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INTRODUCTION TO THE HARTOG COMMITTEE REPORT-1929

UNIT STRUCTURE

Learning Objectives

Introduction

Historical Background of the Setting up of the Committee

Formation of the Simon Commission and Appointment of the Hartog Committee

Terms of Reference of the Committee

Report of the Hartog Committee

1.	Recommendations on Primary Education
2.	Recommendations on Secondary Education
3.	Recommendations on Higher Education
4.	Recommendations on Women Education
5.	Other Recommendations

An Evaluation of the Recommendations

Result of Recommendations

10.

Let Us Sum Up

11.

Further Readings

12.

Answers to Check Your Progress

13.

Possible Questions

14.

References

LEARNING OBJECTIVES


After going through this unit, you will be able to:
	Explain the historical background, i.e., Montford Reform and System of Diarchy,
	Illustrate the circumstances that led to the formation of Simon commission and appointment of the Hartog Committee in 1929,
	Discuss the recommendations of the Hartog Committee in different aspects of education,
	Evaluate the recommendations of the Committee, and
	Discuss its impact in the field of Indian education.

INTRODUCTION

The First World War started in Europe in 1914. The outbreak of the war had brought about significant changes in the British policy of administration in India. These changes had made long standing impact on both political and educational scenario of our country. It is necessary for us to know what these changes were and how they influenced the political and educational aspects of the country. In this unit, we will first discuss the historical background of the setting up of the Hartog Committee in 1929. This includes discussion on the Montford reform and education in the System of Diarchy. This will be followed by formation of the Simon Commission in 1927 and the appointment of the Hartog Committee in 1929 alongwith its recommendations on Primary, Secondary, Higher and other aspects of education. We will conclude with an assessment and evaluation of the recommendations of the committee and its result.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE SETTING UP OF THE HARTOG COMMITTEE

It has already been mentioned above that outbreak of the First World War had brought some significant changes in the British policy of administration in India. In 1917,Edwin Montaque, the Secretary of State for India had announced in the British Parliament that the goal of the British policy is the progressive realisation of responsible Governance in India. This has created an impresion in the mind of the nationalist leaders that the British Government was willing to give the power of self administration to Indian people. But when the war came to an end the British Government did not keep their promise. This made the Indian people offended and new political unrest was imminent. In order to meet the situation the Government passed the Government of India Act in 1919, creating a diarchy in the provincial administration. This Act is known as Montford Reform.

The Montford reforms introduced diarchy in the field of education as well. Under this introduction of some subjects were under the centre and some under the provincial Governments. These were called reserved and transferred respectively. Education was transferred to the representatives of the people. Thus all the educational powers were transferred to the education ministers of the various Provincial Governments but they were given rights within a limited sphere. Finance was kept back as a reserved subject. Without finances education could not proceed. This created problems for the representatives of the people.

The central Government had made the state administrators completely responsible for education in spite of very limited resources at their disposal. It was impossible for them to spend sufficient money for the progress of education. On the other hand, the Governors of the provinces were given unlimited powers. They could intervene even in the transfer of teachers. All these things created a difficult situation for the progress of education. Diarchy did not prove successful in India. A lot of criticism was levelled against it. Thus Montford reform did not help the development of education in the country.

The Indian leaders were not satisfied with the working of diarchy. The nationalist movement by the time became more powerful in the states on account of the repressive measures taken by the Government. In 1921 Gandhiji had launched the Non-cooperation movement and as response to his call students had left their schools and colleges and joined the movement. Thus, the attention of the people was diverted towards political movement.

FORMATION OF THE SIMON COMMISSION AND APPOINTMENT OF THE HARTOG COMMITTEE

Now that you are familiar with the historical background, let us discuss the formation of the Simon Commission and the Hartog Committee.

By responding to the dissatisfaction felt by the Indian people about the Government of India Act of 1919, the Simon Commission was appointed on November 8, 1927, to inquire into the working of the administration under the Government of India Act, 1919. About this time as agitation against the Government was going on, it was felt necessary to give due importance to education in India. The Government therefore authorised the commission to appoint a Committee to help it in preparing a report on education. So the commission appointed a committee under the chairmanship of Sir Phillip Hartog to inquire into the conditions of education in India. Sir Phillip Hartog had served as a number of the Sadler Commission. He had also been a vice-Chancellor of the Dacca University in 1921. Since he was the chairman of the Committee, the Committee was known as Hartog Committee.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Write short notes on:
1. Montford Reform

2. Education under Diarchy

3. Simon Commission

4. Sir Phillip Hartog

TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE HARTOG COMMITTEE

It is necessary for us to know the terms of reference of the Hartog Committee—

The Hartog committee was appointed to enquire the organisation of various aspects of education in India and to give its suggestions for its over all improvement and progress. In the words of the Committee, “They were required to report on the organisation of education, on almost every point that organisation needs reconsideration and strengthening, and the resolutions of the bodies responsible for the organisation of education need readjustment.”

REPORT OF THE HARTOG COMMITTEE, 1929

Let us discuss the report of the Hartog Committee on different aspects of education.
The Committee studied the various aspects of education and submitted its report before the commission in 1929, It put forward comprehensive recommendations in regard to various facts of education in India. First, the Committee made some general observations regarding the state of education in India. The committee observed that there was considerable progress made in education by the time. In general, people regarded education as a matter of national importance. Increasing enrolment in primary school indicates that the sense of indifference to education was breaking down and social and political consciousness among the people had also increased. The women, the Muslims and the backward classes had also awakened and there had been rapid progress in the numbers. Although there was general consciousness of the people in education, the Committee was not satisfied with the growth of literacy in the country. With these ideas in view, the Committee presented a comprehensive report. It was valuable in the sense that it tried to feel the pulse of education in India. It made recommendations in regard to primary secondary, higher and also some other aspects of education.

Recommendations on Primary Education

Now we will discuss the recommendations of the Hartog Committee regarding primary education. Hartog Committee made a thorough study of the primary education in India. It realised that the progress of primary education has not been satisfactory. Therefore, before making the recommendations, the committee pointed out the major defects of the existing system of primary education quite convincingly. They may be outlined below—
A)	Defects of Primary Education : The Committee pointed out the following special difficulties in the path of progress of primary education— The Committee realised that the majority of the Indian population reside in villages. Hence primary education is more a rural problem than an urban one. In rural areas school units are usually small, adequate staffing is more expensive, the conditions of living are not attractive to teachers, needs for supervision and inspection is much greater and it is more difficult to secure regular and prolonged attendance of children. The Committee found that the villagers were poor, illiterate and conservative and unwilling to send their children to schools. The general economic conditions of the villagers were also unfavourable to the spread of mass education. The villages were scattered, roads and means of communications were very bad. Physical and climatic conditions were also not favourable for education. The Hartog committee noted that there were many inaccessible and economically backward areas where primary education had not been encouraged. As villages did not have hygienic conditions, epidemic often broke out which affected the regularity of attendance of the children. Besides, agricultural work was also responsible for poor attendance. Children had to help their parents in agriculture and the parents found that if they sent their children to schools, their work would suffer. The committee also found very serious barriers of caste, religion and communal feelings making the expansion of primary education complicated. Another big challenge is found by the Committee on primary level, is Wastage and Stagnation: According to the Committee ‘wastage’ meant premature withdrawal of children from school at any stage before the completion of the primary course. By ‘stagnation’ the committee meant detention in the same classes for more than one academic year. Regular promotion of the students to the next higher class is interrupted resulting in the withdrawal of the student from school learning. The committee had highlighted the following causes of wastage and stagnation in primary education— As most of the parents are illiterate children don’t find suitable environment to retain their literacy. The committee found that 60% of the primary schools were single teacher school. The teachers are not trained and regular inspection of schools was not possible due to inadequate number of inspectors. The method of teaching employed by the teachers was unscientific and stereo typed and the curriculum was not scientific and upto date. Many of the schools were temporary and short lived. There were certain schools that did not hold their sessions regularly.
B)	Recommendations for Improvement: After describing the defects of primary education Hartog committee condemned the policy of its hasty expansion and recommended concentration on consolidation and qualitative improvement. Its main recommendations were— Planning to make primary education compulsory: Primary education should be made compulsory, but there should be no hurry about it. Environment and circumstances of the locality should be carefully studied while making education compulsory Quality Development: Policy of consolidation should be adopted and haphazard expansion should be dropped. Qualitative development should be made instead of increasing the number of primary schools. Duration: The minimum duration of the primary course should be of four years. Timetable: The time table of the schools should be drawn up in accordance with the environment and the circumstances of the schools. Curriculum: The curriculum of primary schools should be liberalised. It should be based on the needs and conditions of village life. Standard of teachers: Standard of the primary teachers should be improved. Training institutions should have better equipment and efficient staff. Refresher courses should also be arranged from time to time. Salary conditions of the service should be made attractive. Reduction of wastage and stagnation: Special attention should be given to the lowest class in primary schools and determined effort should be made to reduce the large extent of stagnation and wastage that prevail therein. Government inspection: The inspecting staff of the Government should be considerably strengthened both in quality and quantity. Centres for rural welfare: Primary schools should serve as centres for rural uplift works, medical relief, adult education, mass literacy, sanitation, recreation etc Finance: The Hartog committee opined that primary education should be a national concern and imperial Government should not entirely withdraw from the field of educational finance. It should provide necessary funds to meet financial deficiencies in the interest of India as a whole.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Answer briefly:
5. What are the hindrances in the path of progress of primary education?

6. What did the Hartog Committee mean by Wastage and stagnation?

7. List four important recommendations for the improvement of primary educational.

Recommendations on Secondary Education

The Hartog committee’s survey of secondary education is not comprehensive. It stresses only on a few major defects and suggests some remedies. First, we shall discuss the defects of secondary education as pointed out by the committee and then we shall proceed to the recommendations regarding its improvement.
	Defects in the Secondary Education : Examination Oriented: The committee found that the whole system of secondary education was dominated by the matriculation examination and the ideal of every boy who entered a secondary school was to prepare himself for the university examinations. It had no other purpose before it. Failures: The percentage of failures at the matriculation examinations was very large. This involved the waste of time, effort and money of the pupils. This was mainly due to laxness of promotions in the secondary schools from class to class and the absence of reasonable selective system.
	Recommendations for Improvement : In order to remove the defects of the system of secondary education the committee made the following recommendations— Diverting Pupils to Non-Literacy Pursuits : With a view to reducing the domination of the matriculation examination, the committee recommended— a) The introduction of a more diversified curriculum in the middle vernacular schools,, b) The diversion of more boys to industrial and commercial careers at the end of the middle stage, for which provision should be made by alternative courses in that stage. The students should be encouraged to offer these courses as they would be of great help in practical life. Improvement in the training and service conditions of secondary teachers: In this regard the committee said— a) Remuneration and conditions of service of the secondary teachers are for from satisfactory. Therefore, the salaries and service conditions of the teachers should be improved so as to attract really capable persons into the job. Teachers should be provided with better service conditions, higher salary and better social status. b) The committee noted that there was no security of service for the teachers. Teachers were frequently sent away at short notice. Many schools recruit teachers for nine months only and thus avoiding the payment of vocation salaries and increments. The salaries of teachers are paid very irregularly. The committee recommended the removal of such evils for the improvement of secondary education. c) The training facilities of the teacher should also be improved.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Answer briefly the following questions:
8. What are the defects of secondary education?

9. Alternative courses proposed by the Hartog committee.

10. Service condition of teachers.

Recommendations on Higher Education

Already you have learnt about the recommendation of the Hartog Committee regarding primary and secondary education. The committee gave some important suggestions for the university education as well. But before suggesting recommendations it evaluated the condition of higher education, as prevalent in India in those days. The committee looked at the defects and suggested for their remedy.


A)	Defects in Higher Education: Low standards: The committee praised the growth in the number of affiliated college but criticised the falling standards of education due to the worsening of environment in these colleges. The committee also stated that the lowering of standards is also due to indiscriminate admissions and poor work culture in secondary schools. Failure to achieve purpose: The main aim of higher education is to inculcate a taste for learning in the students and to prepare the right type of person for the society. But the universities have failed to produce leaders of society both from the qualitative and quantitative points of view. Overcrowding: The universities are over-crowded with students who are not exactly for university education. Neglect of Honours Course: The universities have not properly organised the Honours courses. This led to an unbalanced growth in the field of education. Inadequate Libraries: Libraries are ill equipped. Laboratory equipment and teaching aids are unsatisfactory which are so essential for higher educations are not up to the mark. Unhealthy competition: The committee felt that there was unhealthy competition among the universities. They paid more attention to increasing the number of students than to raising the standard of education.
B)	Recommendations: The Hartog Committee made the following recommendations for the improvement of higher education in India. Unitary as well as teaching universities: The committee recommended the establishment of affiliated universities alongwith the unitary, residential and teaching universities, keeping in view the great demand for higher education in India. It admitted that the standard of education in the affiliated colleges of these universities would be poorer than in the teaching universities, but under the circumstances affiliated colleges alone could meet the demand for higher education of the people. Appointment of teachers: The committee recommended that the teachers for affiliated colleges should be appointed by the universities. This procedure will raise the standards of education. Provision for Honours course: The honours course should be of more advanced nature than the pass courses and these courses should be instituted only at the universities. Employment: Provision should be made for technical education by the universities. Graduates should not suffer from unemployment and Employment Bureau should be opened in the universities to help the students get suitable employment. Improving the standard of secondary education: In order to improve the standard of higher education, the standard of the secondary examination should be raised. Restricted admission: The admission in the universities should be made on the basis of abilities and aptitudes of students. Libraries: There should be a well equipped central library in each university in order to enable the teachers to keep themselves upto date in the field of education. Examination for administrative services: Departmental examinations should be held to recruit the graduates in administrative services. Improvement in university work: Efforts should be concentrated on improving university work cluture, on confining the university to its proper function of providing good advanced education to students, who are fit to receive it and to make the university a more fruitful agency in the life of the community.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
Answer briefly:
11. List the defects of university education as pointed out by Hartog committee 1929.
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12. What suggestions were made by the committee for improvement?
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Women Education

The Hartog committee observed that vast discrepancy exists between the education of boys and that of the girls. The condition of women education was deplorable. The committee recommended that—


	Equal importance should be given to the education of the boys as well as girls.
	More primary schools for the girls should be established in rural areas where convenient, girls should also be allowed to study in the schools meant for boys.
	Curriculum for girls should include home science, hygiene, music etc. in secondary schools.
	Greater attention should be paid towards the training of women so that sufficient numbers of trained lady teachers could take up the teaching jobs.
	The number of inspecting staff should also be raised.
	The education of the girls at the primary level should be gradually made compulsory.
	Priority should be given to education of women in India.

Other Recommendations


	Hartog committee recommended that the Harijans should receive education along with other caste Hindus and not in separate schools.
	Provisions for technical and industrial education should be made in the universities.
	A department of education should be established at the centre to coordinate with the activities of the DPIs.
	The committee recommended for the appointment of more personnel in the department of education and appointment of more inspecting staff for the assistance of DPIs.

AN EVALUATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS

Already we have discussed in detail the recommendations of the Hartog Committee in different spheres of education. Now we will assess and evaluate these recommendations.

The report of the Hartog Committee holds a unique position in the history of Indian education. It greatly influenced the educational policy of the Government which was consolidation rather than expansion prior to independence. The recommendations of the committee regarding primary education were important and well thought out. The report was the first official recognition of the neglect of primary education. It blamed the provincial Governments for poor progress of primary education. The committee observed that primary education had become meaningless and ineffective. Therefore it argued for qualitative improvement. It pointed out that the problems of primary education were basically rural and it had also drawn attention to the problem of wastage and stagnation. The recommendations were welcomed by the officials but the Indian people, however, did not appreciate them. Indian nationalist opinion was in favour of quantitative expansion. The Government continued the policy of consolidation and it had an adverse effect on the primary education. The idea of compulsory primary education was sidetracked.

Regarding secondary education, the Hartog committee laid emphasis on industrial and commercial subjects, thereby making provisions for the students to take up practical occupations in life. The committee also recommended for improving the pay scale and service conditions of the teachers and rightly expressed that no education can be successful unless the teachers were well paid and enjoyed the security of service. But the Government did not choose to implement the recommendations on the teachers and no attempt was made to raise their salaries. The committee very distinctly remarked that qualitative improvement of education was not possible unless the conditions of the teachers were improved.

The Hartog committee had concentrated its attention more on primary and secondary education and less on university education. The committee praised the growth of affiliated colleges but criticised the falling standards of the university education. It expressed the opinion that the universities had failed to meet the needs of the people. It was the duty of the universities to produce such individuals who were tolerant, liberal and suitable to undertake great responsibilities. Giving importance on developing the libraries of the universities was one of the important recommendations of the commission.

RESULT OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS

Let us examine the impact of the Hartog committee’s recommendations on the field of Indian education.

We know that the essence of Hartog committee was the importance on qualitative improvement of primary education and not on the quantitative expansion. Accordingly some steps taken by the Government led to the qualitative improvement of this stage. But the general people of the country were asking for quantitative expansion. So the recommendations of the committee aroused sharp reaction. People wanted an education policy which could lead to the increase in the rate of literacy. In fact, increase in literacy was the need of the country. However, little was done upto 1937 to develop primary education. The total numbers of primary schools were 1, 96,708 in 1931-32. During 1936-37 the number came down to 1, 92,244. Such was the sorry plight of primary education in the country.

The condition of secondary education however, was better than that of primary education. From 7.530 schools in 1921-22 increased to 13,056 in 1936-37. The numbers of students were also doubled. But the real cause of improvement was not the committee’s recommendations because nothing had been done by the Government to implement the suggestions. The cause of the improvement had been the efforts of private enterprises and awakening of national spirit. A spirit of love for education was developed in all sections of the people. There was a healthy competition among the people for opening new schools and many teachers opened their own schools by being dissatisfied with the existing state of educational affairs.

Due to the growth of secondary education higher education also developed. A number of new universities and colleges were opened during this period. The number of teaching department in universities and colleges had gone up to 446 in 1936-37 from 207 in 1921-22. Besides new degree colleges and universities were opened during the period. Some special institutions like Shantiniketan founded by Rabindra Nath Tagore were also established. Delhi university was established in 1922, Nagpur 1923, Agra 1927, Andhra university in 1926 and Annamalai in 1929. Most of the students were attracted towards higher education because they realised that secondary education could not fulfill their aspirations. Moreover university educated persons were getting preference over matriculation passed individuals. Therefore there was a rush towards higher education.

But the report of the Hartog committee received cold and hostile reception in the nationalist circles because they felt that a definite programme of expansion was urgently needed for the liquidation of illiteracy and mass education in the country. It was criticised as political device to check the expansion of mass education.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
Answer briefly:
13. What does Hartog Committee say on women education.
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14. Evaluate the recommendations of the Hartog Committee.
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15. Discuss the Impact of the committee’s recommendation on Indian education.
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LET US SUM UP

In the first part of this unit, we have focused our attention on the historical background behind the setting up of the Hartog Committee. The condition of education under diarchy and the criticism levelled against it have also been discussed. The Simon Commission was appointed to enquire into the working of administration under the Government of India Act, 1919. Hartog Committee was appointed by the Simon Commission as an Auxiliary Committee under the chairmanship of Sir Phillip Hartog to prepare a report on education.

The Committee studied the various aspects on education and submitted its report in 1929. We have discussed the Committee’s recommendations regarding primary education. The Committee laid emphasis on qualitative improvement of primary education and not on quantitative expansion. It pointed out various defects of primary education and laid emphasis on developing primary schools into a community centre. The problem of wastage and stagnation in primary education was first pointed out by the Committee which offered suggestions for its improvement by taking measures, such as, Government inspections, enhance quality of teachers, adequate finances etc.

Then we have discussed the recommendations of the Committee on secondary education. The Committee identified examination orientedness and large scale failure in the Matriculation examination as the main defects of secondary education. It recommended to introduce more diversified curriculum during this period and to improve the service conditions, security of service and facilities for training of secondary school teachers.

In the field of higher education the Hartog Committee evaluated the condition of higher education and found that the standard of education was low and it had failed to achieve its real purpose. The universities were over-crowded and libraries were ill equipped. The committee suggested the establishment of affiliated universities along with unitary and residential universities, improving the condition of university libraries, opening of honours courses, admission on the basis of abilities and aptitudes of students, examination for administrative services, improvement of university work etc. Hartog committe’s recommendations also included women education, education of Harijan, and technical and industrial education.

In the concluding section of the unit we have focused on an evaluation of the recommendations of the committee and its impact on the field of Indian education.

SO MAXIM ENT.

21.1.13

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