igio] British Rule in India. 89 



emors-General in the days of the company rule took an interest in the 

 subject and did what they could towards laying the foundation for an 

 educational system. They did not believe that the proper way to treat 

 a conquered race was to keep it in ignorance, nor that a nation's strength 

 lay in its illiteracy. After India passed under the crown the educational 

 movement has advanced steadily but surely though slowly. 



When the state assumed the responsibility for the education of the 

 people it had to face a condition unique and unparalleled in Europe. 

 The population was as large as or larger than that of all the European 

 countries and the languages and customs were just as varied, and in 

 the higher branches it was to receive an instruction in a foreign language. 

 The magnitude of the task was such as to make it impossible of achieve- 

 ment by any direct appropriation of the resources of the empire, while 

 the popular demand for instruction had in a great measure to be created. 



The careers for educated men in India are not as varied as in western 

 countries and the public service is by far the most important ; 

 the greatest attraction for a man to have his son educated is to get 

 him into Government service. 



These are some of the difficulties to be overcome and to do so the 

 Government provides out of the public revenues a state aided or state 

 controlled system of education, which attempts to give an education 

 suitable to the different classes for whom it is intended. In the primary 

 schools the work is all done in the vernaculars and the children are 

 taught, mainly, to read, write and do a little arithmetic; in the next 

 grade higher they are taught English if they wish to take a university 

 course, or if not the teaching is in the vernacular. Then there are the 

 Universities where all subjects are taken up, and all teaching is done in 

 English. The work is all supervised by European officers and the head 

 professors in the Government Colleges are generally Europeans. 

 For the proper training of the teachers for the primary and secondary 

 schools well equipped training colleges are now provided, and by this 

 means the quality of the teaching is being improved. In the matter of 

 technical education the British Government is also endeavoring to im- 

 prove the workmanship of the Indians. In India with its multitudinous 

 numbers of castes it has been the custom and religion of the people for 

 the son to follow the same trade as his father from generation to gener- 

 ation. The Government has now established many industrial schools 

 where under the direction of skilled artisans the children can learn their 

 trade to better advantage and become more proficient in their work. 

 An Indian cannot as a rule, do two things well. He can probably do 

 one particular kind of carving very well, but he is absolutely in- 

 capable of doing any other kind of carving or carpenter work. The 



