Wood’s Despatch 1854: Objectives, Recommendations, Impact

Charles Wood’s Despatch created a new chapter in the history of Western education in India. For the comprehensive expansion of public education in India, Sir Charles Wood, the President of the British East India Company’s Board of Control, issued an educational policy directive on July 19, 1854, which became known as “Wood’s Despatch.” The Governor General of India at the time of the introduction of Wood’s Despatch was Lord Dalhousie.

The educational framework built according to Wood’s instructions had directly and indirectly influenced India’s government education policy for nearly 70 years. From 1854 to 1904 AD, until Lord Curzon’s period, no significant changes were observed in India’s education policy. The Hunter Commission was established in 1882 only to address the problems that had emerged from Wood’s Despatch.

Objectives of Wood’s Despatch

The British government primarily introduced Wood’s Despatch in 1854 to fulfill certain objectives and serve their own interests. The main objectives behind Wood’s Despatch were:

• To enable ignorant Indians to receive the vast moral and material blessings of education through establishing connections with England.
• Apart from developing better intellect and character through this education, the main aim was to form a group of competent, morally intelligent civil servants through education.
• Charles Wood’s Despatch stated the primary purpose of education as “making Indians aware of European trade and commerce, encouraging them to supply raw materials to factories in England, and ensuring an endless demand for British products in the Indian market.”
• Oriental philosophy and science were considered full of errors. This education policy aimed to promote Western philosophy, science, and literature. In short, this educational policy aimed to promote European knowledge.
• The East India Company was a trading organization, but within a short time, the company had become the ruler of a vast empire in India. Therefore, he drafted his educational document keeping two objectives in mind: protecting the empire and safeguarding commercial interests.

You can also read about the Raleigh Commission 1902: Objectives, Background, Recommendations.

Background of Wood’s Despatch

• The introduction and initial spread of modern education in India began entirely through private initiatives. First, Christian missionaries, and later Indians who realized the necessity of Western education, came forward to spread modern education. Although the British East India Company came to India and became the ruler of a vast empire alongside trade, they did not take responsibility for any educational system for Indians.
• Through the Charter Act of 1813, for the first time, the company was asked to provide one lakh rupees annually for education. In writing, the company was entrusted with the responsibility of spreading education among the people of India, but nothing was mentioned about how the company would undertake that responsibility. As a result, there were numerous shortcomings in the company’s fulfillment of its duties.
• Initially, company members tried to revive the oriental education system through Sanskrit and Arabic languages. However, this effort was opposed by young civilians. They advised the company to spread Western knowledge and science and provide education in English. As a result, two strongly opposing ideologies emerged, which became known in history as the ‘Orientalist-Anglicist Controversy‘.
• This dispute was resolved through Lord Macaulay’s ‘Macaulay Minute’ of 1835. This was because the ‘Macaulay Minute’ recognized only the English language as the medium for spreading Western knowledge.
• Meanwhile, the time came for the company’s Charter Act renewal in 1853. When the new Charter Act was presented in the British Parliament, the company’s education policy in India was criticized. A Parliamentary Committee was formed to investigate the state of education in India. Based on the committee’s information, it became evident that the company needed to spread education in India for administrative purposes. Based on this committee’s decision, Charles Wood, then President of the “Board of Control,” issued a document directing the company’s education policy in 1854. This document is known in the history of Indian education policy as ‘Wood’s Despatch 1854’ or the Despatch of 1854.

You can also read about the Indian Universities Act of 1904: Provisions, Advantages and Disadvantages.

Recommendations of Wood’s Despatch

Charles Wood’s Despatch of 1854 included several steps and recommendations taken by the British government for the overall development of education:

Medium of Education

The Macaulay Minute proposal of 1835 AD led to the neglect of the mother tongue in government schools. Wood’s dispatch attempted to correct this mistake.

Charles Wood’s Despatch 1854 gave equal importance to vernacular languages along with English as a medium of instruction. It directed the use of vernacular languages for primary education and English for higher education.

Establishment of the Education Department

Wood’s Despatch called for establishing one education department each in Bengal, Bombay, Madras, North-Western Provinces, and Punjab. Each of these education departments would be headed by a person called the ‘Director of Public Instruction’ and would be assisted by a team of inspecting officers. This director would take responsibility for managing education throughout the province and submit annual reports on educational progress to each provincial government.

Establishment of Universities

Considering the expansion of higher education in India and the public’s interest in Western education, three universities were established in 1857 in Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras. Universities are said to be modeled on the University of London. Like London University, these universities would only be examining and degree-awarding institutions, with no teaching provisions.

For university administration, there would be a Senate consisting of a Chancellor, a Vice-Chancellor, and several government-nominated members.

Public Education System

The government had been neglecting public education from the beginning. However, Charles Wood mentioned the necessity of this public education in his Despatch. Charles Wood strongly criticized Lord Macaulay’s “downward filtration theory,” stating that the government’s investment of all its power and money in higher education for a minority community had hindered the progress of public education in the country.

The Despatch also stated that it was impossible to make the education program successful in a vast country like India through private initiatives alone. Therefore, the government was directed to take the initiative to spread public education in the country. It was also directed that government schools should be established in different locations in each district, and attention should be paid to improving the quality of private schools.

Teacher Training System

Wood’s Despatch called for establishing more normal schools of various types in every school to improve the quality of education. Instructions were also given to provide scholarships to trainee teachers and students to encourage them in this regard.

Grant-In-Aid System

Charles Wood’s Despatch stated that the government alone couldn’t improve India’s education system. For rapid improvement of the education system, provisions needed to be made for government grants to private institutions so that these institutions would be encouraged to establish new schools. For this purpose, Charles Wood introduced the ‘Grant-In-Aid’ system to provide financial assistance to schools.

Wood’s Despatch mentioned several conditions for providing grants to schools those are: Schools must provide secular education. There will be a good system in school management. The government would have the right to inspect, and schools must follow the inspector’s directions. Schools must charge minimal fees to students.

Vocational Education System

The Despatch emphasized practical knowledge rather than limiting education to just philosophy, humanities, and theoretical knowledge. To make practical education effective, universities were directed to provide opportunities for studies in law, medical science, engineering, and other fields.

Women Education

This Despatch gave directions for the expansion and improvement of women’s education. Special provisions were even directed to be made in the field of education for the backward Muslim community.

Vocational and Practical Education

Practical education and technical education were given considerable importance in the educational curriculum.

Teacher Training

This Despatch first mentioned teacher training because every school needed properly trained teachers to improve the quality of education, which helps in the overall development of a student.

You can also read about the Hartog Committee Report of 1929: Background, Recommendation.

Importance of Wood’s Despatch

• Charles Wood’s Despatch was an important document in the history of Indian education. Never before or after was there such a comprehensive assessment of India’s education system with necessary measures recommended. The educational policy from primary level to higher education level was determined in this Despatch.
• Wood’s Despatch criticized the ‘Downward Filtration Theory’ and emphasized the government’s role in spreading public education. Additionally, it mentioned the need for vocational education and teacher training processes necessary to give a complete shape to a country’s education system.
• The Despatch left no room for controversy regarding what would be the aim of education, the medium of instruction, and educational content, which was an important aspect of this Despatch. Therefore, this Despatch had immense importance in the history of Indian education, which initiated a permanent education system in India.

Impact of Wood’s Despatch

• The first result of a strong campaign for women’s education that emerged in the 1840s and 1850s was the Bethune School, established by JED Bethune in Calcutta in 1849. Bethune served as the Council of Education’s president. Girl’s schools were based on solid foundations and brought under the government’s grant-in-aid and inspection system, largely as a result of Bethune’s work.
• They established an engineering institute at Roorkee and an agriculture institute at Pusa (Bihar). The principles and practices of Wood’s dispatch dominated the sector for fifty years, during which time India’s educational system rapidly became more Westernized, with European principals and headmasters running educational institutions. Missionary endeavors contributed in their own way. Private Indian efforts started to emerge in the field gradually.
• Following Wood’s report’s recommendations, Calcutta University was established on January 18, 1857, Bombay University on July 18, 1857, and Madras University on September 5th 1857. Sir James William Colvile was appointed as the first Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University.
• In 1855, the office of ‘Director of Public Instruction’ or government education department was opened, which had 79 English and 140 government-approved schools under it.
• University was established in 1882 AD at Lahore in Punjab, and in 1887 AD at Allahabad for Uttar Pradesh.
• The Central Government’s Education Department was established in 1910.
• In 1921, Rabindranath Tagore established Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan.
• As a result of Wood’s Despatch, the number of secondary schools across the country increased to 51,424.

You can also read about Debendranath Tagore: Brahmo Samaj, Social Activities, Books.

Limitations of Wood’s Despatch

• The educational objectives mentioned in Charles Wood’s Despatch revealed a low-minded attitude. Wood introduced this education policy keeping in mind the need for raw materials and good markets for finished products in the interest of business.
• Under the Grant-in-Aid system, missionary schools received more benefits than indigenous schools. Indigenous schools faced excessive government interference in exchange for nominal assistance.
• By adopting London University as the model for establishing universities, Indian traditions were completely neglected.
• Bringing education under government control resulted in more administrative complexities rather than educational improvement.
• The Despatch ignored national education and cultural traditions in designing university structures.
• Wood’s Despatch was written to establish a colonial education system for administrative interests, focusing on protecting the empire and administration.
• Although the Despatch showed goodwill towards spreading education, it did not recognize Indians’ right to universal primary education.

Conclusion

Despite having many limitations, Wood’s Despatch made an immense contribution to the modernization of Indian education. Therefore, historian James said about Wood’s Despatch, “The Despatch of 1854 is thus the climax in the history of Indian education. What goes before it leads to it, what follows from it.”

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