Indian Universities Act 1904 was introduced to improve education, Indian Universities Act UPSC 1904 Indian Universities Commission.
To develop and make changes in the education system and the universities, several new commissions, acts, and reforms were introduced mainly in the beginning of the 20th century. One such reform that was introduced is the Hunter Commission that failed to bring the Indian education system within track. When Lord Curzon became the Indian viceroy, he decided to change the propositions of the Hunter Commission. This led to the formulation and adoption of The Indian Universities Act, 1904.
This Act was passed in an attempt to improve the situation of university education in India. It worked to bring all universities under the control of the Government of india.
After Lord Curzon was appointed as the new Viceroy in India, he called for a round table conference at Simla in 1901. At this meeting, the higher education offices in India and representatives from different universities from across the country were present. Curzon discussed the then-condition of the Indian education system along with the drawbacks and gaps that needed urgent attention.
After a lot of discussion, several resolutions were adopted that targeted almost all the educational branches in India. In 1902, Sir Raleigh initiated another commission for all the Indian universities. Even though the investigation and approaches in the commission were useful, nothing was said about the primary and secondary education. Apart from this, the commission had several other drawbacks which led to the amendments and the introduction of The University Act, 1904.
There were several provisions introduced under the Indian University Commission 1904. Some of these are described below:
As The Universities Act, 1904 was a major reform in the Indian education system, several scholars and other members associated with universities proposed their opinions in various manners. For instance:
The Indian Universities Act 1904 was introduced by Lord Curzon to improve the condition of university education in India. The Act introduced governmental control over universities. It expanded the scope of university education. New initiatives such as laboratories were introduced to improve the quality of research. The Act was beneficial due to its concept of grants, increase in expenditure on education as well as new students. The Act also faced criticism by the Sandler Commission for the authority given to the government, by nationalists, and even by Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Even though several other amendments and reforms were introduced later on in the Indian education system, The Indian Universities Acts 1904 was a major step taken by the British government. It not only stabilised the education system but also widened the scope for many sharp and intelligent minds.