ABSTRACT
The advent of British imperialism, which developed on the basis of the capitalist transformation of European economy in the Indian subcontinent, marks the beginning of a new age in the history of India and Tamil Nadu as well. It effected many changes in the social, political and economic spheres. The introduction of Western education in India during the colonial era, particularly during 1820s and 1830s, was also an important factor which brought about these changes. This, however, does not mean that India or Tamil Nadu did not have any educational history. India had always been a land of learning and there had been institutions of higher learning like those of Taxila and Nalanda and academies like the wellknown Tamil Sangam. But learning was socially restricted to those whom we can call the traditional elite. This system of education remained more or less unchanged for several centuries. With the arrival of Western education, the traditional system of education began to collapse.
