EDUCATION AND CULTURE

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

IT IS NOT PRECISELY KNOWN AS TO WHAT SYSTEM OF EDUCATION prevailed in ancient and mediaeval times in the district. The education by heritage might be considered as one of the systems of education during these times. It is also likely that schools and pathshalas were organised by the learned persons belonging to the various communities for imparting instructions in the various fields of knowledge then available. The conditions that prevailed by the end of 18th century in Bhandara district have been described by the old Gazetteer of Bhandara as under:

"The Bhandara District occupies a fairly high place in the Province in regard to education. The number of schools has increased from 50 to 141 and the number of scholars from 3,691 to 8,696 since 1880-81. It is the fourth District in the Province in respect of the number of its schools and 52 per thousand of males can read and write. The standard of literacy among Muhammadans and Jains is markedly higher than the average for the district. Female education is comparatively backward, only 199 females being returned as literate at the last Census. The Monro High School, Bhandara, is the only high school in the District. This was originally a middle school and was raised to the status of a high school in 1903-04. In 1905-06 it contained 55 scholars in the high school and 71 in the middle department. There are two English middle schools in Bhandara; one is a municipal school with 139 scholars and the other is a mission school with 21 scholars. There are five vernacular middle schools in the District including one belonging to the United Free Church Mission with 171 scholars; of these four have training classes for the teachers' certificate examination. The number of primary schools is 129 with 7,165 scholars. Two schools, containing 142 scholars, are supported by the United Free Church Mission and two are maintained by private persons with grants from Government. The District has four girls' schools, two departmental and two aided, containing 196 girls in all. The aided schools are at headquarters and the departmental schools are at Pauni and Tumsar. Of the 8,696 scholars in 1905-06, 1,344 were in receipt of secondary and 7,352 of primary education. The percentage of children under instruction to those of school-going age in this year was 18 for boys and less than a half per cent for girls.

The expenditure on education increased from Rs. 31,000 in 1901-02 to Rs. 45,000 in 1902-03 and to Rs. 51,000 in 1905-06. In the latter year Rs. 10,500 were provided from Provincial revenues, Rs. 35,000 from local funds and Rs. 5,500 from other sources. The District is under the Inspector of Schools for the Nagpur Circle and has two Deputy Inspectors [Central Provinces District Gazetteers Bhandara district, 1908: pp. 173-74]."

The education department in the district was established in 1862.

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