Presentation on theme: "Wood’s Despatch of 1854..

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1 Wood’s Despatch of 1854.
2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After going through this unit, you will be able to:Know about the
historical events leading to the Wood’s Despatch.Describe the various recommendations of Wood’s
Despatch.Identify the merits and weaknesses of the Despatch and its impact on Indian education
system.

3 INTRODUCTION Wood’s Dispatch of The Despatch is a very important educational document and
holds a unique place in the history of Indian education. It placed the responsibility of education of the
Indian people fully on the company and stated quite explicitly that it must never be neglected. The
Dispatch gave new direction to education in India and in a way this direction has its clear impact on
today’s education in the country.

4 HISTORICAL EVENTS LEADING TO THE DESPATCH

it is known to us that the Charter of the East India Company had to be renewed after every twenty
years. Accordingly while renewing the Charter in 1833 the British Parliament increased the sum of
money to one million yearly from the one lakh in 1813 to be sent on education in India. When the
time for renewal came in 1853, education in India had come to suffer numerous problems. The
directors of the company decided to lay down a definite policy for education in India. Therefore, it
became necessary to make a comprehensive survey of the entire field of education. As such, a
Selection Committee of the British Parliament was set up in order to institute an enquiry into the
measures for their reforms. The Committee studied the issue thoroughly and reported that the
question of the Indian education should not be ignored and its development will not be in any case
harmful to the British Empire. The suggestions of the Committee were favourably considered by the
Board of Directors. Sir Charles Wood was the president of the Board of Control. Therefore, the
declaration issued on July 19, 1854 was known as “Wood’s Despatch”, although it is said that the
Despatch was written by the famous Economists John Stuart Mill, a clerk of the company at that
time. On the basis of the recommendations of the Wood’s Despatch, new educational policies were
formed.

5 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S DESPATCH

Wood’s Despatch is a long document of 100 paragraphs and deals with the various aspects of great
educational importance. Now we will discuss the recommendations in one by one.Aims and
Objectives of Educational Policy: The Despatch first throws light on the aims and objectives of
educational policy of the Company in India. It gave highest priority to the responsibility of Indian
Education overall other responsibilities of the Company. The Despatch had the following objectives
in view: a) To impart Western knowledge, information about the western culture to the Indians. b) To
educate the natives of India so that a class of public servants could be created. c) To promote
intellectual development and also raise the moral character of the young generation. d) To develop
practical and vocational skills of the Indians people so that more and more articles could be
produced and also to create a good market for consumption of those goods.

6 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S DESPATCH

Department of Education: The Wood’s Despatch, for the first time, recommended the creation of a
Department of Public Instruction in each of the five provinces of Bengal, Bombay, Madras, the
Punjab and the North Western provinces. The head of the Department would be called the Director
and he was to be assisted by a number of inspectors. The D.P.I. had to submit an annual report to
the government about the educational progress in his province.

7 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S DESPATCH

Expansion of Mass Education: - Another major recommendation of the Despatch was expansion of
mass education. It was observed that the common people were deprived of educational
opportunities and therefore much emphasis was given on the increase of setting up primary, middle
and high schools. The Downward Filtration Theory as proposed earlier was discarded and in its
place importance to primary education was given. Elementary education was considered to be the
foundation of the education system.

8 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S DESPATCH

Establishment of Universities: - The Despatch recommended the establishment of universities in the
three Presidency towns of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. The universities were to be modelled after
the London University and these were to have a senate comprising of a Chancellor, a Vice-
Chancellor, and fellows who were nominated by the Government. The Universities would confer
degrees to the successful candidates after passing the examinations, (of Science or Arts Streams)
conducted by the Senate. The universities were to organize departments not only of English but also
of Arabic, Sanskrit and Persian, as well as law and civil engineering.

9 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S DESPATCH

Grant - in-aid system: - The Wood’s Despatch recommended the sanction of a grant-in-aid system in
the Indian educational system. To educate the large number of people of India was a difficult task
and so the grant-in-aid system was adopted by the government. Grants were given to those schools
and colleges which satisfied the conditions given below :- a) The schools must provide secular
education. b) The school management should run the school well. c) The school should agree to
state inspection from time to time. d) The schools should follow any rule prescribed by the
government for the regulation of the grant. e) The school must charge fees from the students. Grants
were given to the schools for increasing the salaries teachers, construction of school buildings,
granting scholarships to students, improving conditions of literaries, opening of science department
etc.

10 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S DESPATCH

Teaching of Language: - The Wood’s Despatch gave importance to teaching of English, but at the
same time, it also stressed on the teaching of Indian languages. The Despatch realised that any
acquaintance of European knowledge could be communicated to the common people and that could
be conveyed to them only through learning their own mother tongue. Therefore the Despatch clearly
stated that Indian languages as well as English should be used as media of instruction.

11 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S DESPATCH

Education of Women: - The Despatch recommended that the government should always support
education for women. The wood’s Despatch stated, “The importance of female education in India
cannot be over rated; and we have observed with pleasure the evidence which is now afforded of an
increased desire on the part of many of the natives of India to give a good education to their
daughters. By this means a far greater proportional impulse is imparted to the educational and moral
tone of the people than by the education of men”. The Despatch also encouraged the private
enterprises to promote women education. The schools for girls were to be included among those to
which grants-in-aid would be given.

12 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S DESPATCH

Training of Teachers: - The Wood’s Despatch recommended the establishment of teacher training
schools in each of the provinces. There should be training schools for teachers of engineering,
medicine and law. The qualified teachers should be given better pay scales. The Despatch further
emphasized on the provision of scholarships to the teachers during their training period.

13 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S DESPATCH

Professional Education: - The Wood’s Despatch encouraged professional education. It
recommended the establishment of medical, engineering law and other institutes of professional
education. The Despatch stated that in order to develop vocational efficiency of people and also to
make people realise that the British rule was progressive. Another reason for the encouragement of
vocational education was to control the problem of unemployment.

14 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S DESPATCH

Introduction of network of Graded Schools all over India: - The Wood’s Despatch recommended the
establishment of a network of graded schools all over the country. At one end were the universities
and the colleges, then the high schools followed by the middle schools and the bottom of the middle
schools and at the bottom of the network were the primary schools, both government and
indigenous. Both the Anglo- vernacular and vernacular schools were to be included in the same
class. This system was recommended in order to enable an individual to receive higher education
after completing the different levels of schools education.

15 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S DESPATCH

The main objective of the Wood’s Despatch was to educate Indian people in order to create a class
of civil servants. It also wanted to impart Western knowledge and information about Western Culture
to the Indian people. The Wood’s Despatch recommended for the first time, the creation of
Department of Education in Bengal, Madras, Bombay, Punjab and the North Western Provinces.
The Despatch recommended the promotion of mass education by establishing schools, both public
of and private. The Wood’s Despatch recommended the establishment of three universities in the
Presidency towns of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras on the model of the London University.

16 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S DESPATCH

The grant-in-aid system was recommended by the Wood’s Despatch The Despatch wanted to
promote the study of English as well as Indian regional languages and classical languages like
Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit. The Wood’s Despatch supported women education. Importance of
training of teachers was realised by the Despatch and so it recommended the establishment of
teacher training institutes. It also suggested the improvement of working condition and salaries of
teachers. The Wood’s Despatch also encouraged professional education.

17 Merits of Wood’s Despatch

The merits of the Despatch are discussed in the following points:The Wood Despatch started a new
era in Indian education system by clearly defining objectives of education.It made the Government
realise the importance of education for the people.It presented a comprehensive scheme of
education embracing primary, secondary and higher education.It recommended the creation of a
separate Department of Public Instruction in five provinces and appointment of a Director to head
the Department.The principle of Downward Filtration Theory was discarded by the Wood’s Despatch
and it encouraged the promotion of mass education; it recommended the establishment of
indigenous schools.

18 Merits of Wood’s Despatch

By the grant-in-aid system many schools were benefited and the quality of education improved and
private organisations were encouraged to open new schools.The Despatch encouraged higher
education by recommending the establishment of universities in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras.The
Wood’s Despatch emphasized on the necessity of vocational education.The Despatch
recommended the importance of establishing teacher training institutes to improve the quality of
teachers and also improves their conditions and salaries.The Despatch recommended scholarships
for the poor and deserving students.Language teaching was encouraged by the Despatch; as a
result, regional languages and classical languages were taught in the schools.

19 The Wood’s Despatch was a historical document because of its merits

The Wood’s Despatch was a historical document because of its merits. They are given below :-For
the first time the government seriously realised the importance of a well planned education system.It
recommended the creation of a Department of Public Instruction and appointed a Director to head
the Department.It recommended the establishment of both government and indigenous schools to
promote mass education.The Despatch also recommended the establishment of three universities to
higher education.The Despatch encouraged vocational education and also training for teachers.The
Wood’s Despatch recommended the teaching of English and Indian regional languages as well as
classical languages like Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit.

20 Demerits of Wood’s Despatch

The demerits of the Wood’s Despatch are given below:The Despatch, in reality promoted Western
literature and knowledge and government offices showed preferences for persons educated in
English.The education planning and management schemes remained only in black and white.It
neglected general education. Only the privileged class receives education. Indigenous schools
remained neglected. Priority was given to people educated on English pattern with regard to
government posts. M. R. Paranjpe stated that, “the authors did not aim at education for leadership,
education for the industrial regeneration of India, education for the defence of the motherland, in
short, education required by the people of a self- governing nation.Departments of Education were
opened in the five provinces but they could not promote the real interest of education.The system of
grant-in-aid did not operate in proper sense, i.e., there was always the paucity of funds, the
irregularity of their release and biased attitude towards the privately managed schools.

21 Demerits of Wood’s Despatch

The idea of providing vocational education as advocated by the Despatch, was in reality absent.
People were facing the problem of unemployment and this is persisting even today.The Wood’s
Despatch had a partial attitude towards the Christian missionaries; Christian religious books were
easily made available to the students, in the libraries.The three universities were modelled on the
London University and the Government’s policy of nominating members to the senate was biased.
Therefore higher education was not related to Indian conditions.The Despatch succeeded in only
producing a class of clerks and accountants.The Wood’s Despatch could not remove the imbalance
in Indian education system. The rich people sent their children to English medium schools, and the
government gradually stopped financial aid to the indigenous schools and so the existence of these
schools became jeopardised. It failed to develop character initiative and leadership among students.

22 Major Demerits of the Wood Despatch:

The Wood’s Despatch could not manage the education system well.Mass education did not become
a reality.The grant-in-aid system did not work well as there was paucity of funds and irregularity of
the release of funds.The Despatch was more interested in promoting Western knowledge and
culture.The Department of Public Instruction could not promote the interest of education and the
education in the universities could not be related to Indian conditions.The Despatch did not promote
vocational education as was required. in fact, the idea was postponed indefinitely.Women education
continued to be neglected.The Despatch produced a class of clerks and accountants but did not
develop character and leadership qualities among students.

23 Conclusion:In conclusion it has been observed that however, it must be noted that inspite of all
the limitations, the Wood’s Despatch was recognized as the Magna Carta of Indian Education.’ The
objective of the Despatch was very sincere but the government could not implement the various
suggestions and recommendations. The Department of Education was created in the five provinces
with a DPI, inspectors and other officers. In 1857 three universities were also established in
Calcutta, Bombay and Madras. The main provisions of the document were of great historical
importantance. It provided a boost to secondary education and to some extent to primary education
also. It was however observed that some of the most important recommendations of the Despatch
were not carried out for a long time and some were given effect in a distorted form. During the first
thirty years after the Despatch, government institutions gradually increased and beside the Christian
Missionaries other private enterprise were not encouraged. 

24 Conclusion:As education spread and new ideals of social service emerged, Indian private
enterprise began and multiplied but the government was not prepared to hand over its schools and
colleges to Indian management as it had little faith on the Indians’ capacity and managerial skills.
Plans to spread mass education were not realized nor were vernacular high schools established. It
was painful to observe that the Despatch, to an extent, thought of India as a supplier of raw
materials for British industries and the consumer of the finished products of England. Indians never
recognized the Wood’s Despatch as a ‘Magna Carta’ as it did not sincerely promote universal
literacy. The promoters of the Despatch could not visualize the progress of Indian aspirations even
after a century. The Sepoy Mutiny happened in 1857 and soon after, the East India Company was
disolved and the government came directly under the British Crown. As a consequence, efforts were
made to consolidate the empire and education was somewhat neglected.

25 After having the discussion on this unit, followings are the basic ideas that
After having the discussion on this unit, followings are the basic ideas that we have discussed in
details.In the 1853 renewal of the Charter Act, it was realised that a systematic pattern of education
was necessary for India. As a result the Wood’s Despatch was issued, with Sir Charles Wood as the
President of the Board of Control of Education.The main objective of the Despatch was to impart
Western knowledge to the Indian people and also to develop their intellect and moral character.For
the first time in India, the Wood’s Despatch recommended the creation of a Department of Public
Instruction in five provinces.A major recommendation of the Wood’s Despatch was to spread
education among the common people and to make them vocationally efficient.

26 After having the discussion on this unit, followings are the basic ideas that
Three universities in three Presidency towns of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were set up as per
the recommendations of the Despatch.A major recommendation of the Wood’s Despatch was to
spread education among the common people and to make then vocationally efficient.Grant-in-aid
system was to be introduced as per the recommendation of the Wood’s Despatch.The Despatch
encouraged the teaching of Indian regional languages and classic languages like Arabic, Persian
and Sanskrit as well as English.The wood’s Despatch encouraged the establishment of teacher
training institutes to improve the quality of teachers.For all the recommendations mentioned above,
the Wood’s Despatch was called the ‘Magna Carta of Indian Education’.

27 After having the discussion on this unit, followings are the basic ideas that
Inspite of sincere intentions of the Wood’s Despatch, the government failed to implement many
recommendations.English continued to be the medium of instruction and the common people were
deprived of education.The universities set up in 1857 imparted such education as to promote
Western knowledge and culture in India.In reality, there was no vocational education in the
country.Mainly because of the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857, most of the recommendations could not be
implemented.