Development of Education under Colonial Rule UPSC

When the British East India Company first took political control, their official stance was neutrality — no interference in local religion and culture. They believed political stability required avoiding direct cultural provocation.

But there were exceptions, and these exceptions were not driven by philanthropy — they were practical administrative measures.

Early Company-Sponsored Institutions

Calcutta Madrassa (1781) – Established by Warren Hastings to train Muslims in Islamic law so they could assist in Company courts.
Sanskrit College at Varanasi (1791) – Established by Jonathan Duncan for teaching Hindu philosophy and law.
College of Fort William (1800) – Set up by Lord Wellesley in Calcutta to train young civil service recruits in Indian languages and administration.

📌 Key Point – The first two catered to Indian law officers; the third was for Company officers. Education here was about administrative convenience, not social reform.

Role of Missionaries

Missionaries saw education as a tool for religious conversion. Their belief was straightforward:

Teach modern knowledge → weaken faith in old religions → open the way for Christianity.
Serampore missionaries in Bengal were especially active.

But Company officials feared that aggressive missionary work could spark resistance.

In 1783, an Act of Parliament actually banned missionaries from entering India without a special licence.

The Charter Act of 1813

By the early 19th century, three forces began pushing for a more active educational role by the Company:

Christian missionaries (for religious motives)
Humanitarians in Britain (for moral uplift)
Enlightened Indians (for intellectual progress)

The Charter Act of 1813 changed everything:

First official recognition that the state had a responsibility to promote education in India.
Required ₹1 lakh annually for “revival and improvement of literature” and “promotion of knowledge of sciences.”
Allowed missionaries to legally conduct religious and educational activities.

⚠ However — despite Parliament’s sanction, the allocated ₹1 lakh often remained unspent for years.

The Anglo–Oriental Controversy

The Act of 1813 did not clarify two big questions:

What kind of knowledge should be promoted?
What language should be the medium of instruction?

Two opposing camps emerged which we have already discussed comprehensively earlier in this chapter:

Orientalists

Favoured Sanskrit and Arabic literature.
Believed in preserving and promoting traditional Indian learning.
Accepted that Western sciences could be taught, but without replacing indigenous systems.

Anglicists

Wanted Western knowledge to dominate, with English as the medium.
Saw Indian classical learning as outdated and impractical.

Perspective of Educated Indians

By the early 19th century, reformist leaders like Raja Rammohun Roy took a firm stand:

India’s ancient learning was great in the past, but had stagnated.
To progress, Indians must look forward, embrace Western science and rational thought, not just glorify the past.
This became the dominant view among Indian reformers through the 19th and 20th centuries.

General Committee of Public Instruction (1823)

To manage this debate in practice, the Company formed the General Committee of Public Instruction in 1823.

Most members were Orientalists at first, so traditional learning got initial support.
But pressure grew from Anglicist groups in both India and Britain.

The turning point came when:

Thomas Babington Macaulay became President of the Committee.
Lord William Bentinck, the Governor-General, sided with the Anglicists.

Policy Shift Towards English

Court of Directors’ Despatch (1824) began leaning towards Western education.
By 1829, it was officially declared: the long-term aim was to make English the language of administration and public life in India.

Why This Was Significant

Up to this point, British educational efforts had been piecemeal and administrative in intent. But now, the ideological battle was being resolved in favour of English-based Western education.
The stage was set for Macaulay’s Minute (1835) — the decisive document that would lock India into the English-medium system for generations.

Lord Macaulay’s Minute (1835)

By the early 1830s, the Anglicists and Orientalists had been locked in debate for two decades:

Orientalists wanted to promote Sanskrit, Arabic, and Persian learning.
Anglicists wanted Western science and literature through English.

In 1835, the debate ended decisively — not through compromise, but through a bold and controversial move.

Who Was Lord Macaulay?

Thomas Babington Macaulay was a British historian, politician, and President of the General Committee of Public Instruction.

He was deeply dismissive of Indian culture, religion, and literature.
Famously argued that “a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia.”

Main Arguments in Macaulay’s Minute

Oriental literature is of little practical use — it does not prepare people for modern life or administration.
English education will “civilise” Indians — shaping their tastes, values, and thinking to align with British ideals.
Commercial benefits — an English-educated class would help expand British economic interests.
Focus on Western science and literature — seen as the key to India’s “progress” (as defined by the British).

The Famous Quote

Macaulay’s real intention is most clearly seen in this line:

“We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern; a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect.”

This was the blueprint for creating a loyal, English-educated elite — culturally British, yet ethnically Indian — who could serve as intermediaries between rulers and the ruled.

Bentinck’s Approval and Actions

Governor-General William Bentinck approved the Minute and implemented it quickly:

Promote European literature and science via English medium.
Reduce funding for traditional institutions like Calcutta Madrassa and Benaras Sanskrit College.
1835 – Abolished Persian as the court language, replacing it with English.
1837 – English became the language for administration and higher courts in Bengal.
1841 – Council of Education replaced the General Committee of Public Instruction.
1844 – Lord Hardinge declared that only those with Western education could be recruited into government jobs — making English proficiency a career necessity.

The Downward Filtration Theory

Macaulay’s policy was built on this principle:

Since the budget was limited, the government would educate only a small group — mainly upper and middle class Indians.
These educated elites would then pass on modern ideas to the masses, like water filtering down.

Why It Failed

By 1854, the policy was officially abandoned because:

The English-educated elite found government jobs and did not spread education to others.
It created a separate social class — English-educated Indians who were often alienated from the masses.

Yet, even though it was “abandoned,” in practice the policy continued until the end of British rule — meaning mass education remained neglected.

Alright — now we’ve reached a part of the story where, alongside official British policies, individual reformers and missionary efforts began shaping modern education in India. This section is important because it shows that colonial education was not just a top-down government project — private citizens and organisations played a big role, too.

Initiatives by Missionaries and Individuals to Promote Western Education

While the British government, through measures like Macaulay’s Minute (1835), pushed for English-based Western education, missionaries and individual reformers also took parallel initiatives.

Bengal — The Hindu College & Women’s Education

Hindu College (later Presidency College) – Founded in Calcutta by David Hare (a Scottish watchmaker and philanthropist) along with Bengali elites.
- Significance: India’s first Western-style secular college.
- David Hare opposed the teaching of religious doctrine and classical languages like Sanskrit or Arabic — he wanted purely modern, secular subjects.
J.E.D. Bethune – Pioneer of women’s education in India; founded a girls’ school in Calcutta in 1849.
- Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, a Bengali reformer, supported women’s education strongly and collaborated in these efforts.

Bombay and Madras — Parallel Developments

Bombay:
- The Native Education Society and the Elphinstone Institution played the same role for Bombay that Hindu College did for Bengal.
Madras:
- Christian College founded in 1837.
- Presidency College founded in 1853.

By the 1850s, the infrastructure for modern education was in place across the three Presidencies — Bengal, Bombay, and Madras.

Mountstuart Elphinstone — The Visionary Governor

Governor of Bombay (1819–1827).
Promoted education despite opposition in Britain to educating “natives.”
Started the Native School and School Book Committee to raise funds with Indian participation.

His Impact

Inspired by his vision, Bombay citizens raised ₹2,29,636 to teach English language, arts, and European literature.
Founded Elphinstone College in 1827 in his honour.

Elphinstone’s Judicial Reforms

Criticised the traditional justice system as unfair and caste-biased.
First Governor of Bombay to codify civil and criminal procedures of law.
Introduced the Code of Regulations (effective 1 January 1827), popularly called the Elphinstone Code.

Revenue Reforms

Introduced the Ryotwari System in Bombay (patterned after Madras), recognising peasants (ryots) as direct landholders responsible for paying land revenue.

Bombay Native Education Society

Founded 21 August 1822 by Elphinstone with Indian leaders like Jagannath Shankarseth and Jamshetji Jejeebhoy.
First non-official body to promote education in Bombay Presidency.
Established an English school in 1824, teaching through Marathi and Gujarati translations — later divided into separate sections for each language.

Elphinstone College — Timeline

1827 – Decision taken to establish the college under Bombay Native Education Society.
1835 – Formally constituted.
1856 – Separated from the high school, officially recognised as Elphinstone College.
The Society’s schools were merged into the college as the Elphinstone Native Education Institution.

Let’s now explore Wood’s Educational Despatch of 1854 — a major milestone in colonial education policy — and see how it fits into the larger story we’ve been building.

Wood’s Educational Despatch (1854) — The “Magna Carta” of English Education in India

By the mid-19th century, criticism of Macaulay’s Downward Filtration Theory had grown. Educating only a small elite was neither spreading knowledge to the masses nor producing the “moral improvement” the British had promised. In this context, Charles Wood, President of the Board of Control in London, sent a detailed policy document to the Governor-General.

This 1854 Despatch became the blueprint for British educational policy for decades, earning the title:

“Magna Carta of English Education in India.”

Key Objectives

Replace the vague and elite-focused policies of the past with a structured, state-led system.
Retain the emphasis on European learning for “practical benefits,” while — at least on paper — recognising the need for mass and women’s education.

Major Recommendations

State Responsibility for Mass Education
- Government to take direct responsibility for educating masses and women.
- This was a formal rejection of the Downward Filtration Theory — though in reality, budget allocations remained small and progress was slow.
Universities in Presidency Towns
- Universities at Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras (modelled on London University) to supervise examinations and award degrees.
- All three were set up in 1857.
  - Notably, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (famous Bengali novelist) was among the first graduates of Calcutta University in 1858.
Provincial Education Departments
- Departments of Education in each of the five provinces for systematic planning and supervision.
Grants-in-Aid System
- Financial aid to private institutions meeting certain standards, to encourage private participation in education.
Vocational & Technical Education
- Establishment of technical schools and colleges for industrial and professional training.
Teacher Training
- Teacher training institutes on the English model to improve educational quality.
Graded Educational Structure
- A clear hierarchy of institutions:
  - Indigenous Primary Schools → Middle Schools → High Schools → Colleges → Universities.
Promotion of Vernacular Schools
- Expansion of vernacular-medium primary education to reach rural populations.
Medium of Instruction
- Collegiate level: English.
- Secondary level: English + modern Indian languages.
- Primary level: Vernacular languages.
Encouragement of Modern Indian Languages
- Long-term goal: develop modern Indian languages so they could also be used for higher education.

Underlying Motives

Economic

European learning would “refine” Indian tastes and create demand for British goods, expanding colonial markets.

Administrative

English education would produce morally “reliable” Indians for low-level administrative jobs, replacing expensive European staff and reducing costs.

Political

Education glorifying British rulers would help legitimise colonial rule in Indian eyes.

The Missionary Angle

Missionaries argued education should improve moral character through Christian teaching.
However, after the Revolt of 1857, the government avoided openly supporting missionary education, fearing it would provoke cultural resistance.

Significance

For the first time, there was a comprehensive, all-India framework for education.
While noble in theory, the financial commitment was minimal, so mass education grew slowly.
It institutionalised English-medium higher education and vernacular primary schooling, creating the dual-track system still visible in India’s education today.

Alright — let’s now go through the Hunter Commission of 1882, keeping our story’s continuity from Wood’s Despatch (1854) to the late 19th century. This way, you’ll see how colonial education policy evolved from a framework on paper to its actual implementation challenges.

Hunter Commission (1882) — First Education Commission in India

By the 1880s, it had been nearly three decades since the Wood’s Despatch laid out its ambitious plan for Indian education. But progress was uneven, funding was low, and much of the policy was only partially implemented. To assess the situation, the British government appointed a commission under W.W. Hunter in 1882.

Purpose of the Commission

Review the progress of education since the Wood’s Despatch (1854).
Recommend measures for further expansion and improvement.

📌 Composition – Included 8 Indian members, signalling some token Indian participation in policy review.

Main Recommendations

1. Primary Education

State Responsibility: The government has a special duty to expand and improve primary education.
Medium: Primary instruction should be in the vernacular language of the region.
Access: Education should be available to all children, regardless of local financial capacity.
Decentralisation:
- Control over primary education to be transferred to District Boards and Municipal Boards.
- These boards could levy a cess (tax) for educational purposes.

2. Secondary Education

Two Divisions:
1. Literary Track – Preparing students for the University Entrance Examination.
2. Vocational Track – Preparing students for commercial and non-literary careers.
Role of Government & Private Sector:

Government to set up at least one high school per district.
Expansion beyond that to be left to private enterprise.

Medium: English to remain the medium of instruction for secondary education.
Modern Indian Languages: No significant encouragement given — a limitation of the Commission’s vision.

3. Female Education

Recognised serious gaps in female education, especially outside Presidency towns.
Recommended greater efforts to spread schooling for girls.

4. Promoting Private Enterprise

Private institutions to be actively encouraged at all stages of education.
Grants-in-Aid System:
- Extend and liberalise grants.
- Give aided schools equal status with government institutions.

Significance

This was the first formal review of colonial education policy.
Shifted primary education responsibility to local bodies, but without sufficient financial backing.
Maintained English dominance at higher levels, continuing the elitist pattern.
Supported vocational diversification at secondary level, but the focus was still small in scale.

UPSC Angle

The Hunter Commission is important because it institutionalised local-level control over primary education and reinforced the dual-track secondary education model.
However, it failed to address the deeper class and language biases in the colonial system.

Let’s now walk through the Indian Universities Commission (1902) and related developments, so you can see how colonial higher education policy evolved into the early 20th century.

Indian Universities Commission (1902) — Raleigh Commission

By the turn of the 20th century, universities in India (established post–Wood’s Despatch, 1854) were functioning largely as examining bodies for affiliated colleges, with limited teaching and research. Lord Curzon, who was deeply concerned about the “decline of academic standards” and also wary of universities becoming hotbeds of political activism, appointed the Indian Universities Commission in 1902 under Sir Thomas Raleigh.

Objectives

Assess the condition and future prospects of universities in India.
Recommend reforms to improve their structure and functioning.

Outcome — Indian Universities Act, 1904

This Act was directly based on the Commission’s recommendations and introduced major changes:

1. Increased Government Control

Government approval became mandatory for university regulations framed by the Senate.
If the Senate failed to act within a set time, the government could frame regulations itself.

2. Smaller Senate

The size of the university Senate was reduced to make it more “efficient” — but also to limit Indian participation.

3. Expanded University Functions

Universities could now:
- Appoint their own professors and lecturers
- Conduct research
- Manage educational endowments
- Maintain libraries and museums

4. Government Grants to Universities

Before 1904, only Punjab University received a government grant (₹30,000 annually for oriental and law courses).
After 1904, ₹5,00,000 per year was sanctioned for five years to improve collegiate and university education.

Indian Opposition

Many Indians saw the Act not as academic reform, but as a political measure to:

Tighten control over indigenous institutions affiliated to major universities (Calcutta, Bombay, Madras).
Suppress political unrest after the Partition of Bengal (1905).
Reduce educational facilities in the name of “efficiency.”
Concentrate decision-making in European hands.

In short, it was viewed as a way to curb nationalist influence on campuses.

Early Efforts Towards Compulsory Primary Education

Baroda (1906)

The princely state of Baroda became the first in India to introduce compulsory primary education across its territory.

G.K. Gokhale’s Bill (1910–13)

Gokhale, a moderate nationalist leader, pressed in the Imperial Legislative Council for compulsory primary education.
His 1911 bill was defeated by the majority.

Government of India Resolution (1913)

Refused to accept the principle of compulsory education.
Advised provinces to provide free elementary education to poorer and backward sections.
Declared that every province should have a university, and that universities should expand their teaching role (not just examination functions).

Bombay Primary Education Act (1918)

Proposed by Vithalbhai J. Patel, it introduced compulsory primary education in municipal areas of Bombay Presidency.
Became a model for similar laws in other provinces.

Growth of Universities (Early 20th Century)

The period saw a rise in regional and communal universities, driven by cultural pride and nationalist sentiment:

Banaras Hindu University (BHU) – Established in 1916 through the efforts of Madan Mohan Malaviya.
Universities at Mysore, Patna, and Hyderabad soon followed.

Sadler Commission (1917–19) — Calcutta University Commission

In 1917, the Government of India appointed a commission under Dr. Michael Sadler to study the problems of Calcutta University.

Indian members: Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee and Dr. Zia-ud-din Ahmad.
Though focused on Calcutta, the findings had all-India relevance because they examined systemic issues in higher education.

Why the Commission Was Needed

Rapid rise in university enrolment.
Neglect of vocational and professional training.
Poor infrastructure and resources in colleges.
Heavy government control (a legacy of the 1904 Act).

Key Recommendations

Educational Structure Reform
- Create a Board of Secondary and Intermediate Education to manage secondary + intermediate education.
- Introduce Intermediate Colleges with 2-year courses between school and university.
- Make the degree course 3 years (after intermediate stage).
- Distinguish between Honours courses and Pass courses at the degree level.
Curriculum & Academic Quality
- Greater focus on science, research, and the tutorial system.
- Reduce government interference in academic matters.
- Ensure transparent teacher appointments via selection committees.
- Improve student welfare facilities.
Women’s Education
- Set up purdah schools for Hindu and Muslim girls where needed.
- Create a special board for women’s education under Calcutta University.

Government Action (1920 Resolution)

Agreed that:
- High schools weren’t meeting the needs of national development.
- Intermediate education should be separated from university administration.
- University administration should be restructured with stronger teaching departments.

Education Under Dyarchy (Post–1919 Government of India Act)

From 1921, education became a provincial subject under Indian ministers.
Provinces passed several Compulsory Education Acts — literacy expanded, but progress was slow due to lack of funds.

Growth of Universities in This Period

SNDT Women’s University – 1916 (Dhondo Keshav Karve)
BHU – 1916 (Madan Mohan Malaviya)
Gujarat Vidyapith – 1920
Jamia Millia Islamia – 1920
Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapith – 1921
Vishva-Bharati – 1921 (Rabindranath Tagore)
Kashi Vidyapith – 1921

Hartog Committee (1929)

By the late 1920s, a rapid increase in schools and colleges had led to falling educational standards.

A sub-committee under Sir Philip Hartog, appointed by the Simon Commission in 1928, reviewed the situation.

Main Recommendation

Focus on consolidation, not indiscriminate expansion, of primary education.
Improve quality over quantity in the education system.

Sargent Plan (1944) — “Post-War Educational Development Plan”

Prepared by the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) under Sir John Sargent, the plan envisioned a 20-year programme to make India’s education comparable with industrialised nations.

Key Recommendations

Primary Education
- Free and compulsory education for ages 6–11.
Secondary Education (Ages 11–17)
- Two types of high schools:
  1. Academic
  2. Technical/Vocational
Higher Education
- Replace the intermediate course with:

1 extra year at higher school level.
1 extra year at college level.

University degree course: 3 years.
Aim
- Indianise education.
- Universalise primary schooling.
- Improve quality to meet industrial and national development needs.

Critical Examination of British Education Policy

From 1813 (Charter Act) to 1947, the British introduced modern education in India — but not as a gift of benevolence.

Primary Aim: Strengthen colonial control and serve British political, administrative, and economic needs.
Ultimate Outcome: While the official aim was to perpetuate foreign rule, the unintended result was the rise of modern Indian nationalism.

Political–Economic Motivation

Political: Train an English-educated class loyal to the British to serve as intermediaries between rulers and the masses.
Administrative: Supply clerks and low-level officers for government jobs, reducing the cost of administration.
Economic: Change Indian tastes and lifestyles to expand the market for British goods.

Positive Contributions

Despite its motives and limitations, the policy had transformative side effects:

Broadening of Knowledge – Western literature, philosophy, and science expanded intellectual horizons.
Printing Press & Books – Reduced educational barriers; knowledge became more accessible.
Influence of Western Thinkers – Inspired questioning of social evils like caste discrimination, sati, and untouchability.
Rise of Rationalism – Encouraged a scientific and questioning attitude.
Seed of Nationalism – Educated Indians used their learning to spread ideas of democracy, equality, and anti-imperialism.

Major Drawbacks

1. Neglect of Mass Education

Causes:
- Reluctance of the British to spend money on mass literacy.
- English as the preferred medium excluded the majority.
- Higher education was costly and urban-centric.

2. Elite–Mass Divide

Wood’s Despatch rejected Downward Filtration Theory on paper, but in reality it persisted until 1947.
Result: An educated elite emerged, disconnected from the illiterate rural majority.

3. Decline of Traditional Education

Lack of state support for Pathshalas, Madrasas, and other indigenous institutions.
1844 Government Order: Knowledge of English became compulsory for government jobs, marginalising vernacular education.

4. Neglect of Women’s Education

Wood’s Despatch recommended it, but the government barely acted.
Reasons:
- British officials saw no administrative utility in educating women.
- Fear of offending orthodox social customs.

5. Literary Bias

Heavy focus on arts and humanities over science and technical subjects.
Led to large numbers of unemployable graduates with no vocational skills.

6. Meagre Spending

Education received minimal budgetary support.
Disproportionate funds went to higher education rather than expanding primary schooling.

7. Neglect of Scientific & Technical Education

By 1857:
- Only three medical colleges:
  - Calcutta Medical College – 1835
  - Madras Medical College – 1835
  - Grant Medical College, Bombay – 1845
- Only one major engineering college:
  - Roorkee Engineering College – 1847 (now IIT Roorkee)

Overall Assessment

Intended Goal: Create a loyal, English-educated intermediary class to serve colonial interests.
Unintended Result: Spread of modern ideas that laid the foundation for India’s freedom movement.
Nature of Policy: Elitist, urban-focused, neglecting rural masses and vocational needs.
Legacy: Left behind a dual system — a small English-educated elite and a vast illiterate population — that shaped independent India’s educational challenges.