द ब्यूटीफुल ट्री: १८वीं सदी में भारत की स्वदेशी गुरुकुल शिक्षा (धर्मपाल)

Annexure D Extracts From William Adam’s State of Education in Bengal 1835- 38 I W. ADAM ON INDIGENOUS ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS GENERAL: (pp.6-9) By this description are meant those schools in which instruction in the elements of knowledge is communicated, and which have been originated and are supported by the natives themselves, in contra-distinction from those that are supported by religious or philanthropic societies. The number of such schools in Bengal is supposed to be very great. A distinguished member of the General Committee of Public Instruction in a minute on the subject expressed the opinion, that if one rupee per mensem were expended on each existing village school in the Lower Provinces, the amount would probably fall little short of 12 lakhs of rupees per annum. This supposes that there are 100,000 such schools in Bengal and Bihar, and assuming the population of those two Provinces to be 40,000,000 there would be a village school for every 400 persons. There are no data in this country known to me by which to determine out of this number the proportion of school-going children, or of children capable of going to school, or of children of the age at which, according to the custom of the country, it is usual to go to school. In Prussia (See Cousin’s Report on the State of Public Instruction in Prussia, p.140) it has been ascertained by actual census that in a population of 12,256,725 there were 4,487,461 children under fourteen years of age; which gives 366 children for every 1,000 inhabitants, or about eleven-thirtieths of the nation. Of this entire population of children it is calculated that three-sevenths are of an age to go to school, admitting education in the schools to begin at the age of seven years complete, and there is thus in the entire Prussian monarchy the number of 1,923,200 children capable of receiving the benefits of education. These proportions will not strictly apply to 268