The University of Calcutta, the Influence and the Influenced.
In the timeline of education, one can see various discourses running parallely merging various pluralities that directly, or indirectly affect the field of education. Technologies, Policies and Legislations, various educational philosophies and subsequently, the schools and institutions they give rise to. In this essay, we will try to trace the origins of the University of Calcutta in Policies and Philosophies, and track how the university itself came to affect what came next.
It all began in 1854 when Charles Wood sent Lord Dalhousie, the then Governor-General of India, a dispatch.
“It was recommended therein that:
An education department was to be set in every province.
Universities on the model of the London university be established in big cities such as Bombay, Calcutta and Madras.
At least one government school be opened in every district.
Affiliated private schools should be given grant in aid.
The Indian natives should be given training in their mother tongue also”
Wood’s dispatch came to be known as the Magna Carta of the English system of education in India. This dispatch made way for the setting up of the Universities of Madras, Bombay and Calcutta in the year 1857.
This also aided the establishment of the University of Punjab in the year 1882.
The University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta was the first university in Asia to be modelled after the University of London and offer multi-disciplinary courses and a secular Western-style university.
University College London (UCL) was founded under the name “London University” (but without recognition by the state) in 1826 as a secular alternative to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, which limited their degrees to members of the established Church of England. As a result of the controversy surrounding UCL’s establishment, King’s College London was founded as an Anglican college by royal charter in 1829.
The Calcutta University Act came into force on 24 January 1857 and a 41-member Senate was formed as the policy-making body of the university. When the university was first established it had a catchment are covering the area from Lahore to Rangoon (now in Myanmar) — the largest of any Indian university.
The first medical school of Asia, the Calcutta Medical College, was established in 1835. In 1857 it got affiliated to the university.
The Medical College and its implications on the Indian society
The Medical College, which was established in 1835 ushered in a new era in the history of medical education in India. Its stated purpose was to “ train native youths aged between 14 and 20 irrespective of caste and creed in the principles and practices of medical science in accordance with the model adopted in Europe”
This marked the end of official patronage of indigenous medical learning, for till then the Sanskrit, Madrasa and Calcutta college offered education in Ayurvedic and Unani Medicine. Thus, the new secular promise of education, evoked long-term reaction among the Indian practitioners of indigenous medicine and later the nationalists who strongly criticised the government for the withdrawal of patronage to the Indian system.
“ Different sections of the Indian population responded to this newly founded system of education in different ways. Among the Hindus, the Brahmins, Kayasthas, Vaidyas, were particularly enthusiastic about medical education.”
The University Commission of 1902
Lord Curzon was disappointed with the lopsided education provided by the universities in India.
“Some of the major defects noticed in the development of
collegiate education in India were lopsided development of liberal
education and to the neglect of professional education in general
and technical education in particular, uneven spread of higher
education among different communities and followers of different sections, neglect of women education and Indian languages.”
He felt that this was due to the deviation of the model of the University of London. Thus in 1902, he formed the Indian University Commission with Sir Thomas Raleigh as the chairman. s a result of the report of the recommendations of the Commission the Indian Universities Act was passed in 1904. The main objective of the Act was to improve the condition of education in India and upgrade the system to a better level.
However, The recommendations were seen as controversial in their time. There was a growing Nationalist sentiment in British India and the universities had set their own curriculum. The new act was seen as measures to derecognise and regulate indigenous institutions which fell into disfavour of the Raj. And yet, The the recommendations were enacted by Curzon as the Indian Universities Act 1904
Conclusion
Thus we see how the system of education intertwined itself in other systems like politics and philosophies. It forms a system of interconnected-ness and any change in one institution ripples across the entire system bringing change.
Thus for systemic interventions, one must vary of the bigger picture and how the intervention might create (un)wanted consequences. On the other hand, sometimes looking at a problem from a bird’s eye view may point us towards the epicentre of the issue. Much like coding an app, fixing a tiny bug, will let the system run smoothly.
References
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sanskrit_College_and_University
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_College_and_Hospital,_Kolkata#History
- https://www.caluniv.ac.in/about/about.html
- https://london.ac.uk/about-us/history-university-london
- http://www.kkhsou.in/main/education/wood_despatch.html
- https://neostencil.com/upsc-modern-history-indian-universities-act-1904
- https://myeducation2019.wordpress.com/2019/02/10/the-university-commission-1902/
