HUNTER COMMISSION

• Hunter Commission 1882 – The First Hunter Education Commission,

established by Lord Ripon in 1882, to examine the country’s educational
situation at the time and make recommendations for reforms.
• The Second was the Hunter Commission, formally known as the Disorders
Investigation Committee, established in 1919. It was led by William Hunter
and was established by the British to look into the inhumane incident as
Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919, which resulted in the deaths of 1600
Indian citizens.
• The primary and foremost objectives of the Hunter Commission were to focus on
primary education. It also examined the implementation of Wood’s Despatch 1854
and presented the reforms in the education system.
• The essentiality of uplifting the education system in the country was acknowledged. It
also aimed to eliminate and mitigate the defects in the education system of the
country.
• The General Education Council in India was instituted, and Viceroy Lord Ripon had
the responsibility of administering the status of education in India.
• Another objective was to evaluate whether the Government ought to be permitted to
facilitate education for the masses.
• It also had the objective of uplifting higher education or secondary education in the
country.
• To assess the state of education in India with special emphasis on primary
education and suggest an improvement.
• To assess the work of religious missionaries in the field of education.
• To enquire about the implementation of Wood’s despatch of 1854 and
utilization of its grant-in aids and suggest reforms on it.
• To decide if the government should be allowed to continue to provide
education to the masses.
• The primary aim of the Hunter commission is to look into the state of primary
education in India. Still, the commission also decided to look into secondary
and higher education in India.
Recommendations
• There was a complete segregation of the funds allocated to the rural and urban areas. This
further proceeded to the effective and useful utilization of the funds allocated in the rural areas
for the upliftment of rural schools.
• The district boards along with the municipal boards were entrusted with the responsibility of
governing and regulating the management of primary education.
• The private parties were given the responsibility for establishing secondary schools, in accordance
with the guidelines of the model schools of the government.
• The curriculum at the secondary levels was classified into vocational and academic subjects.
• The Hunter Commission 1882 also aimed to improve the active participation of women and girls
in schools.
• The curriculum of the primary classes was designed to be instructed in the mother tongue. It
comprised the subjects of arithmetic, geography, and agriculture.
• The educated individuals were recruited for lower-level government jobs.
• The Hunter Commission also laid emphasis on uplifting higher education, by facilitating adequate
infrastructure facilities.
Hunter Commission 1919
• The Hunter Commission of 1919 was established after the tragic
massacre at Jallianwala Bagh to investigate the matter. The commission
comprised members of both Indian and British origin. They altogether
criticized the actions of General Dyer. They condemned General Dyer’s
order to open fire at the unarmed crowd.