Tracing the Genealogy of Elementary Education Policy in India Till Independence

Abstract

This article attempts to trace the genealogy of elementary education policy in India under the colonial rule of the Portuguese, Dutch, French, and the British till its independence in 1947. It records the development of school education historically and the policy changes with regard to elementary education under various periods of colonial rule. The political economy of elementary education was traced historically from the time of Portuguese arrival in India in the 1400s. The policy changes and the public expenditure on education during the British colonial period have laid a strong foundation for the modern educational development of free India after its independence. The contemporary school educational structure in India has its strong roots in the colonial education structure and management. Despite elementary education being considered as an important area to focus and develop during the colonial period, it has never received the needed resources to strengthen itself. This paper will lay the larger structural map of political economy of school education till the time of independence to understand the contemporary school education in a more nuanced manner.