Education and Literacy

CHAPTER XII

EDUCATION AND LITERACY

Early Conditions.

It is a mere truism that education and literacy are not the same thing. One may be well-educated without being literate, and vice versa. Old Hindu India was universally educated as well as literate. During Moslem domination, India was only partly educated and partly literate. In this connection the reader should remember the remarks of Elphinstone and others about education in pre-British days quoted in the chapter dealing with agriculture. Education and literacy in mediæval India were in no way less than the same in mediæval Europe. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, India had as much education and literacy as Europe. The nineteenth century, however, has brought almost a complete revolution. It is an age of universal literacy. Under modern conditions, literacy is the necessary road to economic efficiency, and that is denied to India. If education makes a man gentle, kind, God-fearing, considerate, temperate and sober, India has enough of it. Even her masses have sufficient background of character and intelligence. They are quick to understand and ready to assimilate. But this is an era of scientific knowledge. For that, literacy and formal instruction are necessary steps. In that India is lagging behind other nations. The Government has made no provision for the instruction of the masses.

Eighty-two of every hundred boys of school age, and ninety-five of every hundred girls, receive no instruction. Education in India is neither universal, nor compulsory, nor free. The kind of education provided for in Indian schools is in its nature antiquated; it does not fit its recipients for the battle of life, according to modern conditions. The expenditure on education is trifling when compared with other countries. The neglect of every kind of vocational training is most palpable. There is no provision for training skilled labour, nor any worth the name for teaching modern languages and modern commerce. The following facts taken from the last quinquennial report of the Government of India, published in 1912, speak for themselves.

Facts and Figures about Education

Table has been formatted for readability.

The population of India of school age has been calculated as 15 per cent. of the total. The actual time spent under primary instruction is three to eight years. This period, however, cannot be taken as sufficient to obtain permanent results. The primary course ordinarily occupies from five to six years; the average age of school life is from the completion of the fifth to the end of the eleventh or twelfth year. These ages include 13.7 per cent. of the population, if we reckon to the end of the eleventh year, and just below 16 per cent. if we reckon to the end of the twelfth year. On the assumption of 15 per cent. of the population being counted as of school age, only 17.7 per cent. of that number are now at school (i.e., at the end of 1912.)

Total expenditure on education in 1912 ……… £5,239,507 Amount expended on education from public funds just one-half the total …………………… £2,700,000

The average cost of education of a pupil in India is twelve shillings and ten pence, or about $3.10; of this amount, the share defrayed by the Government from public funds is a little more than one-half, or six shillings and eight pence,—$1.60.

Number of universities in India in 1912 …. 5 Two have been added since that time, making a total of ………………………… 7 Number of colleges affiliated to the universities 179 From 1907 to 1912 there was an increase of 3 Number of students in colleges …………. 36,533 Expenditure on university education (p. 43) £90,000¹

One hundred and twenty-three of the hundred and seventy-nine colleges in India are those in which purely arts courses are given; the number of students registered for arts courses, 28,196. The number has risen by 10,000 in the quinquennium.

Law.

There are twenty-five law colleges where courses in law and jurisprudence may be pursued. The number of students registered was 3,046.

Medicine.

Of medical colleges there are five, with a total enrolment of 1,822 students.

Engineering.

Engineering is taught in four colleges and three schools, with a few miscellaneous classes given in private and other institutions. Madras has one college of engineering, with provision for an elementary study of the subject in three technical schools. Bombay boasts of one college and three small aided engineering classes. In Bengal there are one college and two technical schools. The United Provinces have one engineering college among them. In the Punjab there are one school and one class held in a private college. Burma has one school where engineering is taught. The number of pupils availing themselves of these courses is not shown in the Government report on technical institutions, but the following figures were obtained from the tables given in the second volume:

Total number of students in Governmental Schools and Colleges of Engineering …………………… 1,607 Total cost to Government of enrolled students in Engineering Rs. 799,388 or $267,000.

Agriculture.

There are three government institutions where agriculture is taught, with a total enrolment of 267 students. Cost to Government: Rs. 170,353, or $56,784. These figures, taken from page 258, table 139 of the report, do not tally with those given in vol. i, ch. 1, dealing with the subject of agriculture. It would appear from this account that there are seven agricultural colleges in India:

I. At Pusa, opened in 1908 as a post-graduate school. Nineteen pupils were registered, but by 1912 their number fell off to seven. Short courses were given in such subjects as management of cattle, poultry, fruit-growing, lac and silk production. From 1908 to 1912 students enrolled in special courses were 2; 45; 59; 33 respectively.

II. Poona College, in 1908 made a separate institution; in 1912, 104 students were enrolled, of whom 15 took short courses.

III. Coimbatore College, opened 1909; students enrolled in 1912, 50.

IV. Behar and Orissa College opened 1910; in 1911-12 students numbered 18.

V. Cawnpore College and Research Laboratories; projected 1907-8, formal opening 1911, with enrolment of 122.

VI. Nagpur College, with 58 students; time of opening not stated.

VII. Lyalpore College, opened 1909; in 1912 enrolled 49 students.

In addition to these there are four veterinary colleges and one school, with a total attendance of 458 students.

Technical and Industrial Education.

There are three classes of technical and industrial educational schools: 1. Technological institutions for instruction in principles of science as applied to industrial arts, with the intention of producing masters and managers of industry, and scientific advisors; 2. Technical intermediate schools for the training of foremen and others who require some knowledge of scientific principles and machinery; 3. Trade or craft schools intended to train artisans to follow their calling with dexterity and intelligence.

“In 1907,” we are told (page 176), “there were no institutions of class I in India, though education of an advanced type was given in mechanical and electrical engineering at the professional colleges. In place of such institutions, scholarships tenable abroad were offered Indian students, that they might benefit by the facilities available in England and elsewhere. The scholarships were first started in 1908 and have been given on an average of about nine a year” (that is to say, three for every 100,000,000 people.) [Italics are ours.]

During the quinquennium, an institute was opened at Bangalore, Mysore, for which a sum of more than a million dollars was donated by a private individual, the late Mr. J. N. Tata of Bombay. It took the Government about ten years to formulate its policy in connection with the gift. Eventually, in 1911, the institute was opened. Seventeen students entered, and, in the language of the report, “it is too early to judge the results.” Besides the endowment fund, the Tata family have given land in Bombay which yields an annual income of Rs. 125,000 or about $41,666; the native State of Mysore has contributed a sum of Rs. 500,000, or $166,666; the Government of India contributed one-half that amount towards the initial expenses, and adds the magnificent sum of $29,000 a year towards upkeep and expenses. The institution, which originally owed its existence to private munificence, is hampered on every side by government interference and restrictions. Public opinion holds that the teaching is incompetent, and that no education worthy the name is being imparted.

In 1911–12 there were altogether two hundred and forty-two technical and industrial schools of the second and third class, out of which but twenty-five are maintained by the Government. At the close of 1912, there were 12,064 pupils in these schools, out of which number only 1,365 were in government schools; the latter are very poor institutions, from the point of view of both teaching and equipment. In the year just cited, the total amount of money spent on the upkeep and expenses of these government schools was Rs. 525,506 or about $175,000,—provincial revenues, local and city funds included.

Thus, out of a population of 315,000,000, only 12,064 pupils are receiving technical and industrial training, and this mostly of an elementary kind. A comparison of government expenditure for technical education, in India and in America, would be an interesting study in extremes.

Commercial Schools.

At the close of 1912, there were twenty-eight commercial schools, with 1,543 students enrolled. Six of these schools are maintained by the Government. The total expenditure for the year was Rs. 28,888, or less than $10,000, provincial and local funds included.

Art Schools.

Of these there are four throughout the length and breadth of India, with a total enrolment of 1,234, or about four art students in a million. The total expenditure incurred by the Government for this branch of education is Rs. 164,049, or $54,683.

Education of Europeans.

The Europeans in India, British and native States included, number about 301,433. The report shows that of these 36,000 are at school; it adds that practically all those of an age to receive education are getting it. The cost of educating these 36,000 children is Rs. 6,524,645 annually, out of which sum Rs. 2,124,554 are derived from public revenues. The compiler of the report points out with care that the annual tuition fee for a pupil in an European institution averages Rs. 38, while for a pupil in an institution for Indians it averages Rs. 2. Let it be remembered, as the report itself points out, “that the majority of European pupils are educated in secondary schools,” while the majority of Indian pupils are educated, when at all, in elementary schools; thus the comparison loses all its force. The average cost of education for an Indian pupil is estimated at $3.00 a year (Rs. 9-4-11-); the average cost of education for a European student is Rs. 181, or $60.00 a year. Towards the expense of the Indian’s education, the Government contributes $1.50 a year, while its expenditure for the European student is $20.00 a year. This vast difference in favour of the European student is specially significant when viewed in the light of the fact that the bulk of the revenues spent on all education in India comes, of course, from the pockets of the tax-paying natives.

Education of Girls.

There are only 952,911 girls at school in the whole country, which constitutes 5.1 per cent. of the girls of school age. The following figures are taken from page 215 of the quinquennial report:

The average cost of educating an Indian girl is Rs. 4.6 per annum, i.e., slightly less than $1.50. The cost to public funds is about half of that amount, Rs. 2.5 per annum.

The total amount spent for the education of girls is Rs. 6,075,045 or a little more than $2,000,000. Less than half is defrayed from public funds.

Footnotes