THE HARTOG COMMITTEE (1929)

THE HARTOG COMMITTEE (1929)

       I.            INTRODUCTION  (Historical background)

    II.            REPORT OF THE HARTOG COMMITTEE, 1929

a.      Recommendations on Primary Education

b.      Recommendations on Secondary Education

c.       Recommendations on Higher Education

d.      Women Education

 III.            CONCLUSION

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

               The Hartog Committee (1929) and Sapru Committee (1934) both emphasized the vital role of vocational education in the country's economic development. The Hartog Committee recommended diversified courses in the schools to enable the students to prepare for industrial and commercial careers at the end of middle school stage, as preparation to special instruction in technical and industrial schools. The Sapru Committee recommended 11 years of school education (5 years for primary, 3 years for lower secondary and 3 years for higher secondary) with vocational studies commencing after 11 years of education. The main purpose of the Sapru Committee was to find ways and means of solving unemployment problem through diversified courses at the secondary stage. But it too made little impact on the educational administration.

REPORT OF THE HARTOG COMMITTEE, 1929

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

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.

Recommendations on Secondary Education

T he 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.

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.

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.

CONCLUSION

In 1929, the Hartog Committee submitted its report. This Committee was appointed to survey the growth of education in British India. It “devoted far more attention to mass education than Secondary and University Education”. The committee was not satisfied with the scanty growth of literacy in the country and highlighted the problem of ‘Wastage’ and ‘Stagnation’ at the primary level.It mentioned that the great waste of money and efforts which resulted because of the pupils leaving their schools before completing the particular stage of education. Its conclusion was that “out of every 100 pupils (boys and girls) who were in class I in 1922-23, only 18 were reading in class IV in 1925-26. Thus resulted in a relapse into illiteracy. So, it suggested the following important measures for the improvement of primary education.

I. Adoption of the policy of consolidation in place of multiplication of schools;

II. Fixation of the duration of primary course to four years;

III. Improvement in the quality, training, status, pay, service condition of teachers;
IV. Relating the curricula and methods of teaching to the conditions of villages in which children live and read;
V. Adjustment of school hours and holidays to seasonal and local requirements;
VI. Increasing the number of Government inspection staff.

In the sphere of secondary education the Committee indicated a great waste of efforts due to the immense number of failures at the Matriculation Examination. It attributed that the laxity of promotion from one class to another in the earlier stages and persecution of higher education by incapable students in too large a number were the main factors of wastage.

So it suggested for the introduction of diversified course in middle schools meeting the requirements of majority of students. Further it suggested “the diversion of more boys to industrial and commercial careers at the end of the middle stage”. Besides, the Committee suggested for the improvement of University Education, Women Education, Education of Minorities and Backward classes etc.

The Committee gave a permanent shape to the educational policy of that period and attempted for consolidating and stabilizing education. The report was hailed as the torch bearer of Government efforts. It attempted to prove that a policy of expansion had proved ineffective and wasteful and that a policy of consolidation alone was suited to Indian conditions. However, the suggestions of the Committee could not be implemented effectively and the educational progress could not be maintained due to worldwide economic depression of 1930-31. Most of the recommendations remained mere pious hopes.