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Development of Education System Dinesh Kumar, Lovely Professional University

Notes Unit 3 : Education in India during British Period:

Macaulay’s Minutes, Wood’s Despatch and Hunter
Commission

CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
3.1 Macaulay Minute
3.2 Downward Filtration Theory of Education
3.3 Wood's Despatch on Education
3.4 Hunter Commission (1882)
3.5 Summary
3.6 Keywords
3.7 Review Questions
3.8 Further Readings

Objectives

The objectives of this unit can be Summarized as below:
• to explain about the Macaulay’s Minutes.
• to describe about the Loard Macaulay’s contributions to indian education.
• to discusss about the advantage of Macaulay’s minutes.
• to discuss about the disadvantage of Macaulay’s minutes.

Introduction

After the downfall of the Muslim rule, Britishers came to India and established the East India
Company but soon the reign of the government reached the hands of the British parliament.
Britishers ruled over India for about 150 years. During this period western science and literature
made good progress through English medium. The whole educational system of British India
can be divided into four major periods. We can easily assert that education during the rule of
East India company was first neglected and the company was busy in establishing its rule in
India.
Thomas Babington Macaulay write his famous Minute on Feb. 2, 1833 in which he advocated the
nation system of education for India which could best serve the interest of the British empire.
A commission was set up in 1882 under W.W. Hunter to review the progress made in the field
of education following Wood’s Dispatch. It was confined mostly to secondary and primary
education. The Hunter Commission made a large number of recommendations. It laid special
emphasis on primary education whose control ought to be transferred to district and municipal
boards.

3.1 Macaulay Minute

Lord Macaulay was appointed Law Member in the Governor General’s Executive Council. He
was a concurrently President of Committee of Public Instruction. He was given the task of
interpreting clause 43 of Charter Act of (1813) He submitted long minute to William Bentinck
the then Governor General of India. The minute shaped the destiny of education in India.

22 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY