HED4806
Assignment 3
(Detailed Response)
Due 2025
, HED4806
Assignment 3 (Detailed Response)
Due 2025
SECTION A: Education in India (Chapter 9)
The excerpt from Chapter 9 of Seroto, Davids & Wolhuter (2020) critically examines
how India’s sluggish economic transformation has impacted its education system,
revealing a persistent dichotomy: a small, privileged educated elite versus a vast
majority relegated to low-skilled labor. This analysis underscores a historical neglect of
universal mass education in post-independence India, highlighting a significant pivot in
educational aims from colonial subservience to nation-building objectives. A nuanced
exploration of this transformation involves understanding the socio-political contexts,
human dimensions, and policy implications during both periods.
2. What was the difference in the aims and objectives of education in India both
during the colonial period and after independence?
The shift in educational aims from the colonial era to post-independence India reflects a
profound transformation—from serving imperial interests to fostering national
sovereignty, social cohesion, and cultural revival. During colonial rule (roughly 18th
century–1947), education functioned as an instrument of imperial control, primarily
designed to produce a compliant administrative class. As Seroto et al. (2020) highlight,
the British aimed to cultivate a small cadre of Indians proficient in English, capable of
supporting colonial governance. Macaulay’s Minute on Education (1835) epitomizes
this, emphasizing the marginalization of indigenous languages and knowledge systems,
replacing them with Western curricula focused on rote learning and utilitarian skills
(Kies, 1953). Access was predominantly restricted to urban, upper-caste males,
perpetuating social stratification and cultural alienation. The colonial education system
reinforced stereotypes of Indian backwardness, fostering what Maldonado-Torres
(2007) describes as the coloniality of knowledge—an epistemic dominance that
devalued indigenous epistemologies and marginalized vast sections of the population.
Post-independence, educational aims underwent a radical reorientation toward nation-
building and socio-economic development. The Indian government sought to promote
Assignment 3
(Detailed Response)
Due 2025
, HED4806
Assignment 3 (Detailed Response)
Due 2025
SECTION A: Education in India (Chapter 9)
The excerpt from Chapter 9 of Seroto, Davids & Wolhuter (2020) critically examines
how India’s sluggish economic transformation has impacted its education system,
revealing a persistent dichotomy: a small, privileged educated elite versus a vast
majority relegated to low-skilled labor. This analysis underscores a historical neglect of
universal mass education in post-independence India, highlighting a significant pivot in
educational aims from colonial subservience to nation-building objectives. A nuanced
exploration of this transformation involves understanding the socio-political contexts,
human dimensions, and policy implications during both periods.
2. What was the difference in the aims and objectives of education in India both
during the colonial period and after independence?
The shift in educational aims from the colonial era to post-independence India reflects a
profound transformation—from serving imperial interests to fostering national
sovereignty, social cohesion, and cultural revival. During colonial rule (roughly 18th
century–1947), education functioned as an instrument of imperial control, primarily
designed to produce a compliant administrative class. As Seroto et al. (2020) highlight,
the British aimed to cultivate a small cadre of Indians proficient in English, capable of
supporting colonial governance. Macaulay’s Minute on Education (1835) epitomizes
this, emphasizing the marginalization of indigenous languages and knowledge systems,
replacing them with Western curricula focused on rote learning and utilitarian skills
(Kies, 1953). Access was predominantly restricted to urban, upper-caste males,
perpetuating social stratification and cultural alienation. The colonial education system
reinforced stereotypes of Indian backwardness, fostering what Maldonado-Torres
(2007) describes as the coloniality of knowledge—an epistemic dominance that
devalued indigenous epistemologies and marginalized vast sections of the population.
Post-independence, educational aims underwent a radical reorientation toward nation-
building and socio-economic development. The Indian government sought to promote
