HED4806 ASSIGNMENT 4 2025 (Answer Guide)

HED4806 ASSIGNMENT 4 2025 (Answer Guide) SECTION A 2. The difference in the aims and objectives of education in India during the colonial period and after independence During the colonial period, the British introduced a formal education system in India primarily as a tool of imperial governance. The 1835 Minute on Indian Education by Thomas Babington Macaulay set the tone, stating that education should produce a class of Indians who were culturally aligned with the British, capable of serving as intermediaries in administration (Macaulay, 1835). The objective was not to uplift the Indian population but to facilitate colonial control by creating an English-educated elite. The curriculum focused on English literature, Western science and philosophy, and Christian moral values. Indigenous knowledge systems, traditional Indian pedagogy (like gurukulas and madrasas), and vernacular languages were devalued or outright suppressed. The system was inherently exclusionary, serving a minority and reinforcing existing social hierarchies based on class, caste, and urban-rural divides (Seroto et al., 2020). After independence in 1947, the new Indian government inherited a highly elitist and fragmented education system. The nationalist vision shifted towards building a democratic, secular, and inclusive society. Education was reimagined as a tool for nation-building, economic development, social justice, and modernisation. Policy documents such as the Kothari Commission Report (1964-66) emphasised “education for social transformation” and proposed universal elementary education, curricular reforms, and equity in access. However, despite progressive intentions, implementation lagged, and structural inequalities persisted. Higher education and technical fields received disproportionate attention, while mass-based literacy and primary education remained underfunded and poorly managed (Balakrishnan, 2010). Thus, although the post-independence aims