Question

Who prepared policy of down ward filtration theory

Answer 1

During the British rule in India the downwards filtration theory was adopted in the country. Filtration means coming of something to the bottom from the top. Thus the filtration theory in education meant coming down of education or knowledge from the top to the bottom, i.e., from the higher class people to the lower classes or the general people.

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There were many reasons for adopting this policy. Different views have been expressed about this policy. Some people think that this policy was adopted because of the narrow-mindedness and selfish attitudes of the English who intended to educate only a few for getting clerks for running their administration.

They adopted this policy also because they wanted to create an elite group which would be given high posts in the administration and this group in turn would influence the general public for accepting the British rule in the country.

In fact, according to some persons, the main reason for adopting this policy was the meager financial resources with the Company for educational purposes.

The Company thought that it could not provide education to entire mass. So it decided to educate only a few. But this ‘few’ were the people of the higher classes, because they alone could catch up the opportunity for English education. The downwards filtration theory had the following three chief characteristics:

1. To educate only the high class people in order to give them higher posts in the administration with a view to strengthening the roots of British empire in the Country.

2. When the higher class people would receive English education their culture would be improved and the general public would accept them as their models. As a result, the lower class people would also be educated after being influenced by the higher class people.

3. To educate the higher class people who might undertake the responsibility of educating the general people.

Besides the occidental-oriental controversy, the Company had to face another problem during this period. This ‘problem pertained to the education of the general masses the Company was to decide whether to limit itself to the education of the higher class people alone, or to provide for education of all.

The Company took no time in reaching a decision in this regard, as the Board of Director, gave- clear-cut directions in this context.

Lord Macaulay explained the same by observing that “the aim of education in India was to anglicize the Indians through English education and to make black-colored Indian English in their way of living, behaviour, thought, culture, traditions and morality”, as such persons were likely to serve as the connecting link between the British Government and the general public.

On July 31, 1837, Lord Macaulay again explained his point of view by stating that the purpose of the Company was only to educate the elite group which would educate the general public later-thus fulfilling the goal of educating the masses in general.

In 1839 the General Committee of Public Instruction again repeated the stand that education would be given only to the higher class people who should shoulder the responsibility of educating their countrymen.

During the Company’s rule Missionaries were encouraged to work in the field of education and they opened a number of schools and colleges for educating children of the higher class family.

They thought that if they succeeded in educating the higher class people and converting them to their own Christian faith, these converted persons would preach Christianity amongst the lower class people.

Evidently, the educational efforts of the Missionaries were religiously motivated and not politically. But only some lower class people could be influenced by these Missionaries and the bulk of the Indian Population remained unaffected by them.

Answer 2

Answer:

Lord Macaulay promoted the Downward Filtration Theory withinside the education sector.

Explanation:

• The downward filtration concept states that education became introduced to a small institution of human beings, and that schooling became then exceeded directly to the hundreds via them.
• As a end result of this argument, the minute confirmed prejudice with the aid of using imparting schooling to a few favoured people as a way to have interaction them of their business agenda.
• Downward filtration principle is a principle proposed with the aid of using Lord Macaulay in his so-known as record Macaulay's Minutes, which states that imparting education to individuals of the top classes of society will facilitate possibilities for the low classes as well, due to the fact human beings of lower reputation in society generally tend to mimic and observe the version of these of better status

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