Education in India In their report on vocational education in
India two distin- guished officials of the Board of Education, Mr. A. Abbott and Mr. S. H. Wood, have made a valuable contribution to the study of one of India's most serious problems. The deficiencies of her educational system have long been apparent ; and added to the weaknesses of a system in itself bad is the " sense of frustration " which comes of the failure of thousands of educated Indians to find suitable employment. The authors of the report do not pretend that educational reform can in itself solve the unemployment problem ; but their criticisms of the schools visited are often severe. It is not surprising that they should have found much of the teaching " lacking both in simplicity and vitality," since the vice of the system has been that instruction has been based on an alien, and not Indian, culture. The authors' proposals, which recommend vocational training as a continuation of a general education given in the schools through the medium of the vernaculars, may open a better future for the Indian educated class. There is no reason why India should not be as capable of industrial expansion as Japan. For that she will need a supply of men trained in the direction, control, and technique of industry, not necessarily schooled in British culture. It is to be hoped that these proposals for supplying that need will be given the closest attention by the Govern- ment of India, at whose request the report has been made, and the new provincial governments.
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