Contribution of Hartog committee to Indian
Education
Introduction
Sir Philip Joseph Hartog committee was appointed by
the British Indian government to survey on the growth of education in India.
The Hartog committee on education submitted its report in 1929. The Hartog
committee 1929 had devoted more attention to mass education than the secondary
and University education. The Hartog committee highlighted the problem of
wastage and stagnation in education at the primary level.
Higher Education
The Hartog committee on education admired the
growth in the number of affiliated colleges but also pointed out about the fall
of standard of education in the universities. The situation of affiliated
colleges was far worst. The Hartog committee was not satisfied with the
introduction of Honours courses and pointed out that increasing the duration of
courses by one year was not enough. The report pointed out that many
universities were only conducting the examinations and only in some
universities teaching and research work had begun. There was a lack of good
libraries in the universities.
Recommendations of Hartog committee 1929 for
reforms in higher education
·
Recommendation
for the establishment of some affiliating Universities to meet the great demand
for higher education.
·
The
Committee had accepted that the standard of education in these affiliated
colleges would be lower than that of the teaching universities, but it was the
only way to meet the increasing demand for higher education.
·
It
recommended that the universities should appoint the teachers for the
affiliated colleges.
·
It
recommended controlling the admission process in universities on the basis of
the capabilities and aptitude of students.
·
The
recommendation was made to make the Honours course more advanced and it was to
be instituted only at the universities.
·
The
Hartog committee on education recommended for the promotion of technical and
commercial education by universities to control the problem of unemployment.
Recommendations of Hartog committee on education
for reforms in Primary education
·
The
committee had recognized the problem of wastage of money and effort because of
dropout of students before the completion of a particular stage of education.
·
It
recommended the policy of consolidation instead of multiplication of schools.
The duration of the primary course was to be fixed to four years.
·
It
recommended for the improvements in quality, pay, and service conditions of
teachers and relating the syllabus and teaching methods to the local
environment of villages and locality. It recommended for the adjustment of
school hours and holidays as per the local requirements.
·
It
recommended for increasing the number of inspections through the increase in
government inspection staff.
Reforms in Secondary Education
·
The
committee had recognized the waste of efforts due to a large number of failures
at the matriculation examination.
·
The
committee pointed out that liberal promotion from one class to another during
the earlier stages of education and pursuing of Higher Education by inefficient
and incapable students in large numbers were responsible for this condition.
·
The
committee recommended for the introduction of diversified courses in the middle
schools to meet the requirements of the majority of students.
·
The
diversion of more boys towards technical and commercial careers after the end
of the middle stage.
·
The
committee had given suggestions for improvements in University education, education
of women, minority education and education of backward classes etc.
·
The
recommendation of the Hartog committee of 1929 was an attempt for consolidation
and stabilization of education. The Hartog committee of 1929 was seen as a
torchbearer of government's effort to improve the quality of education.
However,
these recommendations of Hartog committee of 1929 remained only on paper and
could not be implemented due to the great economic depression of 1930-31.
Conclusion
The Committee
gave a permanent shape to the educational policy of that period and attempted
for consolidating and stabilizing education. The report was hailed as the torch
bearer of Government efforts. It attempted to prove that a policy of expansion
had proved ineffective and wasteful and that a policy of consolidation alone
was suited to Indian conditions. However, the suggestions of the Committee
could not be implemented effectively and the educational progress could not be
maintained due to worldwide economic depression of 1930-31. Most of the
recommendations remained mere pious hopes.