Report on Indigenous Education and Vernacular Schools in Agra, Aligarh, Etawah, Farrukhabad, Mainpuri, Mathura, Shahjahanpur, for 1851-52/Report

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Report on Indigenous Education and Vernacular Schools in Agra, Aligarh, Etawah, Farrukhabad, Mainpuri, Mathura, Shahjahanpur, for 1851-52 (1852)
by Henry Stewart Reid

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4336349Report on Indigenous Education and Vernacular Schools in Agra, Aligarh, Etawah, Farrukhabad, Mainpuri, Mathura, Shahjahanpur, for 1851-521852Henry Stewart Reid

The substance and moral of the tale might be retained, but “Doorga” and “Mohun” should take the place of “Thomas” and “George,” and the scene of action be laid not in Edinburgh, or in Turin, but in Banãras or in Dehli. A remuneration of Rs. 200, (I believe), has been awarded by competent judges for the translation, which fact guarantees the merit of the work, but the practice, so prevalent, of resting satisfied with mere translation cannot be too strongly deprecated.

301.—Ditto.—Fourthly “Begin at home.”

In none of our Tahsīlī schools is Geography yet read, nor has any work on this subject been yet compiled in this Office. But in lieu of teaching the names of countries, and the several distinctions between bay and gulf, cape and isthmus, &c., we have placed in the young scholar’s hands a map of his own district. The boy who lives at Agra, knows that Fathpūr Sikrī is about twelve “kos” to the west of Agra. He will see it thus laid down in the map. He will trace with some degree of interest the course of the Jumna, which flows past his very door, may be. He will learn the uses of the map, and will connect the fact as it exists, with the fact as therein recorded. He will learn to form accurate ideas regarding distance.

302.—Ditto.—It would have been desirable, had it been practicable in all cases, to have given the boy a map of his own Parganah, in which the very site and boundaries of his own Village would have been shown. The original maps could not be had at once, and I had no leisure to wait.

303.—Ditto.—A map of Asia has been lithographed in Nãgrī and Persian. It is intended chiefly for a prize, and may also serve to turn the attention of Musalmãns and Hindūs to the study of Geography, by showing to the former the position of the birth-place and tomb of their prophet, and to the latter those “sacred spots” so often noticed in their Mythology.

304.—A map will shortly be prepared, in which will be shown the course of the Ganges and of the Jumna, the principal cities and towns on their banks, &c. It will be explained by explanatory text, detailing the past history, the present state, natural productions, manufactures, &c. of the places noted in the map.

305.—Next will follow maps of the North Western Provinces, of Hindustãn, and of the World. Separate maps of Europe, Africa, and America will not be required.

306.—I find that Mr. Dunn in his “Principles of Teaching” advocates this mode of teaching Geography, which appeared to me best calculated to fill the mind of the scholar with accurate ideas regarding the position, &c. of his own, and other countries. The book is one well deserving perusal.

307.—Proceeding on the above principle, the first work of the kind which has been attempted, is the Hindū æra of Indian History, in which are detailed, divested of the colours which Hindū Mythology has lent, the exploits of Rãma, the invasion of Alexander, the Augustan age of Hindi or Sanskrit literature in the reign of Vikramaditya and Bhuj. The Musalmãn and English rule will next be narrated.

308.—The objects of the School Series in preparation.—The objects aimed at in our School Series are as follows:

1st. To enable the scholar to read with facility and to write correctly his own tongue, affording to him an opportunity of learning the elements of Arithmetic, &c., and of Hindi or Urdū Grammar.

2nd. To impart that species of knowledge, and to store the mind with such information as may prove of practical use in after-life. Thus the sons of the Zamindar and of the cultivator are taught Mensuration and Patwaris’ Accounts; the young Mahãjan, the mode of “Book-keeping” and the Village Banker’s Manual, &c.

3rd. To inculcate those pure principles of morality, which are not confined to Christianity alone, although they are most clearly and beautifully set forth in our Scriptures.

4th. To place in the hands of the people, works of a nature to excite their attention, and to enlist their sympathy, by treating of familiar and pleasing subjects, and thus to induce a love of reading, not in those only who attend our Tahsīlī schools, but among the people at large.

309.—Efforts made for the introduction of Urdū into Village Schools.—I shall now proceed to detail the efforts which have been made for the introduction of Urdū into City and Village Schools.

This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.

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Report on Indigenous Education and Vernacular Schools in Agra, Aligarh, Etawah, Farrukhabad, Mainpuri, Mathura, Shahjahanpur, for 1851-52/Report

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