Pre independence Education in Inndia.pdf

Welcome
to
PRC-401: Education in Bangladesh

Facilitator
Professor Dr. Mohammad Ali Zinnah
Department of Social Science Education
Institute of Education and Research
University of Dhaka
Cell: +88 01711 005757
Email: mzinnah@du.ac.bd

1. Course No: PRC - 401
2. Course Title: Education in Bangladesh
3. Course type: Pre-requisite
4. Credit Value: 3.5
5. Total Marks: 100

6. Rationale for the course
Students from different disciplines who did not complete Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.)
program usually get admission in Pre-requisite courses before entering the Professional
Master of Education program. The pre-requisite courses have been developed mainly to
acquaint students with comprehensive knowledge, skills, attitude and values of the
conventional B. Ed. program which will connect and support their learning to the
Professional Master of Education program. This course aims to orient students with the
fundamentals of education and the historical trends of education from ancient period up
to the emergence of independent Bangladesh. Focus has been given on the structure,
curriculum, status, steps, challenges and issues of the current education system in
Bangladesh. The course anticipates developing students’ insights and critical thinking
ability for identifying issues and challenges in existing education system in Bangladesh
and suggesting possible means to resolve or reduce those issues and challenges. The
teaching-learning and assessment strategies applied in this course will support the
students developing diversified personal and social skills and encourage them to
participate in different professional development initiatives.

Course objectives (COs):
The key objectives of this course are to:
CO1: develop students’ knowledge and understanding about the
fundamentals of education.
CO2: develop their knowledge and understanding about the historical trends
and facts of education in Bangladesh from ancient period to emergence
of independent Bangladesh.
CO3: strengthen their knowledge and understanding about the current status
of education at different levels in the education system in Bangladesh.
CO4: promote their critical thinking and problem-solving skills in analyzing
the status, challenges, issues and steps to the current national education
system and find out further possible solutions to resolve or reduce those
issues and challenges.
CO5:develop their diversified personal and social skills through the
collaborative and participatory activities in teaching-learning the course.
CO6: encourage them to participate in national and international
online/offline educational seminars, conferences, workshops and
webinars for their professional development and sharing achieved
knowledge and insights among the colleagues and relevant other
stakeholders.

7. Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) and Mapping of CLOs with Program Learning
Outcomes (PLOs
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
CLO1: explain the fundamentals of education.
CLO2: discuss the historical trends and facts of education in Bangladesh from ancient
period to emergence of independent Bangladesh.
CLO3: discuss the current status of education at different levels in the education
system in Bangladesh.
CLO4: demonstrate critical thinking and problem-solving skills in analyzing the
status, challenges, issues and steps to the current national education system and
find out further possible solutions to resolve or reduce those issues and
challenges.
CLO5: perform diversified personal and social skills through collaborative and
participatory activities in teaching-learning the course.
CLO6: participate in national and international online/offline educational seminars,
conferences, workshops and webinars for their professional development and
share achieved knowledge and insights among the colleagues and relevant
other stakeholders.

Unit 1: Fundamentals of Education
• Meaning, concept and scope of education
• Types of education:
- Formal, Non-formal, Informal
- Vocational and technical
- Professional education
- Inclusive education
- Gender education

• Terminologies in education:
- Catchment area
- Net enrolment and gross enrolment
- Dropout, repetition, cycle completion and transition
- Access to education
- Equality and equity in education
- Opportunity costs
- Education for all

What is Education?
Latin word ‘Educare’ (to lead out or to draw out)
cÖ‡Yvw`Z Kiv/‡Kv_vI †cŠuQv‡bvi Dcvq
nIqv
Latin word ‘Educere’ – to bring up or to train)
jvjbcvjb Kiv
Latin word ‘Educo’ – (to lead) cwiPvjbv,
wb‡`©kbv, c_ cÖ`k©b BZ¨vw`

Meaning, concept and scope of education
Noun
1. the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge,
developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and
generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for
mature life.
†Kvb e¨w³ ev Ab¨vb¨†`i mvaviY ÁvbvR©b, hyw³ I
wePvieyw× cÖ‡qv‡Mi ÿgZvi Dbœqb Ges mvaviYfv‡e
cwiYZ Rxe‡bi Rb¨ eyw×e„wËKfv‡e ˆZwi Kivi KvR ev
cÖwµqv‡K wkÿv ejv hvq|
1. the act or process of imparting or acquiring particular
knowledge or skills, as for a profession.
KvD‡K †Kvb †ckvi Rb¨ we‡kl Ávb ev `ÿZv AR©b
Kiv‡bvi KvR ev cÖwµqv‡K wkÿv e‡j|

What is Education?
Classical
Education changes the behavior of human which is
accepted by the society.
wkÿv gvby‡li AvPi‡Yi cwieZ©b mvab K‡i hv mgvR
KZ…©K ¯^xK…Z nq|
In Current Situation?
To improve the skills of a person and to make a person
as a competent to live.
wkÿv †Kvb e¨w³i Rxeb cwiPvjbvi Dchy³ Kivi Rb¨
`ÿZvi weKvk NUvq|

Education is both the act of teaching knowledge to
others and the act of receiving knowledge from someone
else. Education also refers to the knowledge received
through schooling or instruction and to the institution of
teaching as a whole. Education has a few other senses as
a noun.
wkÿv Aci‡K Ávb †kLv‡bvi Ges GKBfv‡i A‡b¨i KvQ
†_‡K ÁvbvR©‡bi GKwU KvR| wkÿv wkÿv
cÖwZôv‡bi †jLvcov ev wkLb- †kLv‡bvi gva¨‡g
AwR©Z Ávb‡K wb‡`©k K‡i| we‡k‡l¨i wbwi‡L wkÿvi
†hgb A_© Av‡Q †Zgwb Acivci we‡ePbvqI wkÿvi
wKQz A_© Av‡Q|
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/education

Education is a word that covers both the act of instructing
and the act of learning. It usually refers specifically to the
teaching of children or younger people and the learning
done by them.
wkÿv kãwU †kLv‡bv I †kLv Dfqwea KvR‡K aviY K‡i| GwU
mvaviYZ we‡kl K‡i wkï I ZiæY wkÿv_x©‡`i †kLv‡bv Ges
Zv‡`i Øviv m¤úbœK…Z †kLv‡K wb‡`©k K‡i|
Real-life examples: Elementary schools, high schools,
and colleges are institutions focused on education: People
are taught important information and life skills at these
places. Medical schools, law schools, and driving schools
provide more specialized forms of education.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/education

Education
Education can be described as the ‘wise, hopeful and respectful
cultivation of learning undertaken in the belief that all should have
the chance to share in life’ (Smith 2015). The process of education
flows from a basic orientation of respect – respect for truth,
others and themselves, and the world (Smith 2015).
wkÿv‡K ÕmeviB Rxe‡b wewbgq Kivi my‡hvM _vKv
evÃbxqÕ- GiKg wek¦v‡mi cwim‡i Ávb`xß, AvkvcÖ`
I kÖ×vc~Y© wkLb cwiPh©v wn‡m‡e eY©bv Kiv hvq
(w¯§_, 2015)| wkÿvi cÖwµqv GKwU †gŠwjK wek¦vm
†_‡K - m‡Zï cÖwZ, wb‡R‡ì I Ab¨v‡bï cÖwZ Ges
`ywbqvi cÖwZ kÖ×v †_‡K DrmwiZ nq|

What is Education?
UNESCO-Learning: The Treasure Within:
The International Commission on Education for the 21sr
Century advocates four pillar of Education:
• Learning to know
• Learning to do
• Learning to live together
• Learning to be
Ref: Learning the Treasure Within’, the report of the
International Commission on Education for the 21st
Century, chaired by Jacques Delors (1993), published
by UNESCO in 1996)

Basics of Education
o Education is a fundamental human RIGHT – UN
Is Education a right in Bangladesh?
- Constitutional right
(Article 17, The Constitution of the People's
Republic of Bangladesh

Part II
Fundamental Principles of State policy
Free and
compulsory
education
17. The State shall adopt effective measures for the purpose
of –
(a) establishing a uniform, mass oriented and universal
system of education and extending free and compulsory
education to all children to such stage as may be determined
by law;
(b) relating education to the needs of society and producing
properly trained and motivated citizens to serve those needs;
(c) removing illiteracy within such time as may be determined
by law.
The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh

Types of Education
3 types of education:
✔ Formal education
✔ Informal and
✔ Non-formal Education

Formal Education
The term “formal” mainly refers to a specific expression that
obeys some rules and regulations by demonstrating a certain
“official sanctioning” or an “official approval” in an occasion.
AvbyôvwbK cÖZ¨qwU cÖavbZ GKwU we‡kl Awfe¨w³‡K
†evSvq hv †Kvb Ae¯’vq ev ev¯ÍeZvq GKwU wbw`©ó
KZ©…cÿ KZ…©K cÖewZ©Z ev Aby‡gvw`Z ev wewae×
wbqg-Kvbyb cÖwZcvjb K‡i|
Informal and non-formal educational systems produce lifelong
procedures to acquire highly qualified skills, attitudes and values
that are essential for a child's developmental process.
AbvbyôvwbK Ges DcvbyôvwbK wkÿv c×wZ D”P gvbm
¤úbœ `ÿZv, `„wófw½ Ges g~j¨‡eva AR©‡bi Rxebe¨vcx
cÖwµqv‡K wb‡`©k K‡i hv wkk„i weKvk cÖwµqvq
cÖ‡qvRbxq|

• Formal education is linked with schools and
training institutions; non-formal with
community groups and other organizations;
and informal covers what is left, e.g.
interactions with friends, family and work
colleagues.
• Any teaching where there is instruction,
supervision, definite aims, etc. is called formal
education e.g. schools, college, universities, etc.
- It is limited to a specific period.
- It is consciously received education for which
deliberate efforts are made.

Informal Education
Education for which no formalities are observed is
known as informal type of education. It is a casual type
of education which is received through daily life
experiences and activities.
- Here education is received by the company of friends,
relatives, community, etc.

Non-formal education
• Handerson views, “Non-formal education is far wider
and more inclusive than schooling which imparts
wider experiences out of school”.
• McCall’s View: Non-formal education is entire range
of learning experiences outside of the regular graded
school system.”
• Harbuism’s view: “Non-formal education is the only
means of filling the gap between the ‘schooled’ and
‘unschooled’ population. It is midway between both
formal and informal education e.g. open school, open
clinic, etc.

Types of Education
Aspects Formal Informal Non-formal
Goal Specific aims
are well fixed
in advance.
There is no
pre-determined
aims.
It has clear cut
aims in sight.
Age limit It stated at a
particular age, is
continued and thus
over the years it is
completed. Start is
not possible at all
stages of age.
There is no specific
age limit for the
start or completion
of this type of
education. It is
never going and
never ending
process.
No age limit. A
person of any age
group can enter into
this setup and
continue his/her
studies.
Result Its result is always
good education
because everything
is pre-planned and
the process of
education goes
under supervision.
It may result into
negative learning
because the learner
may acquire the bad
habits. Wrong
attitude, etc.
Its result is
sometimes good and
sometimes not
good, because it is
partly formal and
partly informal.

Types of Education
Aspects Formal Informal Non-formal
Work schedule Work schedule is
fixed.
No work schedule is
fixed for it.
Work schedule is
fixed.
Rule and
regulations
Rules and
regulations are
there. Obedience of
those are mandatory
for all learners.
There is no rules
and regulations. So
there is no question
of obedience of the
rules and
regulations.
Sometimes rules
and regulations are
observed. It is based
upon part time and
own time table.
Restrictions Restricted types of
freedom is given to
the learners and the
teachers.
All freedom is given
to the teachers and
learners.
No restrictions is
observed. It is self
imposed or inner
discipline.
https://edustudynotes.com/differences-between-formal-informal-and-non-formal-ed
ucation

Difference between Formal, Informal and Non-formal Education
Formal educational learning mainly begins in the school, beneficial
for their future advancements in order to make their career more
valuable and systemic in a formal manner.
On the other hand, informal education mainly denotes the learning
abilities for adapting to a new language throughout their entire life.
Informal education is very much crucial for enhancing the performance
efficiency of the children, including several factors like viewing videos,
self-study, reading articles, participating in forums and chat
rooms, performance assistance, coaching
sessions and games. These activities are also very important for the
child to improve their extracurricular actions in order to acquire the best
qualities of skills and learning events.
Non-formal education mainly specifies the learning of a new language
outside the classroom with the help of certain useful creative,
innovative as well as practical procedures. It does not contain any kind
of particular syllabus, accreditation, certification or level of the
curriculum as compared to formal education.

Difference between informal and Non-formal Education
Informal education demonstrates every child to develop their future more
valuable and productive acquires a natural way of teaching and learning
that. This surely enhances the self-motivational power of the child to
increase their performance level and become well adapted to the new
teaching and learning techniques more flexibly. Informal learning mainly
provides experience through situational actions as it initiates the child to
deal with the situation accurately with proper strategies and techniques.
On the other hand, non-formal education denotes the well-planned and
well-structured programs of both social and personal education for the
child to enhance the skills as well as the competence level more
illustratively. “Non-formal” mainly provides real-life experiences to the
children to develop their training skills as well as enhance their intellectual
power effectively. Examples of non-formal learning are swimming classes
allocated for the small children, sports clubs for the students, reading
in groups, debating in societies, amateur choirs as well as orchestras.

Difference between Formal and Informal
Education
• The main difference between formal and informal education is
that formal learning is mainly “classroom-based education”,
provided by trained teachers and informal learning is mainly
“practical based education” acquired by real-life experiences. The
formal type also helps the child to acquire and adapt their learning
skills more flexibly and in a systematic manner within the
classroom, providing the technical skills and knowledge for
improving their professional growth quickly. However,
the informal type satisfies the main curiosity of the child by
incorporating certain practical examples to gather more informative
data and knowledge about the appropriate situation. It surely
encourages the student to enhance their critical thinking level with
the help
of conversation, exploration, associations and enlargement.

Conclusion
Formal education is very essential for each student or child in their career as it
enhances their learning power positively in a well-structured procedure in
order to increase their academic skills as early as possible. It also helps them to
take on certain essential responsibilities in their personal life by enhancing
their strength factors more flexibly and smoothly.
Informal education is also very much crucial for all their children as it helps to
enhance their extracurricular abilities to make their life more valuable quickly.
Non-formal education determines the real-life or practical based experiences
for increasing their intellectual efficiency. All these learning and educational
activities are very much beneficial for the child to boost their relationship with
the community for the well-being of the child.
Reference:
https://unacademy.com/content/kerala-psc/study-material/extension-educat
ion-and-communication/difference-between-formal/

Rxeb `ÿZv Life Skills)
nÛwiKm (1996) Zvui Targeting Life Skills (TLS)
Model - G Rxeb `ÿZv‡K Gfv‡e, Ó†mme `ÿZvmg~n
hv †Kvb e¨w³‡K Drcv`bÿg I mš‘wóg~jK Rxeb hvc‡b
mdj n‡Z mvnvh¨ K‡iÓ wnmv‡e eY©bv K‡i‡Qb|
Avinvg (1991) Gi g‡Z, ÓRxeb `ÿZv n‡jv e¨w³MZ
†hvM¨Zv hv †Kvb e¨w³‡K Kvh©Kifv‡e cÖvZ¨wnK
Rxe‡bi Pvwn`vewj I cÖwZeÜKmg~n †gvKv‡ejvq
KvR Ki‡Z mg_© K‡i|

• Life Skills Education as defined by the UNESCO
• “a behaviour or change or behaviour development
approach to address a balance of three areas:
knowledge, attitude and skills.”
• (BDwb‡md Rxeb `ÿZv‡K wZbwU †ÿÎ Z_v Ávb,
`„wófw½ I `ÿZvi g†a¨ mvgÄm¨ weavbg~jK
AvPiwYK cwieZ©b ev AvPiwYK Dbœq‡bi †KŠkj
wnmv‡e msÁvwqZ K‡i‡Q|)

Literacy
1951: Ability to read any clearly printed sentence
1961: Ability to read any language with understanding
1974: Ability to read and write any language
1981: Ability to write a letter
1989: Ability to understand any sentence in own
language, express himself/herself orally or in
written form, calculate basic numerical data and
to write this
2001: Ability to write a paragraph with understanding

Gross and Net Enrollment Rates
UNESCO Definition
Gross Enrollment Rate (GER)
Total enrolment in a specific level of education,
regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the
eligible official school-age population corresponding to
the same level of education in a given school year.
•Data source
School register or school census for data on enrolment by level
of education. UNPD population estimates for school-age
population.

• Source definition
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
• Calculation method
Number of pupils (or students) enrolled in a given level of education regardless of
age expressed as percentage of the population of the age group which officially
corresponds to the given level of education.
• Data required
Total enrolment for a given level of education. Population of the age group
corresponding to the specified level.
• Interpretation
A high GER generally indicates a high degree of participation, whether the pupils
belong to the official age group or not. A GER value approaching or exceeding 100%
indicates that a country is, in principle, able to accommodate all of its school-age
population, but it does not indicate the proportion already enrolled. The achievement
of a GER of 100% is therefore a necessary but not sufficient condition for enrolling
all eligible children in school.
When the GER exceeds 90% for a particular level of education, the aggregate number
of places for pupils is approaching the number required for universal access of the
official age group. However, this is a meaningful interpretation only if one can expect
the under-aged and over-aged enrolments to decline in the future to free places for
pupils from the expected age group.

• Limitations
GER can exceed 100% due to the inclusion of over-aged and under-aged
pupils/students because of early or late entrants, and grade repetition. In this case, a
rigorous interpretation of GER needs additional information to assess the extent of
repetition, late entrants, etc.
• Purpose
To show the general level of participation in a given level of education. It indicates the
capacity of the education system to enroll students of a particular age group. It can also
be a complementary indicator to net enrolment rate (NER) by indicating the extent of
over-aged and under-aged enrolment.
• Quality standards
• GER at each level of education should be based on total enrolment in all types of
schools and education institutions, including public, private and all other institutions
that provide organized educational programmes.
• Types of disaggregation
By sex and level of education.

Gross Enrollment Rate (GER): total enrollment in a specific
level of education, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage
of the eligible official school-age population corresponding to
the same level of education in a given school year. Data
sources for Gross Enrollment Rate: UNESCO (2008) and
MoE&S (2008).
Net Enrollment Rate (NER): enrollment of the official age
group for a given level of education expressed as a percentage
of the corresponding population.
Data source for Net Enrollment Rate: UBS (2007) and UNDP
(2007).
Differences between the gross enrollment ratio and the net
enrollment rate show the incidence of overage and underage
enrollments.

Net Enrollment Rate (NER)
UNESCO Definition
Total number of students of the official age group for
a given level of education who are enrolled in any
level of education, expressed as a percentage of the
corresponding population.
• Data source
School register or school census for data on enrolment by age. UNPD population
estimates for school-age population.
• Source definition
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
• Calculation method
Total number of students in the official school age range for the given level of
education who are enrolled in any level of education expressed as percentage of the
population of the same age group for the given level of education.

NER
•Data required
Enrolment by single years of age in all levels of education. Population
of the official age group for the given level of education.
•Interpretation
The total net enrolment rate is the complementary to 100% of the
corresponding out-of-school rate. Hence, the lower the total net
enrolment rate, the higher the equivalent rate of out-of-school, and the
greater the need to focus on improving access to education.
•Limitations
As other net rates, the total net enrolment rate is affected by the use of
different reference points for age for enrolment and population data.
•Purpose
To measure the actual school participation of official school age
population for the given level of education.

NER
• Quality standards
The total net enrolment rate should be based on total enrolment of the official
relevant school age group in any level of education for all types of schools
and education institutions, including public, private and all other institutions
that provide organized educational programmes.
The UIS sets standards, develops questionnaires and quality control
protocols for country data reporting, and maintains the global database on the
structure of education, and enrolment data by age. The United Nations
Population Division (UNPD) produces and maintains population data.
National population data that comply with UIS quality standards can also be
used.
• Types of disaggregation
By sex and level of education.

• Gross” enrollment includes students of all ages. In other words, it
includes students whose age exceeds the official age group (e.g.
repeaters). Thus, if there is late enrollment, early enrollment, or
repetition, the total enrollment can exceed the population of the age
group that officially corresponds to the level of education – leading
to ratios greater than 100 percent.
• “Net” enrollment includes only children of the official school age, as
defined by the national education system. Small discrepancies in the
reported age of children may occasionally cause net enrollment
rates to exceed 100 percent.
• Since the net enrollment rate excludes overage and underage
students, it more accurately captures education system’s coverage
and internal efficiency than gross enrollment ratio. However, it is
useful to see differences between the gross enrollment ratio and the
net enrollment rate for capturing the incidence of overage and
underage enrollments.

Milestones
❑ Paulo Freire – Pedagogy of the oppressed (1970) and
Education for critical consciousness (1973)
❑ World Declaration on Education For All (EFA,)
1990
❑ World Education Forum in Dakar, 2000
❑ Millennium Development Goals (MFGs), 2000
❑ United Nations Literacy Decades, 2003-2012

Debates
▪ Educated vs Uneducated
▪ Literate vs. Illiterate
▪ Literacy vs. Functional Literacy
▪ Teaching vs. Learning

Some New Concepts in Education
▪ Inclusive Education
▪ Development Education
▪ Values in Education/Value Education
▪ Human Rights Education
▪ Gender Education
▪ Sex Education
▪ Peace Education
▪ Population Education

Level of Education
▪ Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD)
▪ Pre-primary
▪ Primary
▪ Secondary
▪ Higher Secondary
▪ Tertiary

Classifications
▪ Formal Education
▪ Non-Formal Education
▪ Informal Education

Relation with others
• Educational Philosophy
• Educational Psychology
• Educational Sociology
• Educational Anthropology
• Economics of Education
• History of Education
• Educational Planning, Development and
Management

Relation with others
• Comparative Education
• Technology Education
• Social Science Education
• Agriculture Education
• Industry Education
• Arts Education
• Science Education
• Educational Evaluation and assessment
• And many more….

Learning Domains
Benjamin Bloom from Chicago University
• Cognitive domain
- knowledge
-understanding
- application
- analysis
- synthesis
- Evaluation
• Affective domain
• Psychomotor domain

What Is a Catchment Area for Schools?
A catchment area, also known as a school catchment area, is
defined as a geographical area surrounding a school from
which it will usually take most of its pupils. Catchment
areas are based on a child’s permanent address, but they are
also subject to change.
If you are interested in finding out more about which schools
are in your catchment areas, the best thing to do is to
research the schools that are closest to your address and
contact them directly. Your local council should also be able
to advise about local catchment areas for schools.

School Catchment Area
Admission to a certain school within a catchment area can
depend on a number of factors, these are:
• Distance from your house to the school
• Any special medical or social needs of a child
• Siblings at the same school
• Religion
• Attendance at an official ‘feeder school’ that has an
affiliation with the school
• Passing an academic entrance exam (e.g. grammar school
or private school)

Are there different types of catchment areas?
There are four ways that catchment areas can be designed and
used to sort the admissions a school can receive:
• How far a pupil lives from the school as the crow flies (in a
straight line).
• How far a pupil lives from the school by walking distance
• If the school in question is the pupil’s nearest school
• If the pupil lives within a certain neighborhood (also known as
a priority admission area)

How Big Is a School Catchment Area?
Some schools prioritize children from a certain neighborhood,
these are called priority admission areas. These are usually
defined by the distance from the school where the last pupil was
offered a place in the previous school year. This can increase or
decrease each year meaning that the catchment area can vary
from year to year.

What Are the Advantages of Using School Catchment Areas?
A school catchment area can be useful for schools and
local authorities to place children in local schools. There
are several advantages for the children within these
catchment areas too:
•Friends
•Level of Learning
•Travel Time
•Fairness
https://www.twinkl.com/parenting-wiki/catchment-area

Access to education
DEFINITION
Access to education includes:
On-schedule enrolment and progression at an appropri
ate age, regular attendance, learning consistent with
national achievement norms, a learning environment that
is safe enough to allow learning to take place, and
opportunities to learn that are equitably distributed
(Lewin, 2015: 29).
Lewin, Keith M. 2015. Educational access, equity, and
development: planning to make rights realities.
Fundamentals of Educational Planning 98. Paris:
UNESCO-IIEP.

In education, the term access typically refers to the ways
in which educational institutions and policies ensure—or
at least strive to ensure—that students have equal and
equitable opportunities to take full advantage of their
education. Increasing access generally requires schools
to provide additional services or remove any actual or
potential barriers that might prevent some students from
equitable participation in certain courses or academic
programs.
Retrieves
https://www.edglossary.org/access/

Factors such as race, religion, gender, sexual orientation,
disability, perceived intellectual ability, past academic
performance, special-education status, English-language
ability, and family income or educational-attainment
levels—in addition to factors such as relative community
affluence, geographical location, or school
facilities—may contribute to certain students having less
“access” to educational opportunities than other
students. Opportunity gap
Retrieves
https://www.edglossary.org/access/

EXAMPLE OF USE
Where the quality of learning and teaching varies widely, and
where it is rationed by price or by other factors that constrain
access, it is important to ensure that improvements in access to
education are equitable and do not increase learning opportunity
for some at the expense of others. Enhanced equity is an essential
condition of an expanded vision of access (Lewin, 2015: 38).
Lewin, Keith M. 2015. Educational access, equity, and
development: planning to make rights realities. Fundamentals of
Educational Planning 98. Paris: UNESCO-IIEP.
Retrieves at
https://learningportal.iiep.unesco.org/en/glossary/access-to-educa
tion

Universal access to education
Universal access to education[1]
is the ability of all people
to have equal opportunity in education, regardless of
their social class, race, gender, sexuality, ethnic background
or physical and mental disabilities.[2]
The term is used both
in college admission for the middle and lower classes, and
in assistive technology[3]
for the disabled. Some critics feel
that this practice in higher education, as opposed to a
strict meritocracy, causes lower academic standards.[4]
In
order to facilitate the access of education to all, countries
have right to education.[5]
Wikipedia: Universal access to education
Retrieves at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_access_to_education

Universal access to education encourages a variety of
pedagogical approaches to accomplish the dissemination of
knowledge across the diversity of social, cultural, economic,
national and biological backgrounds. Initially developed with the
theme of equal opportunity access and inclusion of students with
learning or physical and mental disabilities, the themes governing
universal access to education have now expanded across all
forms of ability and diversity. However, as the definition of
diversity is within itself a broad amalgamation, teachers
exercising universal access will continually face challenges and
incorporate adjustments in their lesson plan to foster themes of
equal opportunity of education.[6]
Wikipedia: Universal access to education
Retrieves
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_access_to_education

Opportunity Costs
What Is Opportunity Cost?
Opportunity cost represents the potential benefits that a business,
an investor, or an individual consumer misses out on when
choosing one alternative over another. While opportunity costs
can't be predicted with total certainty, taking them into
consideration can lead to better decision making.
•The loss of other alternatives when one alternative is chosen.

What is opportunity Cost?
According to Opportunity Cost: Definition and Guide – 2024
• In economics, opportunity cost is the value of what you have
to give up in order to choose something else. In a nutshell,
it’s a value of the road not taken.
• Opportunity cost is the value of what you lose when choosing
between two or more options. It's a core concept for both
investing and life in general.
• The concept of opportunity cost is used in decision-making to
help individuals and organizations make better choices,
primarily by considering the alternatives.
Retrieves
• https://www.shopify.com/blog/what-is-opportunity-cost

Formula for Calculating Opportunity Cost
Opportunity Cost=FO−CO
where:
FO=Return on best forgone option
CO=Return on chosen option
The formula for calculating an opportunity cost is simply the difference
between the expected returns of each option. Consider a company that is
faced with the following two mutually exclusive options:
Option A: Invest excess capital in the stock market
Option B: Invest excess capital back into the business for new
equipment to increase production
Retrieves
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/o/opportunitycost.asp

Understanding Opportunity Costs in Education
• Opportunity costs need to be calculated in education and those
calculations must be focused on the learners, not the school or
system.
• There is a cost and a benefit to every decision we make about
curriculum, schedules, teaching, courses, assessments, etc. The
benefits to subsets of learners must exceed what it costs them.
Retrieves
• https://www.gettingsmart.com/2022/12/12/understanding-opportunity-c
osts-in-education/

Opportunity cost of schooling
The opportunity cost of primary education consists not only of the loss
of returns from the income of child labour, but also loss of the child’s
informal contribution to the household such as taking care of younger
siblings, performing household chores, and caring for livestock. The
immediate need for the income from child labour and for children’s
non-economic contributions can be a significant barrier preventing
children from attending school.
Opportunity costs are particularly relevant in poor, rural, agrarian
households, where child labour is in high demand and the returns from
schooling may be lower than the returns from the labour market. Girls can be
more affected than boys in certain contexts, due the gendered distribution of
household chores, marriage customs, and the lack of employment
opportunities for girls after schooling, while in some areas, boys may be the
ones in the family who are responsible for livestock or other farming
activities. Strategies include policies that aim to minimize these opportunity
costs, and those that aim to accommodate the need for children’s
contributions to the household.

Promising policy options
• School feeding programmes
• High education quality and relevant skills
• Early Childhood Education
• Raising awareness of the value of education
Other policy options
• Conditional cash transfers
• Flexible Delivery Modes
• Flexible learning strategies/alternative learning programmes
• Double-shift Schooling
Retrieves
• https://policytoolbox.iiep.unesco.org/policy-option/opportunity-cost-of-sch
ooling/

Policy options for improving Equity and Inclusion
• Gender-responsive policies
• Promising policy options
• Provide economic incentives
• School feeding programmes
• Raising awareness on the value of education
• Other policy options
• Provide income-generating activities for
families
• Flexible delivery modes and double-shift
schooling

Policies for children with disabilities
• Promising policy options
• Ensuring a free, inclusive, quality education
• Provide economic incentives
• Raising awareness on the value of education for children with
disabilities
• Other policy options
• Provide income-generating activities for the families of
children with disabilities
• Double-shift Schooling
Retrieves
• https://policytoolbox.iiep.unesco.org/policy-option/opportunity-cos
t-of-schooling/

Education in Indian Subcontinent in pre-
independence Era

Origin of Education in Ancient Bangla
• Ancient period : Indigenous education
(up to pala and sena Toll, Pathshala
rules in Bengal)
In Muslim period : - Indigenous education
- Islamic Education
(Maktab and Madrasha)

Indigenous Education
1) Vedic era (3000 B.C. to 500 B.C.)
2) Buddhist era (500 B.C. to 1200 A.D.)
3) Muslim era (1200 A.D. to 1700 A.D.)

PERIODS OF DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONIN INDIAN
SUBCONTINENT
The development of Indian Subcontinent and Bangladesh
Education can be divided under the following era:
1) Vedic era (3000 B.C. to 500 B.C.)
2) Buddhist era (500 B.C. to 1200 A.D.)
3) Muslim era (1200 A.D. to 1700 A.D.)
4) British era (The pre-independence era, 1800 A.D. to 1947)

Post-British Period
• Post-independence era/ Pakistan era (1947-1971)
• After Independence of Bangladesh (1972till date)

Indigenous education specifically focuses on teaching
Indigenous knowledge, models, methods, and content
within formal or non-formal educational systems. The
growing recognition and use of Indigenous education
methods can be a response to the erosion and loss of
Indigenous knowledge through the processes of
colonialism, globalization, and modernity.
(May, S.; Aikman, S. (2003). "Indigenous Education: Addressing
Current Issues and Developments". Comparative
Education. 39 (2): 139–145.
doi:10.1080/03050060302549. S2CID 145806981)

ANCIENT EDUCATION SYSTEM IN INDIA — A WAY OF LIFE
• When Britishers came to India, at that time indigenous
system of education was prevalent.
• Indigenous education was imparted at home, in temples,
pathshalas, tols, chatuspadis and gurukuls. There were
people in homes, villages and temples who guided young
children in imbibing pious ways of life.
• Tols in Bengal, pathshalas in western India, chatuspadis in
Bihar, and similar schools existed in other parts of India.
• Temples were also the centers of learning and took interest
in the promotion of knowledge of ancient education system.

• Students went to viharas and universities for higher
knowledge.
• In ancient India, both formal and informal ways of
education system existed.
• Teaching and learning followed the tenets of Vedas
and Upanishads fulfilling duties towards self, family
and society, thus encompassing all aspects of life.
• Teaching was largely oral and students remembered
and meditated upon what was taught in the class.

• From the time of Rigveda onwards, Indian ancient
education system evolved over the period and focused
on the holistic development of the individual by
taking care of both the inner and the outer self. The
system focused on the moral, physical, spiritual and
intellectual aspects of life.
• Education system focused both on learning and
physical development. In other words, the emphasis
was on healthy mind and healthy body.

• The education system of ancient times in India was
regarded as a source for the knowledge, traditions and
practices that guided and encouraged humanity.
• It emphasized on values such as humility,
truthfulness, discipline, self-reliance and respect for
all creations.
• Students were taught to appreciate the balance
between human beings and nature.
You can see that education in India has a heritage of being pragmatic,
achievable and complementary to life.

• Most of the teachers were Brahmins and accepted
teaching profession not for the profit in cash or kind
but more by the respectability which tradition gave it.
• Local resources via donations supported education.
References in texts and memoirs inform that villagers
also supported education in southern India.
• The total emolument of the teacher was between Rs. 3
to Rs. 5 per month. The teachers were men of ordinary
attainments and very often they knew no more than the
little they taught in their schools.
• The importance of these institutions in fulfilling the
educational needs of the Indian masses cannot be
underestimated.

• The size of the school was generally small. There was
no regular period of admission. At any time during
the year the pupil could join the school and followed
his own pace of study. In this respect the bigger
schools were bit systematic.
• Due to the unsatisfactory financial condition, these
institutions were declining gradually.
• There is no mention of a single school which was
held in a house exclusively used for itself. Most of
them were held in temples, private dwellings or sheds
or the houses of the teachers themselves.

• They had hardly any continuity and sprang up or
vanished according to local demand or its absence. As
a rule, they were not communal in their working and
were opened to all who could afford to pay for
schooling.

• The chief merit of the indigenous system of education
was its adaptability to local environment and the
vitality and popularity they had earned by centuries of
existence under a variety of economic conditions.
• The lack of training and sound education of teachers
in general, the narrow and limited curriculum and the
severe forms of punishment adopted, were some of
the shortcomings of the indigenous system of
education.

SOURCES OF EDUCATION
• The ancient system of education was the
education of the Vedas, Brahmanas,
Upanishads and Dharmasutras. You must have
heard the names of Aryabhata, Panini,
Katyayana and Patanjali. Their writings and
the medical treatises of Charaka and Sushruta
were also some of the sources of learning.
Distinction was also drawn between Shastras
(learned disciplines) and Kavyas (imaginative
and creative literature).

• Sources of learning were drawn from various
disciplines such as Itihas (history), Anviksiki
(logic), Mimamsa (interpretation)
Shilpashastra (architecture), Arthashastra
(polity), Varta (agriculture, trade, commerce,
animal husbandry) and Dhanurvidya (archery).

• Physical education too was an important curricular
area and pupils participated in krida (games,
recreational activities), vyayamaprakara
(exercises), dhanurvidya (archery) for acquiring
martial skills, and yogasadhana (training the mind
and body) among others.
• The Gurus and their pupils worked conscientiously
together to become proficient in all aspects of
learning.
• In order to assess pupils' learning, shastrartha
(learned debates) were organised. Pupils at an
advanced stage of learning guided younger pupils.
There also existed the system of peer learning, like
you have group/peer work.

• Gurukuls, also known as ashrams, were the
residential places of learning. Many of these
were named after the sages. Situated in forests,
in serene and peaceful surroundings, hundreds
of students used to learn together in gurukuls.
• Women too had access to education during the
early Vedic period. Among the prominent
women Vedic scholars, we find references to
Maitreyi, Viswambhara, Apala, Gargi and
Lopamudra, to name a few.

• During that period, the gurus and their shishyas lived
together helping each other in day-to-day life.
• The main objective was to have complete learning,
leading a disciplined life and realising one's inner
potential. Students lived away from their homes for
years together till they achieved their goals.
• The gurukul was also the place where the relationship
of the guru and shishya strengthened with time.
• While pursuing their education in different disciplines
like history, art of debate, law, medicine, etc., the
emphasis was not only on the outer dimensions of the
discipline but also on enriching inner dimensions of
the personality.

• Many monasteries/viharas were set up for
monks and nuns to meditate, debate and
discuss with the learned for their quest for
knowledge during this period. Around these
viharas, other educational centres of higher
learning developed, which attracted students
from China, Korea, Tibet, Burma, Ceylon,
Java, Nepal and other distant countries.

VIHARAS AND UNIVERSITIES
• The Jataka tales, accounts given by Xuan Zang and
I-Qing (Chinese scholars), as well as other sources tell
us that kings and society took active interest in
promoting education. As a result many famous
educational centres came into existence. Among the
most notable universities that evolved during this
period were situated at Takshashila, Nalanda, Valabhi,
Vikramshila, Odantapuri and Jagaddala. These
universities developed in connection with the viharas.
Those at Benaras, Navadeep and Kanchi developed in
connection with temples and became centres of
community life in the places where they were situated.

• These institutions catered to the needs of advanced
level students. Such students joined the centres of
higher learning and developed their knowledge by
mutual discussions and debates with renowned
scholars. Not only this, there was also occasional
summoning by a king to a gathering in which the
scholars of the country of various viharas and
universities would meet, debate and exchange their
views.
• In this section we will give you glimpses of two
universities of the ancient period. These universities
were considered among the best centres of learning in
the world. These have been recently declared heritage
sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

• Note
Takshashila was an ancient Indian city, which is
now in north-western Pakistan. It is an important
archaeological site and the UNESCO declared it
to be a World Heritage Site in 1980. Its fame
rested on the University, where Chanakya is said
to have composed his Arthashastra.
Archaeologist Alexander Cunningham
discovered its ruins in the mid-19th century.

TAKSHASHILA OR TAXILA
• In ancient times, Takshashila was a noted
centre of learning, including religious
teachings of Buddhism, for several centuries. It
continued to attract students from around the
world until its destruction in the 5th century
CE. It was known for its higher education and
the curriculum comprised the study of ancient
scriptures, law, medicine, astronomy, military
science and the eighteen silpas or arts.

• Takshashila became famous as a place of learning
due to its teachers' expertise. Among its noted
pupils were the legendary Indian grammarian,
Panini. He was an expert in language and grammar
and authored one of the greatest works on
grammar called Ashtadhyayi.
• Jivaka, one of the most renowned physicians in
ancient India, and Chanakya (also known as
Kautilya), a skilled exponent of statecraft, both
studied here.
• Students came to Takshashila from Kashi, Kosala,
Magadha and also from other countries in spite of
the long and arduous journey they had to
undertake.

ROLE OF THE TEACHER
• Teachers had complete autonomy in all aspects
from selection of students to designing their
syllabi. When the teacher was satisfied with
the performance of the students, the course
concluded. He would admit as many students
as he liked and taught what his students were
keen to learn.
• Debate and discussions were the primary
methods of teaching. Teachers were assisted
by their advanced level students.

• NALANDA UNIVERSITY
Note:
The ancient Nalanda was a centre of learning
from the 5th century CE to 12th century CE.
Located in present day Rajgir, Bihar, India,
Nalanda was one of the oldest universities of the
world and UNESCO declared the ruins of
Nalanda Mahavihara, a world heritage site. The
new Nalanda University is envisaged as a centre
of inter-civilisational dialogue.

NALANDA UNIVERSITY
• Nalanda, when Xuan Zang visited it, was
called Nala and was a centre of higher learning
in various subjects. The University attracted
scholars from the different parts of the country
as well as world. The Chinese scholars I-Qing
and Xuan Zang visited Nalanda in the 7th
century CE. They have given vivid accounts of
Nalanda. They have noted that as many as one
hundred discourses happened on a daily basis,
in a variety of disciplines through the methods
of debate and discussions.

• Xuan Zang himself became a student of
Nalanda to study yogashastra. He has
mentioned that the Chancellor of Nalanda,
Shilabhadra, was the highest living authority in
yoga. The courses of study offered by Nalanda
University covered a wide range, almost the
entire circle of knowledge then available.
Students at Nalanda studied the Vedas and
were also trained in fine arts, medicine,
mathematics, astronomy, politics and the art of
warfare.

ROLE OF COMMUNITY
• At that time, knowledge was considered sacred
and no fee was charged. Contributions towards
education were considered the highest form of
donation. All members of the society contributed
in some form or the other. Financial support
came from rich merchants, wealthy parents and
society. Besides gifts of buildings, the
universities received gifts of land. This form of
free education was also prevalent in other
ancient universities like Valabhi, Vikramshila
and Jagaddala.

• At the same time in the south of India, agraharas
served as centers of learning and teaching. South
Indian kingdoms also had other cultural
institutions known as Ghatika and Brahmapuri.
• A Ghatika was a centre of learning including
religion and was small in size.
• An agrahara was a bigger institution, a whole
settlement of learned Brahmins, with its own
powers of government and was maintained by
generous donations from the society.
• Temples, Mathas, Jain Basadis and Buddhist
Viharas also existed as other sources of learning
during this period.

• There was a large number of Muslim Maktabs
and Madrasahs, Hindu Pathsalas, the Tolls of
Bengal, Agraharas of southern India.
• Provision for imparting higher education existed in
Madrasahs and other centers of higher learning.
• These institutions were mostly single teacher
schools with multiple class teaching. In some
cases senior students acted as monitors and
helped the teacher in the teaching work. The
medium of instruction in these institutions was
Sanskrit, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Telugu,
Tamil, etc.

• There was a large number of Muslim Maktabs
and Madrasahs, Hindu Pathsalas, the Tolls of
Bengal, Agraharas of southern India. These
institutions were mostly single teacher schools
with multiple class teaching. In some cases
senior students acted as monitors and helped the
teacher in the teaching work. The medium of
instruction in these institutions was Sanskrit,
Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Telugu, Tamil,
etc.

• CONTINUATION OF INDIAN EDUCATION
SYSTEM
• The Indian education system continued in the form of
ashrams, in temples and as indigenous schools.
• During the medieval period, maktabas and madrassas
became part of the education system. During the
pre-colonial period, indigenous education flourished in
India. This was an extension of the formal system that
had taken roots earlier. This system was mostly
religious and spiritual form of education.
• Tols in Bengal, pathshalas in western India,
chatuspadis in Bihar, and similar schools existed in
other parts of India.
• Local resources via donations supported education.
References in texts and memoirs inform that villagers
also supported education in southern India.

• We understand, the ancient education system
of India focused on the holistic development
of the students, both inner and outer self,
thus preparing them for life. Education was
free and not centralised. Its foundations were
laid in the rich cultural traditions of India
thereby helping in the development of the
physical, intellectual, spiritual and artistic
aspects of life holistically.

• Our present day education system has a lot to
learn from the ancient education system of
India. Therefore, the stress is being laid on
connecting learning to the world outside the
school. Today educationists recognise the role
and importance of multilingual and
multicultural education, thereby connecting the
ancient and the traditional knowledge with
contemporary learning.

• The pupils of the indigenous schools came from
different communities although the children of
the upper classes formed the large majority.
These schools taught the rudiments of reading,
writing and arithmetic. A large variety of
multiplication tables were taught to the pupils
mainly with a view to enabling them to solve
mentally all types of sums that ordinarily occurred
in daily life. The equipment of the schools was
very simple and crude. These institutions were the
main agency for the spread of mass education. It
had no religious tinge and had no endowments
either from the state or from the public.

• At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the
indigenous system of education was fast
decaying on account of the prevailing anarchy
or the growing impoverishment of the people
under the British rule. The British Government
crushed down the indigenous educational
system, which had been prevalent in our
country from time immemorial.

•These institutions were imparting some sort of
education to the masses, if not better type of
education. The authority did not take any step to
improve the condition of those indigenous schools
existed in different parts of the country in various
pattern, but watched them steadily decline
impoverished.
•Gradually the network of indigenous schools
disappeared and a few new schools cropped up. Not
realizing the inherent utility of this indigenous
system for the expansion of mass education the
Western educators opined, “The indigenous system
in India was of no importance and the British officers
were justified in ending the same”.

• The expansion of education in India can be
attributed to the efforts of Christian missionaries.
Their earliest activities were confined mainly to
elementary education. In different parts of the
country elementary schools were established by
them. Whatever might have been the nature and
character of schools established by them, there is
no denying the fact that they introduced a new
phase in education of the country, which exercised
a vital influence on the existing system of
education.

•The fundamental aim of these Missionaries was to
convert people by preaching the doctrine of Christianity
through European mode of education. For them
education was not an end in itself but a means to the
spread of Christianity.
•According to Prof. Nurrullah and Naik “The
Missionaries used education as a means of
evangelization. They propagated for the spread of
Christian religion through English medium. Only the
Presidencies of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay were the
main centres of education at that time”.

The history of education in the Indian
subcontinent began with teaching of
traditional elements such as Indian
religions, Indian mathematics, Indian logic
at early Hindu and Buddhist centers of
learning such as Taxila (in modern-day
Pakistan) and Nalanda (in India) before
the Islamic era.

Islamic education became ingrained with the
establishment of the Islamic empires in the
Indian subcontinent in the Middle Ages while
the coming of the Europeans later bought
western education to colonial India. A series of
measures continuing throughout the early half
of the 20th century ultimately laid the
foundation of education in the Republic of
India, education in Pakistan, Bangladesh and
much of South Asia.

Indigenous Education
TRANSITIONS OF INDIAN EDUCATION FROM VEDIC ERA TO
MUSLIM ERA
Vedic Era:
The system of education which was developed during
Vedic period is termed as the Vedic system of
education. The education was completely under the
individual control of the ‘Gurus’ and not on the state
control. The gurus themselves arranged for lodging and
boarding of the students. The students, of course, used
to pay guru dakshina to their teachers according to their
financial position and volition.

• Sources of income of ‘Gurus’ were from donation, dan,
guru dakshina.
The aims of education were:
inculcating religion, achievement of absolute (Brahma)
which he himself is, and it was recognized that the entire
visible world in fully pervaded with the absolute,
development of knowledge,
acquaintance and observance of social and national duties,
preservation and development of culture, moral and
character development,
education of livelihood, arts and skills.

• The students were taught language, grammar,
numerology, agriculture, cattle rearing, arts (music
and dance), skills (weaving, dying, woodwork, metal
work, craft), economics, politics, geology,
physiology, snake science, logic, astrology, medical
science, military science, exercise, gurukal
organization. Vedic literature, theology and ethics
and training in activities like control of sense organs,
religion based conduct, mode of worship, evening
prayers, etc.

• The methods of teaching were being practiced during
the Vedic period were oral method, thinking method,
manas (reflection) method.
• In the early Vedic period, discipline meant physical,
mental, spiritual control.
• The teachers and students enjoyed a cordial
relationship.
• The teachers considered the students as their son and
the students regarded teachers as their father.

Buddhist era
Buddhism was born in India and was started by Gautam
Buddha. No doubt, many principles of ‘Hinduism’ are
included in ‘Buddhism’. It is also true that ‘Buddhism’
was the result of the prevailing circumstance of life.
Gautam Buddha taught the principle of a religion which
was based on the analysis of actual problem of life.

The aims of education was physical development for
good health,
development of knowledge,
education of social behaviour i.e. compassion and
kindness,
preservation and development of human culture,
character formation, vocational development,
education of Buddhist religion i.e. students were
trained in the eight fold path namely- Right view,
Right resolve, Right occupation, Right speech, Right
behaviour, Right effort, Right contemplation and
Right meditation to achieve salvation.

Upasampada:
After completing the education of twelve years, the
monk at the age of 20 years had to undergo the
‘Upasampada’ ritual and then he becomes the
permanent members of the ‘Sangh’. On this occasions
all his worldly and family relationship ended.
In Buddhist education primary, higher and Bhikshu
education were organized in Maths and Vihars and as
they were under the control of Buddhist Sanghs.

• Duration of primary education was 6 years. Reading,
writing, five different sciences namely Morphology,
Astronomy, Medicine, logic and spirituality were
taught.
• For General students Buddhist, Jain and Vedic
religion were imparted.
• For the Bhikshu education, they had to study
Buddhist literature namely Tripitak, Sulta, Vinay and
Avidhamma pitak.

• Teaching activities were carried out orally by lecture
method, question answer method, logic, conference
method.
• Activity oriented subjects were taught by
demonstration, imitation and practice method.
• Students of higher classes were also given the
opportunity of self study.
• Both teacher and students must follow the rules of
Buddhist Sanghs Strictly.
• Generally twice a month teacher and students met at a
specific place for introspection and to confess.
Corporal punishment was abhorred in that period.

• Students in Buddhist period were termed as Shraman
or Samner. They had to compulsorily reside in Maths
and vihars.
• Teachers were like father figure to students. They
generally looked after the administration of maths and
vihars and organized teaching work while students
carry out the different tasks as advised by their
teachers.

Islamic era:
During medieval period Muslim rulers started a
new system of education which is popularly
known as Maktab-Madarsha system or Muslim
system of education. Side by side the old
Pathashala system also continued for Hindu
students.

• Maktabs were primary school meant for small
children. Maktab means a place where reading and
writing is taught. Students were admitted in
maktabs at the age of 4 years, 4 months and 4
days. In Maktab every student was made to learn
verses of Quran, Islamic religion, Arabic, Persian
and mathematics.
• Madarsa means to deliver speech. Higher
Education was given in Madarsa. It is located
either in state capital or in big cities. The medium
of instruction at these centers were Arabic and
Persian languages.

• The main aim of Muslim education was development
of knowledge, spread of Islamic culture & Islamic
religion, development of character and morality,
loyalty to the Government, education of arts, skills
and vocations, Knowledge of alphabets, 30th section
of Quran, reading, writing, mathematics, letter and
application writing and the way of conversation were
given to children.
• Special practice in proper pronunciation and good
handwriting were given to children.

• Arabic and Persian languages and their Literature,
Mathematics, Geometry, History, Geography,
Economics, Political Science, Astrology, Islamic law,
Unani Medicine and various arts, skills and vocations,
Quran, Islamic history, Islamic literature, Sufi
literature and Islamic law were included in the
syllabus.

• The Middle Ages also saw the rise of private tuition in
India.
• In the Muslim education different teaching methods
were adopted to teach different subjects at different
levels.
• At primary level the teaching method adopted were
imitation, practice and memorization.
• At the higher level speech, lecture and explanation
method were adopted. To teach subject like philosophy
and logic, logic method was used. Self study method
was also adopted for higher level.
• To teach the activity oriented subjects, arts, skills and
other vocations Demonstration, Experiment and
practice method were adopted.

• In the medieval period, discipline referred to obeying
the teachers and compliance to the rules of maktabs
and madarsha.
• Corporal punishment was given and at the same time
there was a provision of reward for disciplined
students.
• The teachers were called as ustad and students were
called as shagrid.
• Teacher loved their students and taught them with
great concern.
• Students also respected their teachers and obeyed
them devotedly.
• The students obeyed the teachers out of fear in
medieval period.

BRITISH SYSTEM OF EDUCATION
After the downfall of the Muslim rule, Britishers
came to India and established the East Indian
company but soon the reign of the government
reached the hands of the British parliament.
Britishers ruled over India for about 190 years.
During this period western science and literature
made good progress through English medium. By the
time the British came to India as traders of the East
India Company and to spread their religion with the
attempts of Christian Missionaries.

• However, the British period was a
breakthrough in the development of
education in India. The Modern System of
Education in India was started to take place
with the efforts of Britishers. But this is also
an important fact that in the beginning the
British as traders, though interested in the
classical and spiritual education of the Hindus
and of Muslims, were reluctant to take an
interest in the education of the people under
their rule till 1813.

DIFFICULTIES OF INDIAN EDUCATION
DURING PRE-INDEPENDENCE ERA:
The Indian education system faced a number of
difficulties during this era which are as following,
- Government was not responsible for running
educational affairs in India.
- They feared that people might ultimately rise against
the British rule and would demand independence after
receiving higher education.
- Company wanted to educate only a few number of
people required to run the affairs of the Government.

- They thought that Indians are not keen to receive
education.
- British Govt.’s main aim was to make money.
Controversy continued on regarding medium of
education.
- Oppositions of Brahmins against women education
as well as British system of education as they
involved in controversy with various renowned
person like Raja Rammohan Roy, Vidyasagar,
H.L.V. Derozio and others.
- Swadeshi movement also influenced Indians to
avoid British system of education.

EDUCATIONAL ACTS AND LAWS DURING BRITISH
ERA:
English people wanted to win the sympathy and
support of influential Muslim and Hindu.
Establishment of Madrasa by Warren Hastings laid
the foundation in Oct, 1780 to educate higher class
Muslim.
Influencing Hindu section, political resident of
Benaras, Jonathan Duncan founded Benaras Sanskrit
College in 1791.
Calcutta Madrasa was given a much higher financial
grant.

The various act and laws that influenced the
development of Indian education in this era are
as following:
• CHARTER ACT OF 1813
The Charter Act of the East India Company was
renewed after every 20 years in the British parliament.
In 1813, when the company’s charter again came for
renewal in the parliament, most of the members in the
parliament supported the movement led by the Christian
missionaries. As a result three articles were added in the
charter act of 1813.

1) Missionaries of any European country will have full
freedom to visit India to propagate Christianity and
to expand education there
2) It will now be the responsibility of East India
company to organize education in the areas under
its rule.
3) A sum of not less than one lakh of rupees each year
shall be set apart and applied to the revival and
improvement of literature and the encouragement
of the learned natives of India and for the
introduction and promotion of a knowledge of the
science among the inhabitant of the British
territories in India.

Anglicists - Orientalists controversy
The Anglicist - Orientalists controversy had its origin in
the charter Act 1813.
The terms, ‘literature’ and the learned natives were not
clearly defined in the section 43 of the charter Act,
1813.
Orientalist Group - Mostly the senior and the
experienced officials of the company belonged to this
group. According to them the term ‘literature’ meant
Indian literature and the term ‘learned natives’ meant
the scholars of Indian literature.

Anglicist Group:
This group contained mostly the young officials of the
company. For them, the term ‘literature’ and learned
natives in the Charter Act, 1813 meant Western
literature and the learned natives of the western
literature respectively.

MACAULAY MINUTE (1835):
The Anglicists and orientalists controversy could not be
solved even after 20 years in the new charter Act of 1833.
On June 10, 1834, Lord Macaulay came to India as a law
member of the Governor General’s council.
Lord William Bentick the then Governor General,
appointed him the president of the public instructions and
asked him to render his advise on three points –
first – how to spend Rs. 1 lakh per annum on education
second- to define the terms ‘literature’ and ‘learned native’
and
Third - to solve the anglicists orientalists controversy.

Macaulay Submitted his report on 1835. In that he
mentioned:
1) the word ‘literature’ meant only English literature
and not Sanskrit or Arabic or Persian literature
2) 2) The word ‘learned natives’ meant a scholar who
is learned in the Locke’s philosophy, Milton’s
poetry that is English literature.

WILLIAM BENTINCK RESOLUTION:
Lord Bentinck seriously went through the Macaulay’s
report and declared the new education policy of the
British Government on March 7. 1835. The major
declarations of this policy are:
1) All government fund appropriated for the purpose of
education would be best employed on English education
alone.
2) The educational institutions of Sanskrit, Arabic,
Persian shall not be closed down. The economic grants
for their teacher’s salary and students scholarship will
continue as before.

3) In future no expenditure will be made on the printing
and publication of oriental literature.
4) The money so saved will be spend on the education
of the English language, literature and Western
knowledge and science.

DOWNWARD FILTRATION THEORY:
This theory meant, “Education is to be filtered to the
common people. Drop by drop the education should go
to the common public so that at due time it may take the
form of a vast stream which remained watering desert of
the society for long times and high class of people
should be educated and common people gain influence
from them.”

Its Basic Causes:
1. The company needed various types of workers to
run the business and government. They wanted to
have cheap servants who work in different
capacities.
2. The government did not have enough money to take
the responsibility of educating the masses.
3. If the standard of living and ideas of the people of
higher classes in society could be changed through
the English education then the people of the lower
classes also be influenced and they shall grow loyal
to the British government.

4. If educated high class people are given higher posts
in government services then naturally they will use
their influence for controlling the masses from going
against British government.
5. After educating some people, the responsibility of
education could be left to them.

WOOD’S DESPATCH (1854):
The company has to take orders after every twenty years
from the British parliament and in each order something
was written about the education in India. Therefore,
when time for the charter of 1853 came, the directors of
the company thought for laying down a definite policy
in regard to educational matters of India. So a
parliamentary committee was appointed to survey the
educational progress in India. As Mr. Wood was
chairman of the Board of Control, so the declaration
was Christianized as ‘Wood’s Educational Despatch’.

THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE DESPATCH (1854) ARE AS
FOLLOWS:
1. The acceptance of Educational Responsibility: The
Despatch clearly accepted that the responsibility of education
in India lies in British Government.
2. The aim of education: The aim of education is to raise
intellectual fitness and moral character.
3. Courses of study: Mr. Wood had recognized the usefulness of
Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian and recommended them as
subjects of study in regular Institutions. Finally, like
Macaulay, he had also recognized the usefulness of Western
knowledge for Indians.
4. The Medium of Instruction: The Despatch says that due to
dearth of course books in Indian languages, the medium of
education should be English.

5. Department of Public Instruction: The Despatch
declared that in all the provinces, the department of
public Instruction should be set up. Its highest
official should be designated as the Director of
Public Instruction, and he should be assisted by
Deputy Director, Inspector and Deputy Inspector of
schools.
6. Establishment of Universities: The Despatch has
suggested for the setting up of the Universities at
Calcutta, Bombay and Madras.

7. Establishment of Regular Institutions: The Despatch
emphasized on the graded schools as follows, primary
schools, middle schools, high schools, colleges, universities.
8. Extension of Public Education: As ‘Filtration Theory’ failed,
so Wood emphasized the useful education for the public. As
the public itself was unable to gain such an education. So
increase of primary, middle and high schools was emphasized.
In order to co-ordinate education at these various levels it was
suggested to have scholarships and implement other schemes.

9. Grant-in-aid system: The Despatch suggested the
Grant-in-aid System for the institutions which
fulfilled certain qualifications. He has also suggested
that the rules and regulations for Grant-in-aid should
be framed on the levels practiced in England.
10. Training of the Teachers: They suggested to open
training schools in every province of India, as they
are in England was expressed in the Despatch. This
was done, so that teaching work may be conducted
properly and efficiently.

11. Education of Women: He threw light on women
education too and praising the persons engaged in
this pious work, he suggested for its further
encouragement through Grant-in- aid and other
measures. He has also approved the declaration of
Governor General that the Government should
favorably assist the female education in India.
12. Muslim Education: Concerning Muslim education,
Mr. Wood has said that Muslims are too backward
in education and they should be encouraged to gain
more education and efforts should be made in this
direction.

13. Vocational Education: They paid more attention to
the vocational education and suggested that schools
and colleges should be set up at suitable places to
provide vocational education.
14. Encouragement of the Oriental Education:
Though the report has supported the western
education through English medium for the Indians,
yet it has recommended for the development of
Indian literature and suggested that the books of
western literature and science should not only be
translated in these languages, but original books
should also be caused to be written, and for the
purpose the writers should be rewarded and
encouraged.

15. Education and Service: In this reference, Mr.
Wood has clearly said:
A) While selecting the candidates for Government
service their academic qualification should be
considered well.
B) Academically, high qualified persons should be
preferred more than the others for government
services.

Pre independence Education in Inndia.pdf

INDIAN EDUCATION COMMISSION OR
HUNTER’ S COMMISSION (1882)
• As a result of the first struggle for independence by
Indians in 1857, the power of administration was
transferred from the East India Company to the Crown.
• The Queen’s Proclamation of 1858 advocated a policy
of strict religious neutrality.
• The missionaries were greatly disappointed with the
Government policy for religious neutrality and started
an agitation and formed the “General Council of
Education in India "in London.

• Lord Ripon came to India on 8 June 1880. The
General Council of Education requested Lord
Ripon, the Viceroy of India to institute an
enquiry into Indian education.
• He appointed the first Indian Education
Commission on February 3, 1882. Mr. William
Hunter, a member of the viceroy’s Executive
Council, was the chairman of this commission.
It came to be popularly known as ‘Hunter’s
Commission of 1882’.

TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE COMMISSION
The commission was to make the following
enquiries –
1) Condition of primary education and the
methods of its expansion
2) Position of State institutions and its
importance
3) Position of missionary institutions in general,
4) Attitude of government towards private
enterprises.

RECOMMENDATIONS OF HUNTER COMMISSION:
1. PRIMARY EDUCATION
The policies of the Primary Education:
• Primary education should be useful for general
life of the people and the subjects which are
helpful for him in his practical life should be
included.
• Medium of instruction should be vernacular or
Indian languages.
• Government should make a constant effort for its
progress, expansion and development.

• Primary education should aim not only at
preparing the students to enter into higher
education but it should aim at spreading
public education all right.
• CURRICULUM: State should have a free hand
to frame the curriculum.
• In spite of this recommendation, the
commission said that physics, Agriculture,
first-aid, Banking, Geometry subjects that are
of practical value in life ought to be included
in the curriculum of the primary education.

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION
• It suggested that the local bodies and provincial
government should give some aid for this.
• Finances for the schools in the villages and cities
should be separated.
• The commission had recommended that the
provincial Government shall give grant for primary
education to the extent of 1 1/2 of the local fund
for education or 1/3 of the entire expenditure on
this item.
• Local funds for education should in no case be
sent on secondary or higher education.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PRIMARY INSTITUTIONS
• The commission recommended that In order
to raise the standard of the primary
institutions, the teachers should be properly
trained.

• INDIGENOUS EDUCATION
• No restriction should be imposed for admission to
such institutions.
• Government should encourage such institutions.
• Such institutions may voluntarily hand over
administration to the Municipal Boards and District
Boards.
• The government should not interfere in their
curriculum in any way and special financial aid for
inclusion of subject of practical value in life may be
given by the government.
• Poor students should be given stipends and
scholarships.
• Proper arrangement for the training of the teachers of
these institutions should also be made.

SECONDARY EDUCATION
• The Government should give the administration
and organization of secondary education into
hands of efficient and able Indians.
• The commission recommended two types of
curriculum called Curriculum A & B.
• Curriculum A was to have subjects that were to be
useful for higher study.
• Curriculum B was to have vocational, occupational
and practical subjects.
• English should continue as medium of instruction.

HIGHER EDUCATION:
• They recommended to have varied and vast curricula
so that the students can select the subjects of their
choice and aptitude.
• Grant-in-aid is given to the colleges by considering its
expenditure, number of teachers, efficiency and local
need.
• Meritorious & promising students may be sent to
foreign countries for higher education on Government
scholarship.
• Teachers who have received education in European
Universities are preferred for appointment.
• Private colleges should be authorized to receive lesser
fee as compared to Government colleges.

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
• They recommended to increase the number of
inspectors in every province and Indians to be
appointed on the post of District inspectors of
schools.
SYSTEM OF GRANT-IN –AID:
• Changes and reform should be made in the rule of
grant-in-aid system according to the requirement
of all the institutions.
• All the changes must be send to the managers of
aided institutions in their vernacular languages.
• Special educational officers should be appointed
to give counsel to the managers of Government
aided institutions.

• EDUCATION OF THE WOMEN:
• Free education, appointment of lady Teachers
and lady Inspectresses
• Liberal Grant-in-aid system
• Different curriculum for girls
• Decent arrangements of Hostels Special
arrangements for education of ‘Parda’
observing ladies.

MUSLIM EDUCATION: -
• Effort must be made to popularize Muslim
education
• Special funds should be allocated for it
• More scholarships should be given for Muslim
students
• In government appointments, Muslims should
be given proportionate representation.

EDUCATION OF HARIJANS AND BACKWARD
CLASS: -
• All the schools run by the Government,
municipalities and local boards should admit
children of Harijans and Backward class.
• Special schools should be open for them,
where there was an objection raised to the
admission of these Harijans and Backward
children.
• School teachers must take judicious effects to
remove caste prejudices.

EDUCATION OF ABORIGINALS AND HILL TRIBES: -
• Government was expected to take up the
responsibility of educating aboriginals and Hill
tribes.
• Free education and the subjects taught should be
of the most elementary character.
• RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: -
• Religious education of any sort should not be
given in the public schools.
• Religious education may be imparted in the
private institutions and the government shall have
nothing to do with it.

LORD CURZON'S EDUCATION POLICY
• Lord Curzon came to India as Viceroy in 1899. He
came to India in a very crucial period of Indian
history. This was the beginning of 20th century and
severe famine and epidemic of Plague had crippled
the social life of the people. Primary education was in
a very bad shape.

• However, with the establishment of the Indian
National Congress in 1885 there was a revival of a
national spirit in the field of education. The people of
the country started realising the need for a system of
education that would represent our national character.
Several national leaders like B.G. Tilak, Annie
Besant, C. R. Das, Dadabhai Naoroji, Gokhale had
emerged and helped in the development of the spirit
of nationalism.

• During his vice-royalty education in India was
reviewed very critically and steps were taken to
improve the different levels of education. This unit
will focus on Lord Curzon’s educational policy in
different levels of education and how it influenced in
the development of education or our country.

• The first step in the educational reform that Lord
Curzon initiated was the holding of a conference
at Simla in September 1901. This was the first
conference on all India basis. The conference was
attended by the Provincial Directors of Public
Instruction, representatives of the Christian
Missionaries and a few selected educationists.

• But the representatives of the Indian people were
conspicuously absent. The conference continued for a
fortnight. Lord Curzon himself presided over the
conference and took a very prominent part in drafting
the resolution.
• All total 150 resolutions were passed, which were
mostly unanimous and which covered all the stages of
Indian education from primary to university level.
These resolutions formed the basis of the Government
Resolution of 1904 on Education Policy. The
Government identified the shortcomings of Indian
education.

The major policy decisions were as follows:
• The Government should fully control all stages of
education.
• The Government should spend more money on
education.
• Government schools should be such that it could
serve as models to private schools.

▪ primary education policy
Lord Curzon realized the poor condition of primary
education in India in terms of quality and quantity.
Therefore, he gave priority to this stage of education.
In the Government Resolution of 1904 he declared
that the primary education had received insufficient
attention and it was the duty of both the central and
provincial Governments to pay more attention for the
expansion and improvement of primary education.

Some of the significant steps taken by him in this regard
are mentioned below—
• Liberal grant-in-aid
Lord Curzon had realised that primary education in
India had suffered mainly because limited funds
available for it. He, therefore, directed the provincial
Governments to spend larger amounts on primary
education by giving necessary recurring grants to the
local boards and the Municipalities. He raised the
Government grant to local authorities from one third to
one half of the total expenditure. He also sanctioned
special grants for the diseased and famine striken
people.

• Abolition of the system of payment by results
Lord Curzon stopped the system of aiding primary
schools on the basis of examination results, i.e.,
‘Payment by Results’ as was introduced by the Hunter
Commission 1882. Due to this system primary
education failed to develop substantially. Curzon
introduced more scientific methods of paying grant in
aid and suggested that the Government should follow a
more liberal policy for providing grants to primary
schools.

• Training of Teachers
For qualitative improvement of primary education specific
importance was given on training of teachers. Steps were
taken to establish training centres for primary teachers and it
was directed that the duration of training should not be less
than two years. It was further suggested that the village
school teachers should be given training in agricultural
education.
• Improvement of Teacher’s Salary
Lord Curzon gave importance on raising the standard of
living of the primary school teachers by restructuring their
pay scale. He observed that there were differences in pay
scales of the teachers in different states. Curzon tried to
bring the pay scale of teacher to the equal level but he could
not make it fully due to his short span of time in office.

• Reform in curriculum
Lord Curzon wanted to up grade the primary school
curriculum. Besides teaching three R’s, he directed to
include Agriculture as a subject in the primary school
curriculum as India is a predominantly an agricultural
country. Physical education was another useful subject
introduced in the curriculum. Lord Curzon felt that the
primary school curriculum needed to be intimately related
to local environment and therefore, suggested that the
curriculum of rural and urban schools should be different.

• Method of Teaching
Curzon observed that the methods of teaching in
primary schools had been old and unscientific for which
children were not attracted to these schools. He tried to
introduce better and scientific methods of teaching like
kindergarten method for improvement of the teaching
method. This type of method was to be adopted where
competent teachers were available.

• Assessment of Lord Curzon’s Primary Education Policy
Actually, the policy of Lord Curzon marked the beginning of a
new era in the history of primary education in India.
- He correctly identified that money was the main hurdle to
achieving the objectives of primary education.
- Accordingly, he followed the policy of sanctioning liberal
grants from the Government funds for its expansion and
consequently there was a considerable increase in the
number of pupils attending primary schools.
- Curzon also stopped the discriminatory system of payment
by results and introduced the more scientific method of
paying recurring and non-recurring grants to remove
financial difficulties.
- As a result the number of recognised primary schools
increased from 93,604 in 1901-02 to 1,18,262 in 1911-12,
i.e., 24,658 primary schools within a period of 10 years
(Naik and Nurallah, p. 263).

- Lord Curzon also tried to remove traditionalism in
our primary education system and introduced subjects
like Agriculture and Physical education in the
primary school curriculum to make it more useful,
practical and modern.
- He made provision for training of the teachers and
make their pay scale improved and uniform.
- Besides these, Curzon tried to introduce improved
method of teaching like the Kindergarten method and
gave importance on developing the reasoning power
rather than mechanical memorization.
By observing all these we must admit that Lord Curzon
tried to bring the spirit of modernisation in our primary
education.

POLICY ON SECONDARY EDUCATION
Curzon’s Secondary Education Policy can be divided
into two parts—
(i) Policy of control and
(ii) Policy of improvement.
First we will discuss the Policy of control.

Policy of control
• The Hunter Commission of 1882 suggested that the
Government should withdraw from the field of
secondary education and its expansion should be left
to the private bodies which were to be given liberal
grant in aid. As a result the number of private schools
increased. Although the Government fixed certain
rules and regulations for the Government aided
schools there was no such regulation for the privately
managed schools, most of which were inefficiently
and poorly staffed and poorly equipped.

• In the Government Resolution on Education of 1904,
it is stated that whether these schools are managed by
public authority or by private persons and whether
they have received public funds or not, the
Government is bound in the interest of the
community to see that education provided to them are
sound. The Government at that time tried to control
the private schools in the following ways :

• The managing committee of the school should be
properly constituted.
• The financial condition of the school should be stable.
• The school must make provision for the health and
recreation of its pupils.
• The number of teachers should be suitable and properly
qualified.
• For establishing secondary schools in a particular area
the necessity of the school will be assessed.

• Every secondary school whether Government aided or
privately managed must receive recognition from the
Director of Public Instruction of the concerned state.
• In addition to the recognition from the Education
Department, it must obtain recognition from a University
also if it wants to present students at the Matriculation
examination conducted by the University.
• Recognised schools will be eligible to receive
Government grant-in-aid and pupils to receive
scholarships.
• Transfer of students from an unrecognised school to a
recognised school was prohibited .

Policy of Improvement:
• Curzon realised that Government control alone cannot
improve the conditions of secondary schools. For
qualitative improvement he adopted the following
measures:
• Provincial Governments should sanction more financial
grants to improve the condition of secondary school.
• Government secondary schools should serve as a model
for private secondary schools.
• Grants should be provided to private schools also to
make them equal to standard schools like the public
schools.

• The number of teacher training centres should be
increased and teachers should be encouraged to
receive training.
• The inspectorate was to be made more efficient for
effecting rigorous control over secondary education
and the number of inspectors should be increased.
• Curriculum of the secondary schools should be
modified by including practical and vocational
subjects. Physical education should be included as a
subject in the curriculum.
• The medium of instruction should be mother tongue
up to middle school level. But the study of English
must not be neglected.
• Importance should be given to improving discipline
among students and teachers.

Assessment of Curzon’s Secondary Education Policy
• As a whole, we may term his secondary education
policy as ‘successful’ because it raised the quality
of secondary education. His policy to make the
secondary schools receive recognition from the
Government as well as from the university helped
in improving its quality of education. Many private
secondary schools had to close down for the
failure to get recognition because of which many
nationalist Indians criticised Lord Curzon for his
policy and expressed that he wanted to crush
nationalistic upsurge. But his strict policy helped
to improve not only the quality of education but
also the quality of administration of secondary
schools also.

• Secondly, as the schools had to take recognition
from the University, they had to give importance
on teacher training and raising the academic
standard in order to send their students for
matriculation examination.
• Thirdly, it is worth mentioning that it was Lord
Curzon who insisted that mother tongue should
be the medium of instruction up to middle level.
For this measures many poor students were able
to receive education through their own languages.
This paved the way for introducing mother tongue
as a medium of instruction in secondary schools in
later stages.

POLICY ON UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
• Lord Curzon was the first person to appoint a
commission on University education. On January, 27,
1902, the Indian University Commission was
appointed under the Chairmanship of Sir Thomas
Ralley to enquire into the conditions of the
Universities established in British India, and to
consider and report upon the proposals for
improving their constitution and working. The
commission submitted its report in June of the same
year (1902) stressing the need for reorganisation of
the Universities. It rejected the idea of setting up
new Universities. Its main recommendations are as
follows—

• The jurisdiction of each University should be fixed
and new Universities should not be established.
• The constitution of the Universities should be
changed to make provisions for teaching in the
Universities.
• Undergraduate and Post-graduate curricula should be
introduced.
• Conditions for recognising colleges should be stern.
• The syndicates should have about 9-15 members.
• The standard of the matric examination should be
improved.
• Importance should be given to the study of classical
languages and arrangements should be made for the
best possible teaching of English.

• This Act followed the earlier Act of 1902. The Indian
Universities Act of 1904, passed on March, 21
provisions was formulated on the basis of the
recommendations of the Indian University Commission
of 1902. The main provisions of this Act are—
• Universities were given the right of teaching along with
the right of conducting examination. In short, their
scope was enlarged.
• Universities had the right to appoint teachers to conduct
teaching and undertake research. They also had the
right to manage their libraries, laboratories and to make
out plans to bring about discipline among students.

• Upto the moment the number of the seats in the
Senate of the Universities were not fixed and the
Govt. used to make life-long nominations. According
to this Act, the number was fixed. The minimum
number was fifty and the maximum number was
hundred. Their term was determined for five years.
• The Act introduced the principle of election in the
constitution of the Senate. According to this Act., 20
fellows are to be elected in the Universities of
Madras, Calcutta and Bombay and 15 in other
Universities.

• The Act gave statutory recognition to Syndicates and
made provision for the adequate representation of
university teachers in the university Senate.
• The Govt. reserved the right to make amendments and
reforms and give approval to the rules framed by the
Senates of the University and also it can frame
regulations itself if the Senate fails to frame these
regulations in time.

• Rules in regard to granting recognition were made
more strict. In order to raise the standards of
education, the Syndicate could call for the inspection
of colleges imparting higher education.
• Prior to this Act., the territorial jurisdiction of
universities was not fixed. As a result some colleges
were affiliated to two universities while others were
situated in the jurisdiction of one university but
affiliated to another.
• This Act, made it clear that the Governor General will
by his ordinary or extraordinary orders fix the
territorial jurisdiction of the Universities and
according to this provision the relations between
colleges shall be established and maintained.

Assessment of Curzon’s University Education Policy
• It is clear from the above discussion that Lord Curzon
wanted to control the functioning of the universities
and thereby break the autonomy of the universities. In
the recommendations of the Indian University
Commission of 1902, there was no proposal for
establishing new university. Moreover, there was no
representation of any Indian in the two Commissions
because of this for his policy did not find favour with
the Indian Public.

• Although two Indian members— G. D. Banerjee and
Syed Hasan were included in later stage yet even the
then Indian public did not feel happy. They were
suspicious of the intention of Curzon and felt that
through policy that the Govt. wanted to suppress
nationalism. Many private colleges had to close down
because of the policy of shrinkage of higher
education taken by Lord Curzon. The number of
degree colleges reduced from 192 in 1902 to 170,
within a span of 10 years. This had received
widespread criticism.
• However, we cannot deny the fact that Curzon gave
importance on improving the standard and quality of
higher education. The credit for initiating a university
improvement campaign was moving slowly but
steadily towards its well defined objectives.

OTHER EDUCATIONAL REFORMS OF LORD CURZON
Lord Curzon carried out several other educational
reforms also and you must be familiar with these
reforms also.
• Agricultural Education:
Lord Curzon was the first person to give importance on
organising agricultural education. agriculture as a
subject of study at school stage,
(i) established the Department of Agriculture,
(ii) created Central Research Institute at Puna, and
(iii) laid down the principle that every important
province in India must have its own Agricultural
college which should be properly staffed and
equipped.

• Establishment of Art School :
Schools of Art were reformed which had failed in their
primary object of promoting Indian art. Curzon directed
that the schools should be continued with certain
modifications in their subjects, methods and
organisation.
• Moral Education :
Although the Missionaries tried to incorporate religious
influence in education, Lord Curzon rejected the idea
and expressed in his Resolution on Educational Policy
(1904) that “In Govt. institutions the institution is, and
must continue to be, exclusively secular”.

• Creation of the Department of Archaeology :
Curzon found that the ancient monuments of India
were not properly being cared for and, therefore,
created a special department for the purpose. He also
passed the Ancient Monument Preservation Act. of
1904.
• Foreign Scholarships :
Scholarships in large number for sending Indian
students abroad for technological studies were
sanctioned. The necessity of technical education in
India had been felt by Lord Curzon for developing
Indian industries.
• Appointment of Director General in Education :
One of the greatest contributions of Lord Curzon in
the field of Indian education was to create the post of
Director General of Education in India.

• He recognised the responsibility of education by the
central Govt. Standards of secondary education was
also raised through rigid and regular inspection and
stricter condition of recognition. Due to his patronage
expansion of primary education was striking.
• Technical and vocational education received impetus
in his hands. Reforms were also introduced in
agriculture education, department of Agriculture was
established and arrangement was made for
agricultural research. His attempt to preserve the
ancient monuments of India and creation of a
department of Archaeology was praiseworthy.

LET US SUM UP
• Lord Curzon came to India as Viceroy in 1899. He
initiated his educational reform by holding a conference
at Simla in 1901. This was the first conference on an all
India basis and a total of 150 resolutions were passed
covering all the stages of education.
• Lord Curzon was severely criticised in his days. He
failed to create faith and confidence in the minds of
educated Indians. They thought that his reform had
some deep political motives. For the socio-political
condition of the country in those days it was not
possible to evaluate Curzon’s activities in an objective
and impartial manner.

CURZON’S CONTRIBUTION TO INDIAN EDUCATION
• But now it is admitted that Lord Curzon did yeoman/important
service to the cause of Indian education. During his days,
every aspect of education received his keen attention and it
was Lord Curzon who started the movement for educational
reconstruction in India. He laid the foundation of the reforms
of Indian universities and tried to raise the standard of Indian
higher education.
• First we have focused our attention on Curzon’s primary
educational policy and observed that Curzon rightly identified
the causes for the poor condition of primary education. He
took some significant steps like liberal grant in aid, abolition
of the system of payment by result, teacher training,
improvement of teacher’s salary and curriculum, etc. As a
result, the number of recognised primary schools and
enrolment increased significantly.

• Regarding secondary education, to check the growth
of inefficient private schools Lord Curzon took
certain strict measures. But at the same time he tried
to improve the quality of secondary education also.
• Lord Curzon set up a University Education
Commission in 1902 to enquire into the condition of
the universities and improving their constitution and
working. On the basis of the recommendations of the
commission the Indian Universities Act of 1904 was
passed.

• Technical and vocational education received impetus in
his hands. Reforms were also introduced in agriculture
education, department of Agriculture was established and
arrangement was made for agricultural research. His
attempt to preserve the ancient monuments of India and
creation of a department of Archaeology was
praiseworthy.
• He felt the necessity of technical education in India had
been felt by Lord Curzon for developing Indian industries.
That’s why he increased the number of scholarships for
sending Indian students abroad for technological studies.
• One of the greatest contributions of Lord Curzon in the
field of Indian education was to create the post of Director
General of Education in India.

REFERENCES
• http://m.kkhsou.in/EBIDYA/EDUCATION/MODIFY_edu
cation_policy.htmlAggarwal, J. C.:Landmarks in the
History of Modern Education, Vikas Publishing House,
New Delhi.
• Nurullah, S. & Naik, J. P.: History of Education in India
during the British Period, MaCMillan India, 1951.ll
• Mukerji, S. N.: Education in India today and Tomorrow,
Acharya Book Depot., Vdodra
• Naik & Nurullah : A Students’ History of Education in
India, Mcmillan India.

WARDHA SCHEME OF EDUCATION OR BASIC
EDUCATION (1937):
The Government of India act, 1935 brought an end
to diarchy in the Indian provinces. In 1937, popular
Governments were established in the provinces and
out of the 11 provinces 6 had congress ministers.
The congress ministers at this juncture were faced
with a dilemma. On one hand they wanted to
execute the Gandhian plan of education and on the
other they wanted to enforce compulsory and
pre-primary education. However Mahatma Gandhi,
father of the Nation presented a new scheme of
education and gave a lead in the direction.

ALL- INDIA NATIONAL EDUCATION
CONFERENCE:
In the Harijans of October 2, 1937, Gandhiji
wrote an article about convening an All – India
National Educational conference on October 22,
23, 1937. This is also known as Wardha
Educational conference and it was held under the
president of Gandhiji himself. Eminent
Educationists, national leaders, Social reformers
and provincial ministers of education took part in
the deliberations of conference.

1) Free and compulsory education be provided
for 7 years on a nation wide- scale.
2) Medium of instruction be the mother tongue.
3) The process of education should center round
some form of manual and productive work
4) The conference accepts that this system of
education will be gradually able to cover the
remuneration of the teachers.

DR. ZAKIR HUSSAIN COMMITTEE, 1937:
In order to give a final shape to the resolutions passed in
the All India National Education conference, Wardha a
committee was formed under the chairmanship of Dr.
Zakir Hussain, then the Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia
Islamia University.
The committee submitted its report in two parts. The
first report was presented in Dec, 1937. It defined the
principles, curriculum, administration and the
supervision work of Wardha education scheme.
The second report was presented in April 1938. It
enumerated the correlation between the basic
handicrafts and others subjects of the curriculum.

OUTLINES OF THE SCHEME OF EDUCATION
1) The duration of the course of basic education is 7 years. It aims
at imparting free and compulsory education to the boys and girls
from age of 7 to 14 years.
2) Mother tongue will be the medium of instruction and teaching
of English shall have no place in curriculum
3) The entire education shall centre round some Basic craft,
which shall be selected in accordance with the needs of the
children and the locality.
4) Goods produced by the children should be utilized and profit
so earned to meet the expenditure of the schools.
5) Education of the craft to be given in such a way that the
children may earn their livelihood from it.
6) In the education of the crafts, the economic importance as
well as its social and scientific importance should be given place.

AIMS OF BASIC EDUCATION
• Education should develop the qualities of an ideal
citizen in the child, socially, politically, economically
and culturally.
• Education should develop love for Indian culture in the
hearts of the educands.
• All round development of the personality was
considered i.e. it must develop a child intellectually,
socially, physically, morally, spiritually.
• After completion of the education, they may be able
to earn their livelihood and fulfill their needs.
• Establishment of a society which was free from the
evils and defects of the present day society.

CURRICULUM:
• Basic Craft-out of the following basic crafts, any
one may be selected
• Agriculture, spinning and weaving, woodcraft,
fisheries, Leather work, Pottery or ceramics, fruit
preservation or Gardening, any other craft
according to the Geographical environment of the
locality.
• Mother tongue, Mathematics, Social studies,
General Science, Nature study, Botany, Zoology,
Chemistry, Elementary Hygiene, Astronomy, Life
stories of eminent scientists and inventories, Art
(music or painting), Hindi, Home science-Girls,
Physical Education.

• TEACHERS
• It emphasis on appointing female teachers in
place of male teachers at the primary level.
• It is necessary to appoint only trained teachers.
Long-term training (3 years) and short term
training (1 year) should be given.
• TIME-TABLE
• In the time-table of the basic scheme of
education, it was thought that boys shall have to
devote 5 hours and a half for their study. It was
also considered necessary to work for about 288
days in the year.

• METHODS OF TEACHING
• Education is imparted through activities and in short
period of time the students are given knowledge of
various and varied subjects.
• Emphasis on activity based education. In retrospect it
may be said that theoretically Basic education seems
very attractive but practically it is a total failure.
• Gandhiji anticipated that the education of crafts and
skills would help make education self- supporting
however just the reverse happened. The result was
sheer wastage of raw material, time, energy and
money. But some of the aspects of basic education still
have relevance like-education through mother tongue
and the activity oriented education. It is good for any
country and therefore for India too.

• DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
DURING THIS ERA:
British education became solidified into India as
missionary schools were established during the
1820s. New policies in 1835 gave rise to the use
of English as the language of instruction for
advanced topics.

Universities
India established a dense educational network
(very largely for males) with a Western
curriculum based on instruction in English. To
further advance their careers many ambitious
upper class men with money, including Gandhi,
Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah went to
England, especially to obtain a legal education at
the Inns of Court. By 1890 some 60,000 Indians
had matriculated, chiefly in the liberal arts or
law. About a third entered public
administration, and another third became
lawyers.

The result was a very well educated professional
state bureaucracy. By 1887 of 21,000 mid-level
civil service appointments, 45% were held by
Hindus, 7% by Muslims, 19% by Eurasians
(European father and Indian mother), and 29%
by Europeans.
Of the 1000 top-level positions, almost all were
held by Britons, typically with an Oxbridge
degree. The Raj, often working with local
philanthropists, opened 186 colleges and
universities. Starting with 600 students
scattered across 4 universities and 67 colleges in
1882, the system expanded rapidly.

More exactly, there never was a "system" under the
Raj, as each state acted independently and funded
schools for Indians from mostly private sources. By
1901 there were 5 universities and 145 colleges,
with 18,000 students (almost all male).
The curriculum was Western. By 1922 most schools
were under the control of elected provincial
authorities, with little role for the national
government. In 1922 there were 14 universities and
167 colleges, with 46,000 students. In 1947, 21
universities and 496 colleges were in operation.
Universities at first did no teaching or research; they
only conducted examinations and gave out degrees.

The Madras Medical College opened in 1835,
and admitted women so that they could treat
the female population who traditionally shied
away from medical treatments under qualified
male professionals. The concept of educated
women among medical professionals gained
popularity during the late 19th century and by
1894, the Women's Christian Medical College,
an exclusive medical school for women, was
established in Ludhiana in Punjab.

The British established the Government College
University in Lahore, of present day Pakistan in
1864. The institution was initially affiliated with
the University of Calcutta for examination. The
prestigious University of the Punjab, also in
Lahore, was the fourth university established by
the colonials in South Asia, in the year 1882.
Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College (MAO
College), founded in 1875, was the first modern
institution of higher education for Muslims in
India.

By 1920 it became The Aligarh Muslim
University and was the leading intellectual
center of Muslim political activity. The original
goals were to train Muslims for British service
and prepare an elite that would attend
universities in Britain. After 1920 it became a
centre of political activism. Before 1939, the
faculty and students supported an all-India
nationalist movement.

However when the Second World War began
political sentiment shifted toward demands for
a Muslim separatist movement. The intellectual
support it provided proved significant in the
success of Jinnah and the Muslim League.

Engineering
The East India Company in 1806 set up Haileybury
College in England to train administrators. In India,
there were four colleges of civil engineering; the
first was Thomason College (Now IIT Roorkee),
founded in 1847. The second was Bengal
Engineering College (now Bengal Engineering and
Science University, Shibpur). Their role was to
provide civil engineers for the Indian Public Works
Department. Both in Britain and in India, the
administration and management of science,
technical and engineering education was
undertaken by officers from the Royal Engineers and
the Indian Army equivalent, (commonly referred to
as sapper officers).

This trend in civil/military relationships continued
with the establishment of the Royal Indian
Engineering College (also known as Cooper's Hill
College) in 1870, specifically to train civil engineers
in England for duties with the Indian Public Works
Department. he Indian Public Works Department,
although technically a civilian organisation, relied on
military engineers until 1947 and after. Growing
awareness for the need of technical education in
India gave rise to establishment of institutions such
as the Indian Institute of Science, established by
philanthropist Jamshetji Tata in 1909.

• By the 1930s India had 10 institutions offering
engineering courses. However, with the advent of
the Second World War in 1939 the "War
Technicians Training Scheme" under Ernest Bevin
was initiated, thereby laying the foundation of
modern technical education in India. Later,
planned development of scientific education
under Ardeshir Dalal was initiated in 1944.
Science During the 19th and 20th centuries most
of the Indian princely states fell under the British
Raj. The British rule during the 19th century did
not take adequate measures to help develop
science and technology in India and instead
focused more on arts and humanities.

Till 1899 only the University of Bombay offered a
separate degree in sciences. In 1899 B.Sc. and M.Sc.
courses were also supported by the University of
Calcutta. By the late 19th century India had lagged
behind in science and technology and related
education. However, the nobility and aristocracy in
India largely continued to encourage the
development of sciences and technical education,
both traditional and western. While some science
related subjects were not allowed in the
government curriculum in the 1850s the private
institutions could also not follow science courses
due to lack of funds required to establish
laboratories etc.

The fees for scientific education under the British
rule were also high. The salary that one would get in
the colonial administration was meager and made
the prospect of attaining higher education bleak
since the native population was not employed for
high positions in the colonial setup. Even the natives
who did manage to attain higher education faced
issues of discrimination in terms of wages and
privileges. One argument for the British detachment
towards the study of science in India is that England
itself was gradually outpaced in science and
technology by European rival Germany and a
fast-growing United States so the prospects of the
British Raj adopting a world class science policy
towards its colonies increasingly decreased.

CONCLUSION:
The Indian education system has to pass many
ups and downs since the early ages. The vast
changes and development have mainly occurred
during the pre-independence or British era.
Some of which contributions are till now
continuing in the present education system.

Reference
Agarwal JC. History of Indian education. CBS
publishers, New Delhi, 2007, p. 10-55 2.
Suresh C. Ghosh. History of Education in India.
Rawat Publications, New Delhi, 2007, p. 15-69 3.
R.N. Sharma, R.K. Sharma, History of Education
in India. 3rd edition; Atlantic Publishers and
Distributors, New Delhi, 2004, p. 20-66

DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
DURING THIS ERA:
British education became solidified into India as
missionary schools were established during the
1820s. New policies in 1835 gave rise to the use
of English as the language of instruction for
advanced topics.

Education Commission The earliest attempt for
reform and restructuring of education system in
British India was the outcome of the wood’s
educational despatch of 1854 resulting from an
enquiry about education in India by the Select
Committee of the British House of Commons
which provided the legal foundation for modern
public education in Bengal.

Establishment of educational departments in every
province, foundation of universities and graded
schools, introduction of supervision system,
grant-in-aid for private schools, teachers' training
institutions, creating a comprehensive secular
system of education for the diffusion of practical
knowledge using both English and the Vernacular
languages, were the major outcome of Wood's
Despatch.
Secondary education as a distinct level of the total
education structure emerged only after the
publication of the Despatch. Wood's Despatch was
one of the first documents advocating formal
education for girls in Bengal.

In 1882, lord ripon appointed the first Indian
Education Commission with William Hunter as its
chairman. The Commission suggested for leaving
secondary education to private enterprise through a
system of grants-in-aid, holding of school and
Entrance examinations and appointment of trained
teachers at secondary schools.
After the Indian Education Conference at Simla in
1901 lord curzon published his education policy in
the form of a government resolution in 1904 which
contributed to the increase of vernacularization at
high school level especially in public schools,
catered for the masses.

Under the reforms of 1919-1921 the elementary
education was made free within municipalities
and rural unions, and in Bengal the first steps
towards universal primary education were taken
through the Bengal Primary Education Act, 1930.
A provincial department of education was
established in 1930, and thus began the process
of centralization and bureaucratization of
education.

Consequently, the enactment of the Bengal
Education Code 1931 was a landmark legislation
that created the District School Board as the
administrative body for primary and secondary
education. A central Advisory Board was
established in 1935 for policy formulation in
education recommended by the Hartog
Committee of 1927.

Education Commission in Pakistani Period
After the partition of India in 1947 efforts were
made to reform the education system in
Pakistan. The first education conference was
held in Karachi in 1947 (27 Novermber'1
December)
• to reassess the colonial education system and
to restructure the existing system with due
regard to ideological and literary
considerations of a new country, Pakistan.

• The second major area taken into consideration
was the training and development of scientific
and technical manpower.
• The third point of the agenda was to plan
education in conformity with national heritage
and aspirations.
With this end in view successive education
commissions were formed from time to time to
suggest ways and means for reform and
restructure of the education system in the
country.

Maulana Akram Khan Education Commission
(1949)
The first education commission in Pakistan was
appointed by the government in 1949 with an
object of reassessing the existing education
system and for suggesting reform and
restructuring the education system. The
commission was headed by Maulana
Mohammad Akram Khan and came to be known
as Maulana Akram Khan Committee on
Education. The Commission submitted its report
in 1952.

Ataur Rahman Khan Education Commission
(1957)
The Government of East Pakistan appointed an
education commission in January 1957 to
suggest the ways and means for reforms in all
levels of education in the province with Ataur
Rahman Khan as its chairman. The Commission
submitted its report in 1957 suggesting reforms
in primary, secondary and in higher education
levels.

The Commission suggested for introduction of
free and compulsory primary education
throughout the province of East Pakistan and to
bring the primary schools under direct control of
the government. The commission assigned
five-years course for primary and six years
course for secondary education, and suggested
for the establishment of junior high school with
three years course (classes vi to viii) and senior
high school with three years course (classes ix to
xi) or high school with full six years course

• Secondary schools were to be established uniformly in
all the areas of the province, one junior high school for
25 thousand population and one senior high school for
50 thousand of population. The sanction of
government grants to the schools was made
mandatory in the report and an uniform rate of tuition
fee of the students was suggested. The Commission
advocated for the mother tongue or regional language
as the medium of education at secondary level, and
also as the compulsory subject. To create incentive
and to encourage the girls to education, the female
students in secondary level were to be entitled to
tuition fee free education. The Commission advocated
for the abolition of intermediate course and
introduction of three years degree course.

• The commission suggested syllabi for primary and
secondary education. These are the introduction
of decimal system in Mathematics at primary
level, inclusion of subjects like language, social
studies, general science, mathematics, religion or
ethics, painting, songs and music, handicrafts,
gymnastics and health studies in junior high
school. The syllabi in senior high schools should
include diverse and multilateral subjects such as
compulsory ontology, science, technical subjects,
commerce, agriculture, domestic science and
Islamic studies, etc.

• Commission on National Education (1958)
The Commission was formed by the Government of
Pakistan on 30 December 1958 with S.M Sharif, the
West Pakistan Education Secretary, as the chairman
and ten educationists as members. The Commission
is also known as Sharif Commission after the name
of its chairman. President Ayub Khan while
inaugurating the Commission in January 1959 set
out the mandate to evolve a national system of
education that would reflect the spiritual, moral and
cultural values of independent Pakistan, and enable
the system to meet the growing needs of the nation
by assisting development in the fields of agriculture,
science and technology.

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