The Sargent Scheme, formally known as the Report of the Sargent Commission on Post-War Education Development in India, was a 1944 memorandum
prepared at the behest of the
British-run Government of India that outlined the future development of literacy and education in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
A central goal of the Sargent Scheme was the educational reconstruction of India.
It recommended the introduction of free and compulsory education for all Indian children in the 6-11 years age group.
The plan aimed to bring about universal literacy in India within 40 years of its introduction, i.e. by 1984.
The scheme went as follows:
*Establishment of elementary schools and high schools.
*High schools of two types :
: A. Academic.
: B. Technical and Vocational
*Abolition of intermediate courses.
Although the 40 year time-frame was derided at the time by leaders of the
Indian independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
as being too long a period to achieve universal literacy,
had only reached about 65% in 2008 (64 years after the scheme would have been launched) and were increasing only "sluggishly" at 1.5% per year.
References
History of education in India
{{India-gov-stub