39

CHAPTER -II
IMPACT OF WOOD'S DESPATCH OF 1854
The Court of Directors implemented Educational Reforms in India from the
beginning of the Nineteenth Century. The Board of Directors initiated Educational
Reforms to promote a high degree of intellectual fitness of natives, to raise their
moral character, to increase the confidence and ultimately trust them with office
under the Company. They also attempted to advance the European Science and
Literature, to produce marvelous native labourers and in the process, they decided
to improve their commerce and establishments.1
Educational Reforms
In the Madras Province, the Pioneer of Educational Enquiry was Sir
Thomas Munro. In 1822,2 the British Government initiated her maiden efforts to
collect the Educational Statistics in order to initiate Educational Reforms.3 Munro
proposed Collectorate and Tahsildaree Schools for Hindus and Muhammadans
respectively.4 Though these schools were abolished in 1836, they laid a foundation
for later development of Vernacular Education and the formation of Committee of

Extract From the Despatch from the Court of Directors of East India Company to the GovernorGeneral of India in Council No : 49, 19 July 1854,
2
Extract from. Letter in the Revenue Department from the Court of Directors to the Governorin-Council of Fort St George, 18 May 1825.
3
Board of Revenue Consultation, Vol. 918, 8 July 1882.
4
Minute of Sir Thomas Munro, 10 March 1826.

40

Public Instruction. In fact, these schools supplied the basis for Madras High
Schools and ultimately developed into the Presidency College.5
Despatch of 1830 urged the Madras Government to provide Higher
Education. 6 Macaulay's Minute 7 influenced Lord William Bentinck to pass a
Resolution on March 7, 1835.8 In this Resolution, he firmly stated that the great
object of the British Government ought to be the

promotion of European

Literature and Science among the Natives of India, and that all the funds
appropriated for the purpose of education would be best employed on English
Education alone.
Lord Elphinstone gave a fresh start to Education in Madras, by establishing
a University Board 9 in 1840 with a Central Collegiate Institution or University in
Madras which was to be under a President and 14 Governors of whom seven were
to be Natives. Elphinstone proposed the Collegiate Institution or University
consisting of two Departments such as Collegiate Institution to impart Higher
Branches of Literature, Science and Philosophy and High School, teaching English
5

Report of Education Commission 1884, Calcutta 1884, p. 5.

Extract from the letter from the Court of Directors to the Government of Madras, 29
September, 1830.
7
Sharp. H., Bureau of Education India; Selection from Education Record,1781-1839, Part I, Calcutta, 1920, pp. 107 and116.
8
Extract from Lord William Bentick's Resolution, 7 March, 1835.
9
The Board of Public Instruction was reconstituted as a Committee of Native Education in 1836.
The University Board was constituted in the place of Committee of Native Education with
Advocate General George Norton as its President.
6

41

Literature, Vernacular Languages, Elementary Science and Philosophy. High

School was opened in 1841. E.B. Powell was appointed as Headmaster of the High
School.10
During the period of Marquis of Tweeddale, the Council of Education was
appointed to organise and superintend the examinations. This Council proposed
the establishment of nine Provincial Schools in Mofussil Area. This Council
recommended Bible Instructions in Schools. The Court of Directors abandoned
this Council and its Scheme. This Council lasted for two years, from 1845 to
1847.11 Sir Henry Pottinger proposed the appointment of a New Council with 20
members. He recorded his minutes on June 6, 1851.12 His minutes advocated the
need to establish School for Training Teachers, eight Provincial Schools in the
Mofussil and adoption of the System of Grant-in-Aid. The proposal of Pottinger
could not see the light of the day.
Thus with the exception of three Government Institutions such as Madras
High School and at Rajamundry and Cuddalore and a few elementary schools
supported by the Provinces, the education of the country was entirely in the hands
of Missionary Societies and Natives themselves. 13 From Munro to Sir Henry

10

Richery, J.A., Selection from Educational Records 1840-59, Part II, Calcutta 1922, p.179.
Sattinandhan S., op.cit., p. 29.
12
Richery, J.A., op.cit., p. 180.
13
Sattinandhan, S., op.cit., p. 38.
11

42

Pottinger, their proposals were short lived and premature. It was an age of
experiment and the Despatch of 1854 marked a turning point in the Policy of
Education in British India.
Wood's Despatch came to be known after the name of Sir Charles Wood who
was the President of the Board of Control. It directed Governments to pay attention
to Primary and University Education. It advocated Grant - in - Aid System, based
on Secular Education. The diffusion of European Knowledge was the primary
object of Wood's Despatch. 14 This Despatch marked the beginning of Mass
Education which was a departure from the Filtration Theory. It is considered as the
"Magna Carta of English Education in India".15
Salient Features of Wood's Despatch
The salient features of the Woods Despatch were :

The constitution of Separate Department for the Administration of
Education.

Establishment of Universities in the Presidency Towns.

Maintenance of existing colleges, high schools and Increasing their
Numbers.
14

Bhatt, B.D., and Aggarwal, J.C., (ed.,) Educational Documents in India 1813-1968, New
Delhi, 1969, p. 6.
15
James, H.R. Educational and Statemanship in India 1797-1910, Calcutta, 1917, pp.10-23.

43

Expansion of Mass Education through Vernaculars.

Medium of Instruction - English for higher branches and Vernacular
for lower level.

Stressed the importance of Training of Teachers for all classes.

Insisted on Female Education.

Established New Middle Schools

Advocated Grant - in - Aid System based on perfect religious
neutrality.

Anglo - Vernacular Colleges for a careful cultivation of the vernacular
languages.

Encouraged the students with stipends, scholarship, reward of merit.

Liberal Rewards for best elementary treatise in specified languages.

Pointed out the indispensability of Examination.

Demanded periodical report of Government Inspectors.

A comprehensive System of Scholarship was introduced so as to
connect lower schools with higher schools and higher schools with
colleges.

44

Impact in Madras
As per the Wood's Despatch, the University of Madras was established in
1857.16 This institution, like the sister institution at Calcutta and Bombay, was
established on the model of the University of London.17 Its function, in fact, was
to hold examination for degree and honours in the several faculties18 like Arts,
Law, Medicine and Civil Engineering. During this period, limited number of
students studied from the chief town of each Presidency. Hence the plan of
affiliation was not adopted.
Presidency College
The principal Presidency institution was re-organized as the Presidency
College and Powell continued to be in-charge of this Institution. The Senior
Departments taught English Literature, History, Moral Philosophy, Political
Economy, Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. Junior Department curriculum
included English Reading, Composition and Geology. A Law Class was
established as a branch of Presidency College. Provisions were made for imparting
training to teachers belonging to four Provincial Schools, eight Zillah and 100

16

Richery J.A. (ed.,) op.cit., Chapter IX; Despatch from the Court of Directors to the Governor
General of India in Council, no date, para 1 to 80.
17
Act of Legislative Council of India ,5 September 1857, Act no XX VII of 1857.
18
Report on Public Instruction in the Madras Presidency 1854-1855, Madras, 1855, p. 6.

45

Taluk Schools. This helped the Government to make a flying start and to continue
the pioneering work.19
Directorate of Public Instruction
The Directorate of Public Instruction was established in 1854. Alexander
Arbuthnot was appointed as the First Director in 1855. 20 In the same year, the
Madras Government appointed four Inspectors of School, twenty Assistant
Inspectors (Zillah Vistors) and sixty Sub-Assistant Inspectors (Taluk Visitors).21
Arbuthnot provided necessary infrastructure for Public Instruction. He insisted on
the Government to start hundred Model Schools as Taluk Schools and instruction
in them to be given in Vernacular. Taluk Schools were linked to the Village
Schools and Zillah (District) Schools where English was the main subject.
The Department started more schools as Feeder for Colleges. The
Department also made provisions for starting the Printing Press. But it took several
years to carry out these measures.

19

Extract from Letter, 26 January, 1855 from Government of India to Government of Madras.
Sattianadhan, S., op.clt., p. 47.
21
Report on Public Instruction in the Madras Presidency, 1855-1856, Madras, 1856, p. 2.
20

46

Initiatives of the Government

The towns of Kumbakonam, Bellary, Calicut and Rajamundry had each a
Provincial School.22 The Provincial School at Cuddalore was reduced to the Grade
of a Zillah School and two Zillah Schools were established at Chittoor and Salem.
A hundred Taluk Schools were opened during the period. In 1853, Taylors, the Sub
Collector, established Anglo-Vernacular School at Narsapur, which was
maintained from Government Fund and from local subscriptions. Thus in the
neighbouring places also, the same type of schools were started. A few schools
were in existence in the Hill Tracts in the Northern Circars. Lieutenant
MacDonald, who afterwards became the Director of Public Instruction, took an
active part in promoting education among the Kondas and Oriyas in the Northern
Circar.
Introduction of Grant-in-Aid System
The introduction of Grant-in-Aid System was a remarkable feature of 1854
Despatch. The specific object of Grant - in - Aid System was the erection,
enlargement or repair of school building. There was also provision for school

22

Sattianandhan, S. op.cit., p. 46.

47

furniture, the augmentation of the salaries of teachers, the provision of stipends for
pupils, and provision for school books, map and apparatus at reduced prices.23
Establishment and Maintenance of Libraries
The first Grant-in-Aid of Rs. 7,000 was given to Harris School, which was
started in Madras by the Church Missionary Society exclusively24 for Muslims.
This Grant-in-Aid System was defective in some ways. This System did not
specify by what consideration the exact amount of the Grant was to be determined.
They did not define what qualification should be required nor did they note what
deficiencies should be deemed to be a bar to any Grant at all. The New Code came
into operation in 1858 with regard to Salary Grants.25 The amount of Grant should
not to exceed one third of the salary. Since better qualification of a teacher would
raise the efficiency of the school, that was laid out as a condition for determining
the quantum of Grant-in-Aid.
A General Survey was taken to find out the Progress of Education
throughout India since 1854. 26 Several principles laid down in the Despatch of

23

Report on Public Instruction in the Madras Presidency, 1855-1856, Madras, 1856, p. 15.
Richery. J.A., op.cit., pp. 219-227.
25
Maclean C.D., Manual of Administration of Madras Presidency, , op.cit., Vol. .I p. 50-56
26
Richery, J.A., op.cit., p. 228.
24

48

1854 were reiterated and confirmed. The Grant-in-Aid was the subject of special
consideration.27
Government Normal School
Normal classes in the Institution proved to be a total failure. Hence Normal
School was established in 1856 to create competent teachers for employment in
Anglo - Vernacular Schools and Elementary Vernacular Training Schools.28
Examinations were instituted to improve the qualification of men in the
Public Services. This System of Examinations did not prove to be a success.29
However, it indicated that English Education had begun to take root in the soil.
Government Initiatives
The Medical College was transferred to the Department of Education in
June 1855 and Major Maitland's School of Ordinance Artifices was also
constituted as a Government Institution. An Instructor in Fine Arts was appointed
to help Hunter in the Artistic Department of the School of Industrial Arts.

27

Ibid., p. 393.
Report of Education Commission, 1884, Calcutta,1884, p. 150
29
Sattianandhan. S. op.cit., p. 48.
28

49

As a response to Wood's Despatch, the Directorate of Public Instruction was

established. It laid the foundation for the creation of the Department of Education.
British Filtration Theory was replaced by the Theory of Mass Education.
Elementary Education was not to be sacrificed at the altar of Higher Education.
Both English and Vernacular Languages were encouraged. Further, efforts at
Madras marked a strong beginning for the establishment of Provincial Schools,
Anglo-Vernacular Zillah Schools and Anglo-Vernacular Taluk Schools. It
promised the progress of Tribal School in Ganjam District. It gave fresh start to
Normal School for Training Teachers. Wood Despatch also provided a ground for
venturing into Medical Education and Fine Arts etc. It firmly established the first
South Indian University called the Madras University. It paved the way for the
development of Higher Education. Thus the Despatch of 1854 marked an
important Land mark in the History of English Education.
The greatest and most important contribution of the British to the national life
of the Indians was the Spread of Western Education. With its spread, the traditional
sense of values regarding religion, education, culture and sense of beauty
underwent a change and a new sense of values developed.

50

Female Education
The influence and attitudes that promoted Female Education were important.
During the first half of the Nineteenth Century, a few schools for Female
Education were established due to the initiative of the Missionaries and a few
Indian aristocratic families. The conservatives were, however, not in favour of
Female Education. Hence Female Education in India spread only due to the
initiative of the Western Educated, Liberal Minded Indians.
During the first half of the Nineteenth Century, Female Education did not
make much headway. Ram Mohan Roy was a great Advocate of Female
Education. The Brahmo Samaj also contributed much in this regard. In creating a
new mindset for Female Education, Journals like Umesh Chandia's Bamabodhini,
Girish Chandra Sen's Mahila, Basante Micra's Bharat Mahila etc., played a very
important part. The contributions of Prarthana Samaj and the Deccan Education
Society also deserve special mention in this regard.30
Goals of Women Education
Concerning the goals and the purpose of Women's Education, two divergent
views emerged in the course of its developments. The one can be summarized as
the Demand for Equality, including Equal Opportunities for Women. The other
30

Chaudhuri, K.C., History of Modern India, Calcutta, 1983, p. 424.

51

conception, which emerged later, stressed the need for the Development of Human
Resources in the development process. In the actual Educational Policy of India,
constant effort was made to harmonize these two conflicting tendencies.31
Women's Education Prior to 1854
The first step towards the development of Women's Education had been taken
by Missionaries and Philanthropists in the early Nineteenth Century. The First
Girls School was founded in 1820 by David Hare in Calcutta. In 1848, several
schools were started in Bombay by the initiation of Patterson and in 1815, J.E.D.
Bethume founded the famous Bethume School in Calcutta. These private efforts
remained limited to certain groups. The Hindus and Muslims hesitated to send their
daughters to these schools. 32 During this period, the Madras Presidency stood
foremost in Women's Education. In 1821, the Church Missionary Society at
Tirunelveli opened the First Secondary School. In 1840, with the assistance of Rev.
Isaac Wilson and his wife, the Scottish Church Society ventured into starting six
schools for Hindu Girls in Madras.33

31
32
33

Shakuntala Devi, Women's Status and Social Change, Jaipur, 1999, p. 96.
Ibid., p. 195.
Santha, K.C., Changing Role of Women in Indian Society and its Implication on Education,
New Delhi,1985 p.30.

52

Women Education had also made certain amount of progress independently of

the State, chiefly under Missionary Management, before the publication of the
Despatch of 1854. Boarding Schools were maintained from an early period by the
Church of England Societies in Tirunelveli, but they were almost exclusively
attended by Higher Castes. This attempt had to struggle against many obstacles.
In 1845, the First Girls School, partly under native management, was opened
in Madras. It was the precursor to many more. In 1854, there were probably 7000
girls at schools conducted by Missionary Societies, and although the bulk of these
were Native Christians, there was also a considerable proportion of Hindus
belonging to Higher Castes. The nine pupils at the School of the Free Church of
Scotland in 1843, had increased to about 700 in 1854.34
Magna Carta of Education, 1854
The Education Despatch of the Court of Directors, dated 19th July 1854 was
a document of great historical importance. It was the most memorable document
on education in India because it went right into the problem of education in the
social context of India.35

34

Government of India, Report of the Indian Education Commission, 1882, Part I, Calcutta,
1883, p. 11.

35

Subramanian, S., The Introduction of English as the Educational Medium in the Madras
State in the Nineteenth Century, Madras, 1983,p.135.

53

Wood's Despatch began a new era of organised educational administration,

defined the aim of Indian Education, and determined the Government's attitude
towards the need for technical and Women's Education. Even though it had
recommended that the British Government should support Women's Education and
give financial assistance for the opening of Girls Schools, the Department of
Education did not take active measures for another decade or two.36
Department of Education
In accordance with the recommendation of the Wood's Despatch, a
Department of Education was set up by the Government of Madras and the Grantin-Aid System was introduced. The City of Madras witnessed educational progress
at different levels. 37 A Director of Public Instruction was appointed for the
Presidency of Madras, with a staff of Inspector and Assistant Inspector under him.
The Educational Department in each Province acted directly under the orders of
the respective Provincial Government, and had developed a system of working,
more or less distinctively, its own.

36
37

Ibid., p. 31.
Education Census of Madras, 1871, Madras, 1872, p. 29.

54

Official Support to Female Education

As the result of the Despatch of 1854, Indigenous Schools began to function in a
better manner by imparting Elementary Education in the Madras City. 38 The Despatch
propounded a series of propositions of first rate importance concerning Elementary
Education.39 The Governor of Madras, Lord Elphinstone, did not make any reference to
the problem of Women's Education in his Minutes in 1823. Lord Dalhousie, on the
contrary, declared: "It is the opinion of the Governor General - in - Council that no single
change in the habit of the people is likely to lead to more important and beneficial
consequences to female children". This declaration of Lord Dalhousie was the forerunner
of the famous Wood's Education Despatch of 1854, which laid down 'the encouragement
of female education' as that of the Company's Policy. It was for the first time that an
official decision was made to give frank and cordial support for Female Education.40

The Despatch, though stressed the importance of Female Education, was silent
about ways and means to promote it. Even fourteen years after the acceptance of the
Despatch, the Government at Fort St. George did not have any concrete proposal for
fostering Female Education.41 On the basis of Recommendation made by this Despatch,
three major Universities were established in India - Madras, Bombay and Calcutta, which

38

Rajpruthi R., and BelaRani Sharma, Encyclopaedia of Women Society Culture Education and
Modernisation of Women in India, Vol. 15, Delhi, 1995, p.34.
39
Ibid., p. 33.
40
Ibid., p. 111.
41
Subramanian, P., Social History of the Tamils 1707-1947, Madras, 1950, p. 30.

55

was a Landmark in the Field of Education. Western ideas of education in general and
Female Education in particular, received special attention under these Universities.
Schools for Girls
After the transfer of power to the British Parliament in 1858, the subject of Female
Education came under the serious consideration of Government. Several Missions had
earlier taken practical steps towards the establishment of Elementary Schools for Girls.
Secular Schools had been springing up in various parts of the Presidency. The Normal
School established at Madras for the Education of Teachers for Native Girls was an
important event in the History of Education.42
The Despatch recommended that the British Government should support Women's
Education, and grant should be made to establish private schools.43 The Sarah Tucker
Female Training School, named after the sister of the C.M.S. Secretary in Madras, was
opened at Palayamkottai in 1858. In 1867, it passed into the capable hands of Mr. and
Mrs. Lash.44
In the Black Town, Madras, school for the education of girls was started in 1860. It
was altogether a self-supporting school. Later it was put under Government inspection,
and obtained a Grant.45 The first Caste Girls' School of the London Mission Society was
opened in January 1862. This was in Black Town. Subsequently, three more were opened
42

Women's Education in Madras Presidency from 1800-1947, Madras, 1952, pp.70-72.

Ibid., p. 75.
44
Naro Brockway, K., A Larger way for Women, Madras, 1949, p. 70.
45
Ibid., p. 28.
43

56

but after a time, the children of four schools or the greater part of them, were induced to
assemble in order that they might enjoy the more continuous oversight and instruction of
the Lady in Charge. In 1866, a School for Caste Girls was started in Purasawakkam. It
was brought under Government inspection , and a small Grant was obtained.
Owing to the emphasis made by Charles Wood towards Female Education, women,
who were denied the privilege of education, were enlightened through western system of
education. This Despatch was, no doubt, a specific directive to encourage Female
Education.
The Despatch of 1854, though stressed the importance of Female Education, was
silent about ways and means to promote it. Despite this fact, the path laid out by Wood's
Despatch was a basic factor to achieve tremendous change in the Progress of Women
through Education which brought self-confidence and courage to them to face the
challenges of life till date.