ABSTRACT

From 1835, the British officially endorsed the use of English education in India. However, only a minority of the Indian population were willing and able to make use of provisions for English education. In 1844, Lord Hardinge’s administration announced that all those educated in English would be preferred in office appointments. Given the new importance placed upon English training, English education began to flourish in India through both government and private schools. The emphasis placed upon English education to further career opportunities and as a means to power under the British encouraged Indians to value British educationists and institutions highly. Yet despite these policies, the number of educated Indians was very small, especially in proportion to the whole population; the 1881 Census found that only one out of every 3600 people belonged to the ‘native intelligentsia’.1