The Wood's Despatch of 1854 aimed to establish an education system in India that imparted both Western knowledge and Indian languages and culture. It recommended creating a Department of Public Instruction, expanding primary, middle, and high schools, establishing universities in major cities, and developing programs for teacher training, women's education, and professional education. However, it faced issues with underfunding and lack of implementation of recommendations like vocational education. Overall, it helped develop Western-style education but with a partial approach that mostly aimed to create clerks to serve the British administration.

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3. SEQUENCE
Introduction
Recommendations of the Wood’s Despatch
Merits
De-Merits
Conclusions
Question/ Answer Session
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4. INTRODUCTION TO WOOD’S DESPATCH
The Charter of the East India Company had to be renewed
after every twenty years
A Selection Committee of the British Parliament was set up
in order to institute an enquiry into the measures for their
reforms
The Committee studied the issue thoroughly and reported
that the question of the Indian education should not be
ignored and its development will not be in any case harmful
to the British Empire
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5.  The suggestions of the Committee were favourably
considered by the Board of Directors
Sir Charles Wood was the president of the Board of
Control. Therefore, the declaration issued on July 19, 1854
was known as “Wood’s Despatch”
 It is said that the Despatch was written by the famous
thinker John Stuart Mill, a clerk of the company at that time
INTRODUCTION TO WOOD’S DESPATCH
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6. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S
DESPATCH
 To impart western knowledge,
information about the western culture
to the Indians
 To educate the natives of India so
that a class of public servants could
be created
Aims and Objectives of Educational Policy
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7. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S
DESPATCH
 To promote intellectual development
and also raise the moral character of
the young generation
 To develop practical and vocational
skills of the Indians people so that more
and more articles could be produced
Aims and Objectives of Educational Policy
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8. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S
DESPATCH
 For the first time, it recommended the
creation of a Department of Public
Instruction in each of the five
provinces of Bengal, Bombay, Madras,
the Punjab and the North Western
provinces
 The head of the Department would be
called the Director and he was to be
assisted by a number of inspectors
Department of Education
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9. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S
DESPATCH
 It was observed that the common
people were deprived of educational
opportunities and therefore much
emphasis was given on the increase
of setting up primary, middle and
high schools
 The “Downward Filtration Theory” as
proposed earlier was discarded
Expansion of Mass Education
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10. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S
DESPATCH
 Elementary education was considered to
be the foundation of the education system
Expansion of Mass Education
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11. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S
DESPATCH
 It recommended the establishment of
universities in the three Presidency
towns of Calcutta, Bombay and
Madras
 The universities were to be modelled
after the London University
 The universities were to organize
departments not only of English but
also of Arabic, Sanskrit and Persian,
as well as law and civil engineering
Establishment of Universities
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12. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S
DESPATCH
 The schools must provide secular
education
 The school management should
run the school well
 The school should agree to state
inspection from time to time
Grant - in-aid System
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13. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S
DESPATCH
 The schools should follow any rule
prescribed by the government for
the regulation of the grant
 The school must charge fees from
the students
Grant - in-aid System
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14. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S
DESPATCH
 It gave importance to teaching of
English, but at the same time, it
also stressed on the teaching of
Indian languages
 It clearly stated that Indian
languages as well as English
should be used as medium of
instruction
Teaching of Language
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15. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S
DESPATCH
 The Despatch also encouraged both
public and private enterprises to
promote women education
 The schools for girls were to be
included among those to which grants-
in-aid would be given
Education of Women
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16. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S
DESPATCH
 The Despatch recommended the
establishment of teacher training
schools in each of the provinces
 There should be training schools for
teachers of engineering, medicine and
law
 The qualified teachers should be given
better pay scales
Training of Teachers
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17. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S
DESPATCH
 It recommended the establishment of
medical, engineering, law and other
institutes of professional education
 Another reason for the encouragement
of vocational education was to control
the problem of unemployment
Professional Education
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18. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WOOD’S
DESPATCH
 It recommended the establishment of a
network of graded schools all over the
country
Introduction of Network of Graded Schools
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19. THE WOOD’S DESPATCH
 For the first time, the government
seriously realised the importance of a
well planned education system
 It recommended the creation of a
Department of Public Instruction and
appointed a Director to head the
Department
Merits
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20. THE WOOD’S DESPATCH
 It recommended the establishment of
both government and indigenous
schools to promote mass education
 The Despatch also recommended the
establishment of three universities to
higher education
Merits
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21. THE WOOD’S DESPATCH
 The Despatch encouraged vocational
education and also training for teachers
 The Wood’s Despatch recommended the
teaching of English and Indian regional
languages as well as classical languages
like Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit
Merits
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22. THE WOOD’S DESPATCH
 The Despatch, in reality promoted
Western literature and knowledge and
government offices showed preferences
for persons educated in English
 The education planning and
management schemes remained only in
black and white
De-Merits
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23. THE WOOD’S DESPATCH
 The grant-in-aid system did not work
well as there was paucity of funds and
irregularity of the release of funds
 The Despatch did not promote
vocational education as was required.
In fact, the idea was postponed
indefinitely
De-Merits
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24. THE WOOD’S DESPATCH
 Women education continued to be
neglected
 The Despatch produced a class of
clerks and accountants but did not
develop character and leadership
qualities among students
De-Merits
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25. THE WOOD’S DESPATCH
 The Wood’s Despatch had a partial attitude
towards the Christian missionaries
De-Merits
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26. THE WOOD’S DESPATCH
 Owing to certain landmark
recommendations by this despatch, it
was called the ‘Magna Carta” of
Indian education
 Because of the “Sepoy Mutiny”,
efforts were made only to consolidate
the British Empire and education was
neglected
Conclusions
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