Madras Presidency - Education

Education

The first schools offering Western-style education in the presidency were established in Madras during the 18th century. In 1822, a Board of Public Instruction was created based on the recommendations of Sir Thomas Munro, after which schools teaching students in vernacular language was established. A central training school was set up in Madras as per Munro's scheme. However, this system appeared to be a failure and the policy was altered in 1836 in order to promote European literature and science. The Board of Public Instruction was superseded by a Committee for Native Education. In January 1840, during the viceroyalty of Lord Ellenborough, a University Board was established with Alexander J. Arbuthnot as the Joint Director of Public Instruction. The central school was converted to a high school in April 1841 with 67 students and in 1853 became the Presidency College with the addition of a college department. On 5 September 1857, the University of Madras was established as an examining body using the University of London as a model with the first examinations held in February 1858. C. W. Thamotharam Pillai and Caroll V. Visvanatha Pillai of Ceylon were the first to graduate from the University. Sir S. Subramaniya Iyer was the first Indian Vice-Chancellor of the University.

Similarly, Andhra University was established by the Andhra University Act of 1925 and in 1937, the University of Travancore was established in the princely state of Travancore.

The Government Arts College, established in Kumbakonam in 1867, was one of the first educational institutions outside Madras. The oldest engineering college in the presidency, College of Engineering, Guindy, was established as a Government Survey School in 1794 before being upgraded to an Engineering College in 1861. Initially, only Civil Engineering was taught, with the further disciplines of Mechanical Engineering added in 1894, Electrical Engineering in 1930 and Telecommunication and Highways in 1945. The AC College, with its emphasis on textiles and leather technology, was founded by Alagappa Chettiar in 1944. The Madras Institute of Technology, which introduced courses such as aeronautical and automobile engineering was established in 1949. In 1827, the first medical school in the Presidency was established then followed by the Madras Medical College in 1835. The Government Teacher's College was established at Saidapet in 1856.

Among the private institutions, the Pachaiyappa's College, established in 1842, is the oldest Hindu educational institution in the presidency. The Annamalai University, established by Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar in his native Chettinad in 1929, was the first university in the presidency to have hostel facilities Christian missionaries were pioneers in promoting education in the region. The Madras Christian College, St. Aloysius College at Mangalore, Loyola College in Madras and the St. Peter's College at Tanjore were some of the educational institutions established by Christian missionaries.

The Madras Presidency had the highest literacy rate of all the provinces in British India. In 1901, Madras had a male literacy rate of 11.9 percent and a female literacy rate of 0.9 percent. In 1950, when the Madras Presidency became Madras State, the literacy rate was slightly higher than the national average of 18 percent. In 1901, there were 26,771 public and private institutions with 923,760 scholars of whom 784,621 were male and 139,139 female. By 1947, the number of educational institutions had increased to 37,811 and the number of scholars to 3,989,686. Apart from colleges, in 1947 there were 31,975 public and elementary schools, 720 secondary schools for boys and 4,173 elementary and 181 secondary schools for girls. Most of the early graduates were Brahmins. The preponderance of Brahmins in the universities and in the civic administration was one of the main causes for the growth of the Anti-Brahmin movement in the presidency. Madras was also the first province in British India where caste-based communal reservations were introduced.

In 1923, the Madras University Act was passed after its introduction by Education Minister A. P. Patro. Under the bill's provisions, the governing body of Madras University was completely reorganized on democratic lines. The bill asserted that the governing body would henceforth be headed by a Chancellor who would be assisted by a pro-Chancellor, usually the Minister of Education. Apart from the Chancellor and the pro-Chancellor who were elected, there was to be a Vice-Chancellor appointed by the Chancellor.