.

Q) What was the aim of the British Education System In India?

The first goal was to create a class of translators to serve as a link between the British emperors and the millions of Indians they ruled. The second goal was to create a group of people who were British in intelligence, morals, and taste but of Indian blood and colour.

Q) What were the indigenous efforts taken for the spread of education under British rule?

Under British rule, the impetus to education was given by Nationalists. For example- Gokhale was the first and foremost architect of the Bill on compulsory and free education. Clause 6 of Gokhale’s Bill provided for the banning of child labour as a pre-condition for the enforcement of school attendance.

Q) Which was the first education commission set up after independence?

The first committee for the most important education in independent India was the University Education Committee of 1948, Radhakrishnan, to report on the status of Indian university education and propose improvements and extensions.

Q) What was the positive impact of the British Education System on Indian society?

Dalits rebelled and fought for their rights as a result of Dalits being educated by the British in an equal and nondiscriminatory manner. Additionally, widows' rights were granted. Eliminating vices like Sati and untouchability is a step in the direction of a more tolerant and advanced society.