VAC II - KoI, Paper 1, Unit 4, Bullet 4

• William Adam (1789-1868).

• A native of Dunfermline, Scotland.
• He came to India in 1818, as a missionary.
• He worked for a time with the missionaries at Serampore
but soon severed his connection with them and went to
reside in Calcutta where he made a thorough study of the
Sanskrit and Bengali languages.
• In Calcutta, Adam came in contact with Raja Ram Mohan
Roy and soon became his friend.
• Adam was greatly impressed by Indian views regarding
the existence of one Almighty God.
• In due course he renounced Christian priesthood.
• William Adam was appointed by the Governor-General of
India, Lord William Bentinck in 1835 to survey the state of
education in Bengal and Bihar and to suggest reforms.
• On the basis of this survey, he presented three reports
between 1835 and 1838, and we know them as Adam‟s
Reports.
• Adam's first report contains educational data. Some scholars
like Sir Philip termed the report as a 'myth', and other scholars
like R.V. Parulekar considered this report as a 'reality‟.
• Adam had described indigenous elementary schools in this
report as, "By this description are meant those schools in
which instruction in the elements of knowledge is
communicated, and which have been originated and are
supported by the natives themselves, in contradiction from
those that are supported by religious or philanthropic
societies”.
• According to the other's point of view, a school was a
place where instructions were given to one student or
more students either by the teacher or even by the father
himself or any other member of the family.
• In this report, Adam says that there were at least one
lakh schools in operation in Bengal itself, which means
that there was a school for every 400 students.
• Adam's second report covered Naltore Thana, in district
Rajshahi with a population of 129,640 Muslims and 65,656
Hindus.
• There were two types of schools, i.e., regular schools, similar
to modern schools and domestic schools or schools where
family members taught or a teacher was employed to teach.
• As against 27 elementary schools and 262 students, there
were nearly 2360, i.e., nearly nine times students in domestic
schools.
Following were the important findings:
• Age of Schooling: The average age of admission to an
elementary school was 8 years and the average school
leaving age was 14 years.
• Schools for the Teaching of Quran: There were 11
Arabic schools for this purpose.
• Type of Elementary Schools: There were 10 Bengali
schools, and 4 Persian schools.
• Average Number of Students in a School: The
average number of students in a school was 10.
• Average Pay of the Teacher: Pay ranged between Rs.
5-8 per month.
• Female Education: Female education was non-existent.
• Literacy Rate: Literacy percentage was 6.1 percent.
Total literary percentage of males and females was 3.1.
• Indigenous Colleges: There was no indigenous college
conducted by Muslims. There were 38 Sanskrit Colleges
with 397 students.
• Fees etc. in Colleges: Food, lodging and education was
free in colleges.
• Adam's Third Report is divided into two parts.
• The first part covers educational data collected by him for five
districts, viz., Murshidabad, Birbhum, Burdwan, South Bihar and
Tirhut. The second part provides proposals put forward by Adams for
the reform of education, especially indigenous.
• Methods of Collection of Data and Accuracy of the Data: Adam
followed Two methods. One, he himself collected information from
one 'Thana' of each district. Second, his agents collected data from
all other 'Thanas'.
• In the conduct of the survey, two difficulties were encountered with.
One related to means of travel and communication and the other
related to the various types of suspicions among the people
regarding the motive of survey
• In his third report, Adam summarized all his statistics.
• This report contains two parts.
• The first part of the report deals with the statistics of
Murshidabad, Birbhum, Burdwan, South Bihar, and
Tirhut.
• In the second part, Adam has proposed to reform
indigenous schools.
MAIN FEATURES OF ADAM'S REPORTS
The main features of Adam's Reports are as follow:-
Adam had identified the following types of indigenous educational
institutions:
• Pathshalas
• Madrassas
• Arabic Schools
• Vernacular Schools
• Persian Schools
• The schools didn't have any buildings. The classes were held often in
the local temples, mosques, or under a tree.
• There was a lack of printed books and other stationery. Pencils and
slates etc. were used as instructional material which was easily
available in the locality.
• The number of students in the school varied from one
student to fifteen students.
• The main advantages of indigenous elementary schools
were adaptability to the local environment, their vitality,
and popularity among local people.
• The exclusion of girls and Harijans was the main defect
of those schools.
• The lack of training of the teachers, narrow and limited
curriculum, and severe form of punishment were other
important demerits of this system.
• Adam's Report throws light on the popular indigenous
education system in India during the colonial period.
Through this report, the British became familiar with the
Indian educational scenario and took appropriate steps
for its development and improvement.
• The „Wood‟s Education Despatch‟ is an important
educational document was released on 19 July, 1854.
• Sir Charles Wood, then president of the East Indian
company‟s Board of Control described it as the „Magna
Carta‟ of English education in India.
• The Despatch contained the first comprehensive plan for
the spread of education in India and systematized the
educational hierarchy from the primary, high school,
college and university.
• The Chief provisions of the Despatch were:

• The Sovereign power declared its responsibility of

educating the masses: “Education which we desire
to extend is that which has for its object the diffusion
of the improved Arts, Science, Philosophy and
Literature of Europe”.
• A separate Department of Public Instruction was created in
each of the five provinces - Bengal, Madras, Bombay, North
West Province and Punjab.
• The medium of instruction was optional both Vernacular
and English. The first was encouraged at the school
level, the latter at the university.
• A system of grants in aid was laid down so as to
encourage private initiative and enterprise in the field. It
was hoped that eventually state education would become
supported, where, necessary, by state grant in aid.
• Stress was laid on vocational education, women education
and also teacher training.
• Scholarships should be provided to meritorious students of all
schools, be they private or government.
• They were so planned as to connect lower schools with the
higher and the latter with colleges.
• To ensure the implementation of its programme, examining
and supervisory bodies were to be set up for purpose of
inspection.
• Each presidency town has a University, based on the pattern
of the University of London, to conduct examinations and
confer degrees.
• The new education policy underlined the need for
involvement by community at large and stressed that
no sudden result could be expected, least of all by
dependence on the government alone.
• The despatch was to form the basis for all future
legislation regarding the spread of education in India.
• Almost all the proposals in Wood‟s despatch were
implemented.
• Wood‟s Despatch is still known as the
Cornerstone of Indian Education, for it is said to
have laid the foundation of our present system of
education.
• Under the chairmanship of Dr. M.E. Sadler in 1917 a
commission was appointed. It included two Indians, Dr.
Ziauddin Ahmed and Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee.
• It reviewed the entire field of education from the school to
the university stage.
Important recommendations:
• School Course of a 12 year should be introduced.
• A student should be admitted to University only after
passing the intermediate examination and the
intermediate schools were to remain free from the control
of the Universities.
• For the purpose of high school an Intermediate education
separate boards should be established.
• The degree course should be of three years duration.
• By teaching universities, the affiliated universities should
be replaced, as far as possible.
• It stressed the need of extending the facilities for
education of science and technology, female education
and teacher‟s training.
By the Government of India most of the recommendations
of the commission were accepted which helped in the
development of university education in India.
 Abbot Wood
Bentinck’s Wood’s University Sadler Hartog Report 1937
Charter Act Proclamation Despatch Commission Commission Committee Sargent Report
1813 1835 1854 1902 1917 1928 1944

1st
2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th
Phase

Macaulay’s Auckland’s Hunter Resolution of the Education under Education

Minute 1835 Minute 1839 Commission Government of Diarchy (1921- under
1882 India on 1937) Provincial
Education 1913 Autonomy
and Congress
Ministries
1937 -39
• Education Commission was appointed under the
chairmanship of D.S. Kothari.
• This Commission reviewed the development of education
in India in the modern period and particularly since
Independence and came to the conclusion that Indian
education needs a drastic reconstruction, almost a
revolution, to realize the Constitutional goals and to meet
the various problems facing the country in different
sectors.
• Science Education: Science Education should be made an
integral part of all school education. Its teaching at the
University stages should be improved and special emphasis
should be laid on the development of scientific research.
• Work Experience: Work experience should be made an
integral part of all general education. It should be oriented to
technology, industrialization and the application of science to
the production process including agriculture.
• Vocational Education: Vocational education should be emphasized,
particularly at the secondary stage. At the lower secondary stage
(age group 11 - 16) vocational education should ultimately be
provided to about 20 percent of the enrollment. At the higher
secondary stage (age group I7 -18) such enrollment should be
increased to 50 percent. In higher education, about one-third of the
total enrollment may be in vocation at courses. In particular, it is
essential to emphasize the development of education and research
in agriculture.
• The Common School: A common school system of Public
Education which would provide equality of access to children from all
social strata, which would be adequate in quantity and quality
proposed.
• Social and National Service: Some form of Social Service should be
obligatory on students of all ages.
• Language Policy: In the development of all modern languages as the
medium of instruction and for the administration in the respective states.
Hindi as both official and link language and English and Russian as
library languages. It further said that the three language formula should
be modified; only the mother tongue should be compulsory at the lower
primary stage, a second language should be added at the higher
primary stage either Hindi or English, at the lower secondary stage, all
the three languages should be studied mother tongue, Hindi (or a
modern Indian Language in Hindi areas) and English; any two of these
languages should be compulsory at the higher secondary stage and no
language should be compulsory at the University stage.
• Promotion of National Unity: Curricula should promote
National Unity and consciousness and international
understanding.
• Elasticity and Dynamics: It observed rigidity and
uniformity in the existing system. It suggested change in
curricula, teaching methods and a large programme of in-
service education for teachers and educational
administrators.
• Reorganization of Educational structure and
Teachers stages and Education: It recommended the
10+2+3 pattern and recommended substantial
improvement in remuneration of teachers particularly at
the school stage and the gap in the remuneration of
teachers at different stages of education was proposed to
be abridged.
• The following six recommendations of the Commission were picked
up by the government and intensive efforts were made to implement
them:
1. Use of regional language as medium of instruction at the university
stage.
2. Non-formal education.
3. Education for the people i.e., Elementary and Adult Education.
4. The Common School System.
5. 10+2+3 Pattern.
6. Teachers salaries.
• It was passed by the Parliament in August 2009.
• When the Act came into force in 2010, India became one
among 135 countries where education is a fundamental
right of every child.
• The 86th Constitutional Amendment (2002) inserted
Article 21A in the Indian Constitution which states:
“The State shall provide free and compulsory
education to all children of 6 to 14 years in such
manner as the State, may by law determine.”
Main provisions:
• The right of free and compulsory education to children until they
complete their elementary education in a school in the
neighbourhood.
• The Act makes it clear that „compulsory education‟ implies that it is
an obligation on the part of the government to ensure the admission,
attendance and completion of elementary education of children
between the ages of six and fourteen. The word „free‟ indicates that
no charge is payable by the child which may prevent him/her from
completing such education.
• The Act provides for the admission of a non-admitted child to a class
of his/her appropriate age.
• It mentions the duties of the respective governments, the local
authorities and parents in ensuring the education of a child. It also
specifies the sharing of the financial burden between the central and the
state governments.
• It specifies standards and norms for Pupil Teacher Ratios (PTR),
infrastructure and buildings, working days of the school and for the
teachers.
• It also says there should be no urban-rural imbalance in teacher
postings. The Act also provides for the prohibition of the employment of
teachers for non-educational work, other than census, elections and
disaster relief work.
• The Act provides that the teachers appointed should be appropriately
trained and qualified.
• The Act prohibits:
• Mental harassment and physical punishment.
• Screening procedures for the admission of children.
• Capitation fees.
• Private tuition by the teachers.
• Running schools with no recognition.
• The Act envisages that the curriculum should be developed in coherence
with the values enshrined in the Indian Constitution, and that which would
take care of the all-round development of the child.
• There has been phenomenal progress on women's education since independence but still
there is a wide gap between female education and male education.
• Usually following causes of slow progress are mentioned:
i. Lack of proper social attitudes in the rural and backward areas for the education of girls.
ii. Lack of educational facilities in rural areas.
iii. Economic backwardness of the rural community.
iv. Conservative nature and co-educational aspects.
v. Lack of suitable curriculum.
vi. Lack of proper incentives to parents and children.
vii. Lack of women teachers.
viii. Lack of proper supervision and guidance due to inadequate women personnel in the
Inspectorate.
ix. Uneducated adult women and lack of social education.
x. Social ills.
xi. Inadequate systematic publicity.
• India is a land of so many faiths, creeds, castes, languages
etc. It is very essential that people of different faiths and
creeds, etc. think in terms of nationalism and place the welfare
of the country above such narrow considerations.
• In the words of the Emotional Integration Committee, "One of
the hardest problems before us today is the building up of a
national mind by curbing the religious, linguistic and communal
conflicts which tend to disunite us."
• Jawaharlal Nehru observed that national integration would
weld Indian people into one and make India into "one strong
national unit maintaining at the same time all our wonderful
diversity."
• Developing broadmindedness among the people.
• Economic development of India.
• Raising the standard of living and life of the people.
• Developing patriotism and national spirit among the people.
• Safeguarding the unity and integrity of India.
• Making democracy successful.
• Safeguarding national defence.
• Developing spirit of mutual toleration and understanding.
• Bringing harmony among people of diverse outlooks.
• Rise of communal tendencies in communal riots.
• Spread of the cult of casteism.
• Narrow regional outlook.
• Growth of separatist tendencies.
• Rise of terrorism.
• Danger to national unity.
• Hurdles in law and order.