What are the impact of British education?
Answers
The part of British education policy in India which can be appreciated is
Their model of academic institutions.
Women Education ( Raja Ram Mohan Roy had also played a vital role in this.)
Introduction of English education ( not the method of implementation.)
But…
it is also true that the main purpose of the British policy of education in India was not for educating the Indians. Its main aim was to produce educated clerks who can work for the British government in India because Indians were not allowed to take part in other exams ( e.g. Indian Civil Services) organised by the British government. Higher education was a slavish imitation of the western system, unrelated to the needs of the country. Initially, up to an early 20th century, it was limited to the upper-class Indians. They had never advocated for the education of lower class. The growth of education in British period was not uniform at all levels, they had never emphasized on the primary education. The more attention was given to the expansion of high schools and colleges. Primary schools particularly suffered for lack of funds therefore vast masses of the country remained illiterate. It was the Indian freedom fighters who fought for primary education for all in India. Britishers have also preferred western subjects over Indian subjects.
These three facts show the intention of British education policy in India:-
At the beginning of the 20th century, 4 out of 5 Indian villages were without primary school and 3 out of 4 Indian children grew up without any education
Literacy in 1947. ( after 150 years )
Male 24%
Female 7%
Britishers had opted downward filtration theory in their policy of education.
This indifference created a lot of anger against the British government and played a vital role in the Indian freedom movement. Introduction of women education had also created anger against the Britishers by some groups. (However, it cannot be justified.)
Instead of being limited to some section of the society, education had played an important role in the independence movement. It was the education which had introduced the concept of a republic( which was a western concept). Articles related to the freedom movement in the other parts of the world also had been translated into the Indian language which given new ideas to the Indian freedom fighters.
The part of British education policy in India which can be appreciated is
Their model of academic institutions.
Women Education ( Raja Ram Mohan Roy had also played a vital role in this.)
Introduction of English education ( not the method of implementation.)
But…
it is also true that the main purpose of the British policy of education in India was not for educating the Indians. Its main aim was to produce educated clerks who can work for the British government in India because Indians were not allowed to take part in other exams ( e.g. Indian Civil Services) organised by the British government. Higher education was a slavish imitation of the western system, unrelated to the needs of the country. Initially, up to an early 20th century, it was limited to the upper-class Indians. They had never advocated for the education of lower class. The growth of education in British period was not uniform at all levels, they had never emphasized on the primary education. The more attention was given to the expansion of high schools and colleges. Primary schools particularly suffered for lack of funds therefore vast masses of the country remained illiterate. It was the Indian freedom fighters who fought for primary education for all in India. Britishers have also preferred western subjects over Indian subjects.