There is no denying of the fact that in the 18th century India, in the absence of a proper educational policy in the early period of colonialism, it was the Christian Missionaries, as elsewhere in India, took upon themselves the task of imparting the values of western oriented educational system to the oppressed natives and others. The poor had no access to the education. Traditional Indian education was based on Gurukulam - Guru -Syshya system (guru means teacher/spiritual guid; syshya means disciples/ student). It was on one to one basis and it was more or less a residential system of education . A Guru or a group of Gurus may have many disciples. Though it was effective, it was available to the higher and middle class caste Hindus and the poor were excluded.. The western missionaries focused on this veritable handicap in traditional Indian system and made up their mind to make basic education available to the poor so that they could progress in the society. Thus the Jesuits became the pioneers of western English Education in South India.
The close association of religion and education has been a common scenario in India for a pretty long time and it has some positive elements one being promotion of secularism. Though historian view that the missionary policy in the colonial period was mainly focused on proselytisation or conversion, but their pioneering effort in the early growth of printing technology, literature in vernacular, education, local culture (Tamil Telugu, etc), its society and religion etc., overshadowed their evangelical work. The Protestant missionaries were the pioneers, in particular, in the Tamil Desam and they learned the local languages to communicate with the locals. They also realized the languages spoken in India and found them to be are far advanced and rich in literature.
Their writings also covered many negative elements in the traditional Hindu society such as Sati, Devadasi system, child marriages and they created an awareness about their bad impact on the society among the people. Their criticism of age old Indian transitional system also made the people think about the negative elements in the colonialism as well. In a way the missionaries' teachings in vernacular and English played a vital role in bring about the emergence of liberal thoughts, fundamental freedom, human rights, rationalistic thinking and criticism of ruling classes and both the rich and poor were the beneficiaries. In the later part of colonialism, the English language brought the educated people of different region on one platform when they started the freedom movement against the British.
The western system of education was introduced earlier in the erstwhile state of Travancore (now Kerala), particularly, in the southern part that now forms part of Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu and the Maratha kingdom of Tanjore (Delta district of Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu)after its first introduction in Madras. Like Rev. William Tobias RingleTaube (born 1770 --? ), a Protestant Missionary from Germany,who was a pioneer in the introduction of English education in Travancore (1806), in the delta region of present day Tamil Nadu, the missionaries of the Danish mission at Tharangampadi (Tranquibar, Nagapatnam district)) founded by Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg (10 July 1682 – 23 February 1719), a member of the Lutheran clergy played a vital role in promoting and motivating western education without clashing with the local culture and languages.. He was the first Protestant missionary to India and arrived in Tranquebar in July 1706. He was also the first to introduce the printing press to print evangelical work as well as vernaculur works in India. With the introduction of education, Protestant mission progressively showed their leaning from moral to ideological, from ideological to political reasoning.
Schultze who enriched TeluguThe credit goes to Rev. Frederick C. Schwartz (1726–1798), a German Lutheran missionary to India who came to Tiruchi in 1761 and founded schools and churches between 1772 and 1790 with support from the Tanjore Maratha Maharajah and also from the Nawab of Arcot.The Martha ruler was of great help to Rev. Schwartz as he was close to him.
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St. Peter's Higher Secondary School in Thanjvur founded by Rev. Frederick C. Schwartz after idea was mooted by a British resident Sullivan
The central region of the State has been an epicentre of education for a long time, thanks to the vision of Christian Missionaries. Some of the educational institutions established by them are centuries old and have been doing yeoman services in promoting literacy to all nooks and corner, particularly in rural areas.
The Christian Missionaries took keen interest in education at the time when the government did very little to shoulder the responsibility in this field. A beginning in the modern education was made by the Christian Missionaries and the Tranquebar Danish Mission was the pioneer in spreading education in this part.
As early as in 1756, two of the missionaries trekked many places and founded schools. The famous missionary Rev. Frederick C. Schwartz of this mission came to Tiruchi in 1761 and founded a school and a church in 1772 by raising donations from the Nawab of Arcot.
In 1854, the Society for the Propagation of Gospel (SPG) supported 186 schools, the majority of which were in the districts of Tiruchi, Thanjavur, Tirunelveli and Madurai.
Rev. Schwartz came to Thanjavur during the period of Maratha ruler Thulaja Maharaja. Sullivan, a British national, residing at Thanjavur, mooted the idea of starting a school in the then little town. Rev. Schwartz obliged instantly by setting up a provincial school in Maharnombu Chavadi on the outskirts of Thanjavur town in 1784. The present St. Peter's Higher Secondary School in the heart of Thanjavur town is the lineal descendant of this provincial school.
Rev. Schwartz received good support from the Maratha ruler for this noble task. Rajah Serfoji donated lands for the construction of buildings for this school. The East India Company allotted special grants to the provincial school.
The school was later shifted to Vediyapuram and to the present campus on the North Main street which was then known as Master Ram's ‘maadi' (the residence of an English teacher Master Ram). The school had five branches initially – Maharnombu Chavadi, Fort-North Main street junction, Karanthattangudi, East Gate and Palace Annexe. At present only the Palace annexe and East Gate branch exist.
The unique distinction of St. Peter's HSS is this was the first school in the whole country to teach English to Indians. Rev. G. U. Pope, the renowned scholar who translated the immortal verses of Tirukkural into English, served with great distinction in this school for six years. This school, due to its great service for the cause of education, was promoted as a second grade college in 1864. However, due to financial constraints, the college was closed in 1908, and the institution continued as a school.
The spacious play ground of this school at Palace campus, which was known as Huzur Mahal garden, a private garden of the kings, was secured on lease in 1924. Yet another achievement of this 227-year old school is that the world's first Interact Club, the junior wing of the Rotary Club in schools, was ushered into existence in this school in 1962 by the then principal, S. R. Pandian.
“The school has served the people of the central districts very well in the last more than two centuries and has produced many stalwarts in various fields.
The school has come a long way indeed, but it still has many miles to go. It will continue to play a stellar role in the interest of the poor and downtrodden”, says R. A. Justus Winsly, the headmaster of the school, with pride ringing in his voice.
St. John's Vestry Anglo Higher Secondary School is yet another success story of the Christian Missionaries. This school was started in 1763 inside the vestry room (the room where priest changes his clothes to ceremonial robes)of St.John's Church which is located near the central busstand. Hence, the name St.John's Vestry school came into being.
It was first started as orphanage for the children of British soldiers and later moved to its current location. This is one of the oldest schools in Tamil Nadu and rich in Anglo-Indian tradition dating back to two centuries.
Missioned by the Church of South India, it covered only a small area of land at the current location, and subsequently expanded.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-editorialfeatures/first-school-to-teach-english-to-indians/article2286548.ece
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Lord William Bentinck, the then Governor-General of British India, impressed upon the East India Company to allocate funds to promote education and literature in India. Then traditional methods of Hindu and Muslim education was in practice and the publications were mostly in the native learned tongues (Sanskrit and Persian). A decision had been made to support the establishments teaching Western curriculum with English as the language of instruction. This way they gradually introduced English as the language of administration and of the higher law courts (replacing Persian/Urdu). Ultimately English became one of the languages of India, rather than simply the native tongue of its foreign rulers. The English Education Act was a legislative Act of the Council of India in 1835 giving effect to a decision in 1835 by Gov. Gen. Lord William Bentinck.
Thomas Babington Macaulay's remark that Western learning was superior was received by the natives with reservation because India holds the distinction of having two highly advanced well structured languages Sanskrit and Tamil and many Indian languages evolved from them.
Across India in the past two decades greater emphasis has been placed on the English medium schools and parents want to see to it that their children study at such schools so that it will help them if they go for higher education either in India or abroad. Yet another advantage is, as English is widely spoken globally, there is an ample scope for employment opportunities at the MN companies in India and abroad.
A surprising fact is before the introduction of The English Education Act in 1835, the English medium schools were introduced in South India, in particular, parts of Tamil Nadu. In 1619, though the English had a factory in Masulipatnam, now in Andhra, no English school was opened there. Can you make a guess as to who first introduced an English medium school in India?
It was none other than a French Capuchin priest Fr. Ephrem de Nevers. He was a man of affable disposition and loved by everybody around him. The French missionary was a dedicated worker and loved children very much and that ultimately led him to open a public school for them. In 1619, though the English had a factory in Masulipatnam, now in Andhra, no English school was opened there. However, de Nevers took the honor of having started the first English school in India and it functioned right here in Madras (Chennai). The school came up at his priestly quarters in St. Andrews, a Roman Catholic church which he established in 1642 within the prescient of fort St. George, Madras. The French priest got the necessary permission from the English Company to establish the free English school.. Besides, he also ran another school and taught Tamil, Portuguese and Latin to the students.
After the closure of St. Andrews Church (1658) for political reason by the English company in the wake of the liberation of St. George fort from the French occupation, Fr. de Nevers was given permission in 1658 to build a second church and a school on a land in the place now called George Town. The Capuchin Preacher Pringle in 1673 started the Portuguese and English language free school to cater to the needs of the English, Portuguese, other Europeans and Indian children resident in the Fort. The Council of Fort St. George in 1678 gave a formal recognition and one Ralph Orde became the ‘Schoolmaster’. Later this school was taken over by St. Mary’s and its name changed to St. Mary’s Charity School and functioned under the Rev. William Stevenson from 1715 In 1787 the school was called the Male Orphans’ Asylum
In 1787 the school was called the Male Orphans’ Asylum. Under the Rt. Rev. Joseph Carewin in 1839, it became St. Mary’s Seminary.
n 1882, it became a second grade college of the University of Madras carrying the name of St. Mary's college. It became St. Mary’s European High School in 1906. After independence, it became St. George’s Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School.
1954 the name again changed to St. George’s School and Orphanage. By virtue of its continuous existence since 1715 without any break in between, it is considered the oldest English medium school in Asia. In 2015 it celebrated its 300th year
http://firstenglishschoolinindia.blogspot.in/
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