Education 1913-1947: Saddler Commission, Hartog Committee, Wardha Scheme and Sargent Plan

At a Glance

• Saddler 1917-19; 12-year school course; unitary universities
• Hartog 1929; primary education emphasised
• Wardha 1937; basic education through handicraft
• Sargent 1944; universal elementary education
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Modern History: Press, Education, Peasants and Workers

Where Does It Fit?

This is the sixth topic of the category on the press, education, peasants and workers. The previous topic covered education from the Hunter Commission to 1913. This topic covers education from 1913 to 1947 and an evaluation. The next topic covers early peasant movements. Previous topic: Education After 1858: Hunter Commission to the Universities Act, 1904.

What Did the Saddler Commission Recommend?

The Saddler University Commission of 1917-19 was set up to study the problems of Calcutta University, but its recommendations applied more or less to other universities too. It reviewed the whole field from school to university education and held that improving secondary education was a precondition for improving universities.

From 1916 to 1921 seven new universities came up at Mysore, Patna, Benaras, Aligarh, Dacca, Lucknow and Osmania. In 1920 the government recommended the Saddler report to the provincial governments. The 1913 policy is in Education After 1858: Hunter Commission to the Universities Act, 1904.

What Happened Under Dyarchy and What Did the Hartog Committee Say?

Under the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms, education moved to provincial ministries and the government stopped taking a direct interest in educational matters, while the grants liberally sanctioned since 1902 were stopped. Financial difficulties prevented substantial expansion, but education still grew, especially through philanthropic efforts. The reforms are in Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms and the Government of India Act, 1919.

The increase in the number of schools and colleges had led to a fall in standards, and the Hartog Committee of 1929 was set up to report on education. It recommended emphasis on primary education without hasty expansion or compulsion, only deserving students going on to high school and intermediate stages while average students were diverted to vocational courses after class VIII, and restricted admission to universities to improve standards.

What Was the Wardha Scheme of Basic Education, 1937?

The Congress held a National Conference on Education at Wardha in October 1937, and on its resolutions a committee under Zakir Hussain drew up a detailed national scheme of basic education. Its main principle was learning through activity. It was based on Gandhi’s ideas published in a series of articles in Harijan. Gandhi thought that Western education had created a gulf between the educated few and the masses and had made the educated elite ineffective.

The scheme was an expression of an idea of a new life and a new society, and its premise was that only through such a scheme could India become an independent and non-violent society. It was child-centred and cooperative. Little development followed because of the outbreak of the Second World War and the resignation of the Congress ministries in October 1939. Gandhi’s educational ideas are also in Gandhi and Bose: Ideological Differences, and the ministries in Congress Ministries: Labour Policy, Social Welfare and Evaluation.

What Was the Sargent Plan of 1944?

The Sargent Plan, drawn up by John Sargent, educational adviser to the government, through the Central Advisory Board of Education in 1944, recommended pre-primary education for the 3 to 6 age group; free, universal and compulsory elementary education for ages 6 to 11; high school education for ages 11 to 17 for selected children; and a three-year university course after higher secondary, with high schools of two types, academic and technical or vocational. It proposed adequate technical, commercial and arts education, abolition of the intermediate course, liquidation of adult illiteracy in 20 years, and stress on teachers’ training, physical education and education of the physically and mentally handicapped. The objective was to reach, within 40 years, the educational level of England. Although a bold and comprehensive plan, it proposed no method of implementation, and the English ideal may not have suited Indian conditions.

How Should British Education Policy Be Evaluated?

Even the inadequate measures taken were guided by concerns other than philanthropy.

• They were influenced by agitation for modern education by enlightened Indians, missionaries and humanitarian officials.
• They aimed at a cheap supply of educated Indians to staff the growing number of subordinate posts in administration and British firms, hence the emphasis on English.
• They hoped that educated Indians would widen the market for British manufactures.
• They expected Western education to reconcile Indians to British rule, since it glorified the British conquerors and administration. The British thus wished to use modern education to strengthen the foundations of their authority.

The traditional system of Indian learning declined for want of support, particularly after 1844, when it was declared that applicants for government jobs should know English. Mass education was neglected, leading to widespread illiteracy, with 84 per cent illiterate in 1911 and 92 per cent in 1921 by the source’s figures, and a wide linguistic and cultural gulf between the educated few and the masses. Because education had to be paid for, it became a monopoly of the upper and richer classes and city dwellers. Women’s education was almost wholly neglected, because the government did not want to anger orthodox sections and it had no immediate use for colonial rule. Scientific and technical education was largely neglected: by 1857 there were only three medical colleges, at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras, and one good engineering college, at Roorkee, open only to Europeans and Eurasians. As an analytical point, the policy produced the institutions and the English-educated class that later led the national movement, but it did so at the cost of mass literacy, which is why education was one of the most pressing tasks after independence. The system’s foundations are in Education Under Company Rule: Charter Act of 1813 to Macaulay’s Minute and Wood’s Despatch, 1854.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Commissions and committees A standard Prelims list with years and recommendations
• Wardha Scheme Gandhi’s basic education
• Evaluation A frequent Mains topic

What Came Next?

The next topic covers early peasant movements, the Indigo Revolt, the Pabna Leagues and the Deccan Riots. Next topic: Early Peasant Movements: Indigo Revolt, Pabna Leagues and Deccan Riots.

Key People and Terms

• Saddler Commission The 1917-19 university commission
• Hartog Committee The 1929 committee on education
• Wardha Scheme The 1937 scheme of basic education
• Sargent Plan The 1944 post-war education plan
• Basic education Education through productive handicraft
• Intermediate stage A stage between school and degree courses

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask about education reforms and their limits. These points add depth.

• Reforms Saddler to Sargent
• Basic education Gandhian alternative
• Verdict Neglect of the masses and women