On 31 July 1823, the colonial administration established the first education department in Bengal, called the General Committee of Public Instruction. In 1813, the British Parliament had earmarked 100,000 rupees to promote education in India, and the government had not used it to support ‘ modern’ education. The government faced intense criticism from Indians and feared they would approach the British Parliament to redress their grievances. Consequently, the colonial administration set up the General Committee of Public Instruct ion (GCPI), laying the foundation of the first education department in India. The GCPI consisted of ten members, all of them now characterised as Orientalists, to prepare replies to the parliament, handle Indian criticisms and advise the government on matters concerning education. It became the centre of the famous Anglicist-Orientalist debate. Within a year, educational departments were also established in Bombay and Madras Presidencies.
Later on, these early education departments gave way to the Board of Education in 1841-42. At the suggestion of Charles Wood ‘s Despatch of 1854, new education departments headed by Directors of Public Instruction were set up in all the provinces. Even after 168 years, this structure continues to exist to tlh.is day. The bicentenary of the first education department in India requires a new historical evaluation of the adopted policies and their implementations pursued by various governments. The conference aims to bring together historians and educationists working on colonial and post-colonial educational policies and practices.
Programme: https://mwfdelhi.hypotheses.org/files/2023/07/TwoCenturies_EduPolicy_Programme-final.pdf
BY MWFDELHI
Zur Veranstaltungsseite des MWF Delhi