In British India, education emerged as a response to colonial economic interests. Initially limited, it gradually expanded to meet the needs of British administration and emerging commercial enterprises. Despite varied opinions, commerce education left a lasting impact, shaping India’s economic landscape during colonial rule.

Development of Education

Wood’s Despatch: In 1854, Charles Wood, the President of the Board of Control sent an educational despatch to India. 

• It was famously known as Wood’s Despatch.
• Emphasis on European Learning: It also emphasized the practical benefits of a system of European learning, as opposed to Oriental knowledge.
• • Benefits of European Education:One of the practical uses the Despatch pointed to was economic.
• Influence on Tastes and Consumer Demand: According to it, European learning would make Indians appreciate the advantages of trade and commerce in the development of the country.
  • Introducing them to European ways of life would change their tastes and desires, and create a demand for British goods.
• Improvement of Moral Character: It would also, they argued, would improve the moral character of Indians. 
  • It would make them truthful and honest, and thus supply the Company with civil servants who could be trusted and depended upon. 
• Critique of Eastern Literature: The literature of the East was full of grave errors and it could also not instill in people a sense of duty and a commitment to work, nor could it develop the skills required for administration.
• Introduced Measures: Government extended control over the education department, steps were taken to establish University education.
• Universities Setup: In 1857 universities were established in Calcutta, Madras and Bombay. Attempts were also made to bring about changes within the system of school education.

Local Schools in India

Overview of Vernacular Education: William Adam, a Scottish missionary, toured the districts of Bengal and Bihar to report on the progress of education in vernacular schools.

• Proliferation of “Pathshalas”: He found out that there were over 1 lakh ‘pathshalas’ in Bengal and Bihar. 
• Student Enrollment: They were small with around 20 students in each pathshala, but the total number of children taught was over 20 lakh. 
• Pathshala Ownership and Establishment: These institutions were set up by wealthy people, the local community or were started by a teacher (guru). 
• Flexibility in Curriculum: The education here was flexible with no fixed fee,  no printed books, no separate school building, no benches or chairs, no blackboards, no system of separate classes, no roll-call registers, no annual examinations, and no regular time-table. 
• Oral Teaching Methodologies: Teaching was largely oral and the Guru decided what to teach. 
• Adaptation to Local Needs and Conditions: Fees depended on the income of the parents and education in these pathshalas was tailored to local needs. 
  • Example: classes were not held during harvest time when rural children often worked in the fields. 
  • All this meant that even children of peasant or poor families could study.

Effect of British Education System on Local Schools 

Focus on Higher Education: Up to the mid-nineteenth century, the Company was concerned primarily with higher education. 

• So it allowed the local pathshalas to function without much interference.
• Transition to Improving Vernacular Education: After 1854, the Company decided to improve the system of vernacular education in local schools. 
• Government Intervention: A number of government appointed pandits were made in charge of looking after 4 to 5 schools. 
• New Rules and Regulations: Each Guru was asked to submit periodic reports and take classes according to the time-table. 
  • Only pathshalas which accepted the new rules were supported through government grants.
• Shift to Textbook-Based Teaching: Teaching was now to be based on textbooks and learning was to be tested through a system of annual examination. 
• Regular Fees and Class Attendance: Students were asked to pay a regular fee, attend regular classes, sit on fixed seats, and obey the new rules of discipline. 
• Accessibility for Poor and Peasant Families: As a consequence of this new fixed education system, children of poor or peasant families could not afford education with fixed fees and attend regular school. 
• Fixed Education System: Education thus became a luxury and a large section of the Indian population could not pursue it. 

Conclusion

The development of education in British India, driven by colonial economic interests, led to the establishment of universities and an emphasis on European learning. While Wood’s Despatch reformed higher education, the rigid British education system ultimately marginalized local vernacular schools and restricted access for the poor and peasant families.

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