Schools in India before British rule
Schools in India before British ArrivalAfter the defeat of Marathas in the third Anglo-Maratha war, the East India Company started occupying the North-Western part of India in the mid of 19th Century. They also used their resources to expand Bengal Presidency and to occupy Odisha and Southern provinces of modern day Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. In this post we will take a look at how education was prevalent in those areas under these two regions.
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Vedic schools
The history of education in India started well before the British rule, with the establishment of schools during the reign of many dynasties, including the Maurya Empire. The first reference to a school in India is found in early Buddhist texts, which refer to Agrahārasmṛti Ghoṣaḥ, Kupaka and Takkasilā as places where Buddhist monks met and established religious schools.
Vedic schools or gurukuls were residential schools in India before British rule. The word is derived from the Vedas, and means ‘house of the guru’ (from the Sanskrit veda, meaning “knowledge,” and the Sanskrit-root gu, meaning “darkness”).The gurukul system of education was prevalent throughout ancient India.
The students were given food, accommodation and education by their guru (teacher) in his ashram. Later on when India came under British rule, the British government took over this system of education which has now become common all over India.
The gurukul system of education was prevalent throughout ancient India. The students were given food, accommodation and education by their guru (teacher) in his ashram. Later on when India came under British rule, the British government took over this system of education which has now become common all over India.
Before the British came to India the village schools were the centers of learning
These schools were known as ‘pathshalas’. The teachers in these schools were called ‘pandits’. They taught Sanskrit and religious literature to the Hindus. They also taught Persian to the Muslims. Most of the teachers lived on charity. Some of them were paid in kind.
Very few students could read or write. Most of them learned by heart what they had heard from their teachers. Some wrote down what they had heard in slates with chalk and rubbed it off when it was learned by heart. The most common books for teaching were made of palm leaves. Sometimes paper was used for writing on both sides of a sheet. These books were kept under lock and key because paper was very expensive at that time.
There were no regular methods of teaching in these village schools. There was no uniformity in any matter relating to education throughout the country during those days.
Takeaway
In sum, we’ve come a long way as a culture since the days of India’s past civilizations. It’s not just in terms of what they built… it is also the way they lived that has been passed on to us by their descendants. It’s not one singular aspect of daily life that makes Indian culture special, either, but the wide variety of aspects that contribute to it as a whole. In this article I have tried to capture some of these details that show how India went from village life to city life and then expanded out from there into space.
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