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Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay was a British Officer who supported modern education in India.
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Who supported modern education in India?

Modern Education in India – The Indian education system has its deep roots in ancient oral learning as well as the Gurukul education system which later was transformed into formal education by the British. Here are the salient features of modern education in India:

Modern education in India was brought by the British colonisers in the 1830s along with the English language which is credited to have been introduced in India by Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay. While metaphysics and philosophy were earlier studied at Nalanda University, the new modern education system brought by the British focused on academic disciplines like Science and Mathematics. As India became free from the British, basic education was made compulsory, especially for 6-14 years of age with schools constructed all across the country. The modern-age education system of India in the 21st century is constituted of a new approach to learning from online education to skill-development courses, digital learning platforms, a grading system as well as the use of educational technology in the classrooms and a newly introduced New Education Policy !

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Which British officer supported the modern education system?

Development of Modern Education –

• The company wanted some educated Indians who could assist them in the administration of the land.
• Also, they wanted to understand the local customs and laws well.
• For this purpose, Warren Hastings established the Calcutta Madrassa in 1781 for the teaching of Muslim law.
• In 1791, a Sanskrit College was started in Varanasi by Jonathan Duncan for the study of Hindu philosophy and laws.
• The missionaries supported the spread of Western education in India primarily for their proselytising activities. They established many schools with education only being a means to an end which was Christianising and ‘civilising’ the natives.
• The Baptist missionary William Carey had come to India in 1793 and by 1800 there was a Baptist Mission in Serampore, Bengal, and also a number of primary schools there and in nearby areas.
• The Indian reformers believed that to keep up with times, a modern educational system was needed to spread rational thinking and scientific principles.
• The Charter Act of 1813 was the first step towards education being made an objective of the government.
• The act sanctioned a sum of Rs.1 lakh towards the education of Indians in British ruled India. This act also gave an impetus to the missionaries who were given official permission to come to India.
• But there was a split in the government over what kind of education was to be offered to the Indians.
• The orientalists preferred Indians to be given traditional Indian education. Some others, however, wanted Indians to be educated in the western style of education and be taught western subjects.
• There was also another difficulty regarding the language of instruction. Some wanted the use of Indian languages (called vernaculars) while others preferred English.
• Due to these issues, the sum of money allotted was not given until 1823 when the General Committee of Public Instruction decided to impart oriental education.
• In 1835, it was decided that western sciences and literature would be imparted to Indians through the medium of English by Lord William Bentinck’s government.
• Bentinck had appointed Thomas Babington Macaulay as the Chairman of the General Committee of Public Instruction.
• Macaulay was an ardent anglicist who had absolute contempt for Indian learning of any kind. He was supported by Reverend Alexander Duff, JR Colvin, etc.
• On the side of the orientalists were James Prinsep, Henry Thomas Colebrooke, etc.
• Macaulay minutes refer to his proposal of education for the Indians.
• According to him:
  • English education should be imparted in place of traditional Indian learning because the oriental culture was ‘defective’ and ‘unholy’.
  • He believed in education a few upper and middle-class students.
  • In the course of time, education would trickle down to the masses. This was called the infiltration theory.
  • He wished to create a class of Indians who were Indian in colour and appearance but English in taste and affiliation.
• In 1835, the Elphinstone College (Bombay) and the Calcutta Medical College were established.

Wood’s Despatch (1854)

• Sir Charles Wood was the President of the Board of Control of the company in 1854 when he sent a despatch to the then Governor-General of India, Lord Dalhousie.
• This is called the ‘Magna Carta of English education in India.’
• Recommendations of the Wood’s Despatch:
  • Regularise education system from the primary to the university levels.
  • Indians were to be educated in English and their native language.
  • The education system was to be set up in every province.
  • Every district should have at least one government school.
  • Affiliated private schools could be granted aids.
  • Education of women should be emphasised.
  • Universities of Madras, Calcutta and Bombay were set up by 1857.
  • University of Punjab – 1882; University of Allahabad – 1887
  • This despatch asked the government to take up the responsibility of education of the people.

Assessment of the British efforts on education

• Although there were a few Englishmen who wanted to spread education for its own sake, the government was chiefly concerned only with its own concerns.
• There was a huge demand for clerks and other administrative roles in the company’s functioning.
• It was cheaper to get Indians rather than Englishmen from England for these jobs. This was the prime motive.
• No doubt it spread western education among Indians, but the rate of literacy was abysmally low during British rule.
• The state of women education was pathetic. This was because the government did not want to displease the orthodox nature of Indians and also because women could not generally be employed as clerks.
• In 1911, the illiteracy rate in British India was 94%. In 1921, it was 92%.
• Scientific and technical education was ignored by the British government.

The English Education Act 1835 was a legislative Act of the Council of India, gave effect to a decision in 1835 by Lord William Bentinck, then Governor-General of the British East India Company, to reallocate funds it was required by the British Parliament to spend on education and literature in India.

1. Education System In India During British Rule (UPSC Notes):-
2. Also Read:
3. UPSC Related Articles

: NCERT Notes: Indian Education System During British Rule
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Who is known as the father of the modern education?

John Amos Comenius, Father of Modern Education | Moravian College.
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Who started British education system in India?

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Who was the first British to stress the importance of education to Indians?

Macaulay was a British historian who played a major role in introducing English and western concepts to education in India. He in his ‘Minute Upon Indian Education’ argued that publication of books in Sanskrit and Arabic should be withdrawn, and support for religious institutions like madrassas should be reduced.
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Who is the father of modern English education in India?

On this day in 1835, Lord Macaulay successfully westernised education in India; English was made the official language for the government and courts, and was adopted as the official medium of instruction. – Macaulay v/s traditional languages : Ever wondered why we use UK English in India? Thomas Babington, better known as Lord Macaulay, is the man who brought the English language and British education to India. His highly debatable introduction of the English language and the approach to minimalise the use of traditional languages makes an interesting read.
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Who is the father of modern India?

B.R. Ambedkar Paperback – 1 January 2017.
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Who was responsible for the introduction of modern English education in India?

The introduction of English Education was a significant event of Lord William Bentinck’s administration. He appointed a committee headed by Lord Macaulay to make recommendations for the promotion of education.
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What is called the new education plan introduced by the British?

1. Compulsory English and maths to 18, but 🤷 on the rest – Calls for some sort of Baccalaureate to replace GCSEs or A-levels have been around for some time. The National Baccalaureate Trust published detailed plans earlier this year which would see pupils study English and maths up to 18, but also personal development and research projects, such as the Duke of Edinburgh.

• The EDSK think tank proposed a new three-year baccalaureate to replace A-levels, BTECs and T-levels.
• EDSK director Tom Richmond said if government was “serious about boosting technical education, it must end the political obsession with A-levels”.
• There isn’t much meat yet to the proposed Sunak policy.

It was one of the policies he put forward during his failed leadership bid earlier this year, Sunak said a new “British Baccalaureate” would require all pupils to continue to study core subjects like English and maths in sixth form. When asked at the time, his campaign would not provide a full list of subjects.
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WHO emphasized on British education in India?

Lord Macaulay’s Education Policy, 1835 – 1. This policy was an attempt to create a system of education that educates only the upper strata of society through English.2. Persian was abolished as the court language and English become the court language.3.
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Why did the British started English education in India?

English Education in India was introduced on the advice of_.A- William Bentinck B- MacaulayC- Sir Charles WoodD- Dalhousie Answer Verified Hint: This person served between 1839 and 1841 as the War Minister, and between 1846 and 1848 as the Paymaster-General.

Complete answer: Hence, the correct answer is option (B) Note: The English Education Act, although, was brought to effect by Lord William Bentinck, was based upon the advice and ideas of Thomas Macaulay and hence these two should not be confused with each other.

The English Education Act 1835 was the Council of India’s statutory act, which gave effect to a decision by Lord William Bentinck, then Governor-General of the British East India Company, in 1835, to reallocate funds that the British Parliament needed to spend on education and literature in India.Previously traditional Muslim and Hindu education and the publishing of literature in the then traditional languages of learning in India (Sanskrit and Persian) had been restricted in support of traditional Muslim and Hindu education; henceforth, they were to support establishments teaching a Western curriculum with English as the language of instruction.Thomas Babington Macaulay created his famous Memorandum on (Indian) Education in discussions leading up to the Act, which scratches on the inferiority (as he saw it of native (especially Hindu) culture and learning.

Therefore through English-language higher education, there was a need to establish a class of people, Indian in blood and color, but English in taste, beliefs, morals, and intellect,’ who could, in turn, acquire the resources to communicate Western learning in the vernacular languages of India.The immediate cessation of printing by the East India Company of Arabic and Sanskrit books and that the Company should not continue to promote traditional education beyond the Sanskrit College at Benares and the Mahometan College at Delhi” were among Macaulay’s recommendations (which he considered adequate to maintain traditional learning).The English Education Act took a less negative attitude to traditional education.It was soon succeeded by further measures based upon the provision of adequate funding for both approaches.

: English Education in India was introduced on the advice of_.A- William Bentinck B- MacaulayC- Sir Charles WoodD- Dalhousie
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Who implemented modern education?

4. Modern education – In the middle of the medieval age, the British invaded India and started to capture it. The modern education was introduced during the British empire. In the 1830s Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay introduced the English language. The subjects and the syllabus were limited to some extent, the main aim of modern education of the British was to spread Christianity.

• As time passed education started to develop and entered into the modern era that is in the twenty-first century, the era of science, technology, and innovations.
• And the demand and the need for education stills remain the same as it was in ancient and medieval times.
• In the modern era of science and technology, the industrial sector is increasing day by day.

As demand increases our education sector also needs to change and adapt to that environment,
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