Bharat Me Uchch Shiksha Evam Chunoutiya Higher Education and Challenges in India

Abstract

The inclination towards education in India has been evident since ancient times. In ancient periods, education was imparted in Gurukuls, Ashrams, and Buddhist monasteries. Prominent educational centers of that time included Nalanda, Takshashila, and Vallabhi. During the medieval period, higher education was provided in Madrasas. The Mughal rulers established madrasas in Delhi, Ajmer, Lucknow, and Agra.
The introduction of modern and Western education in India began during the rule of the British East India Company. The first educational institution was established in 1781 when the Governor-General of Bengal, Warren Hastings, founded a madrasa in Calcutta for the study of Persian and Arabic. In 1784, Warren Hastings' associate Sir William Jones established the Asiatic Society of Bengal, which made significant efforts in the study of ancient Indian history and Sanskrit.
The Charter Act of 1813 was the first to allocate ₹100,000 (1 lakh rupees) for the promotion and expansion of education in India. The fund was intended to support the revival of Indian literature and encourage local scholars. However, due to a lack of a clear definition of Indian scholars and literature, a debate between Orientalists and Anglicists emerged. To resolve this conflict, Lord Auckland formed a commission under the chairmanship of T.B. Macaulay. This commission introduced the Downward Filtration Theory, which proposed that education should be imparted to the upper classes, who would then disseminate it to the lower classes.
Macaulay aimed to promote Western education in India and create a class of people who would be Indian in appearance but English in thoughts, tastes, and intellect. Regarding Indian literature, Macaulay famously stated:
"A single shelf of a good European library is worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia."
On July 19, 1854, a comprehensive plan for Indian education was introduced, known as the Wood’s Dispatch. This document, consisting of 100 articles, laid out the objectives, methods, and reforms necessary for the advancement of education in India.