Gódávari/Chapter 10
CHAPTER X.
EDUCATION.
Census Statistics—By taluks—By religions. Educational Institutions—Early beginnings—Schools now existing—The Government college, Rajahmundry—The Government training college, Rajahmundry—The Pithápuram Rája's college.
Seventy-seven in every thousand of the male, and 7 per mile of the female, population of the district can read and write. The figures are greatly reduced by the inclusion of the Agency, where education is at a discount and only 30 per mille of the males and three per mille of the other sex are literate. Excluding this tract, they come to 83 and 8 per mille of the two sexes respectively, or about equal to the average in the plains of the east coast districts taken as a whole. Taking the statistics for the taluks separately, it is found that the highest figures in the lowlands are those of Rajahmundry (105 and 15) and Cocanada (103 and 12), while the lowest are those of Peddápuram, namely 51 and 3. In the Agency all the figures are very low, but Bhadráchalam and Pólavaram take a far higher position than Chódavaram and Yellavaram. In this last only II per mille of the males and I per mille of the females can read and write.
If the statistics of literacy among the adherents of the chief religions are examined, it will be found that both the Muhammadans and Christians are far better educated than the Hindus. Among the Hindus, the literate persons per mille of the male and female population, respectively, number 74 and 6; among the Musalmans, 180 and 20; and among the Christians, 400 and 317. It will be noticed that these last are the only people whose girls have received an education in any way equal to that given to the boys.
Gódávari was the pioneer among the Madras districts in educational matters. As far back as 1826 the Collector, Mr. Bayard, under instructions from Government, established schools at both Rajahmundry and Cocanada; but these were both abolished after a short life of ten years. In 1854, the year when the Court of Directors issued its memorable despatch about education, Mr. George Noble Taylor, who was the Sub-Collector of the district as it then existed, and resided at Narasapur, formed a society at that town for the purpose of advancing education, and established schools in Narasapur (the nucleus of the existing Noble high school) and three others of the chief towns of his charge, all of which were supported by local subscriptions. His system spread throughout his subdivision, largely owing to the interest taken in the matter by the ryots themselves. Attracted by the novelty of the institutions already established, they applied to Mr. Taylor to open primary vernacular schools in a number of villages, and proposed to defray the cost by a fixed annual addition to the revenue demand of each village at the time of the annual settlement, which should form a permanent fund to be applied solely to educational purposes. The movement was brought to the notice of Sir Walter Elliott, then Commissioner1[1] of the Northern Circars, who recommended it warmly to the attention of Government; and a scheme was ultimately sanctioned by which this addition to the revenue demand was levied in the three taluks of Mogalturru, Tanuku and Undi (all now in the Kistna district) and schools were maintained from the proceeds.2[2]
The higher educational institutions now in existence in the district comprise three colleges (namely the Government arts and training colleges at Rajahmundry and the Pithápuram Rája's college at Cocanada); seven upper secondary schools for boys; and 53 lower secondary schools, of which eighteen provide ordinary instruction for boys, fifteen similar instruction for girls, and twenty are Sanskrit schools for boys. There is only one district in the Presidency (Tanjore) in which there are more colleges, and only four where there are more lower secondary schools. The number of pupils under instruction in these two grades, and also in the upper secondary schools, is also very much above the average. Primary education, on the other hand, both in the number of institutions and of pupils, is considerably below the average of other districts. Detailed statistics regarding the subject will be found in the separate Appendix to this volume.
The most important educational institution in the district is the Government college at Rajahmundry. This was originally established by Government in 1853 as a Zilla school for imparting instruction to the children of the four districts of the Northern Circars up to the present secondary standard. In 1868 it was raised to the rank of a Provincial school, but owing to various unfortunate circumstances it remained in effect a Zilla school till 1873, when an F.A. class was started. A B.A. class was formed in 1877 and the Provincial school became a first-grade college. It is now one of the three first-grade colleges in the Presidency which are Government institutions, the other two being the Presidency college and the college at Kumbakónam. The high-school classes were discontinued in 1885. The college was affiliated to the University in 1891 in mathematics, physical science and mental and moral philosophy.
The institution is entirely supported from fees and Provincial funds. It is managed by a European Principal (an officer of the Indian Educational Service), who is under the control of the Director of Public Instruction, and its assistant staff consists of three lecturers, all officers of the Provincial Educational Service, six assistant lecturers, three munshis for Telugu, Sanskrit and Hindustani, and a gymnastic instructor. A carpentry class is also attached to it, where the students work out of college hours under the guidance of a qualified mechanic. Its total strength is about 230, of whom some 160 are reading in the F.A., and 70 in the B.A., classes. The fees are Rs. 40 each term for the B.A. course, and Rs. 32 for the F.A. Over 200 of the boys are Bráhmans.
A hostel, rented from private persons, is attached to the college, and in this Bráhman students are boarded and lodged. It is under the direct control of the Principal, assisted by a Superintendent and two members of the college committee, and has a manager who attends to the details of its working. The boarding fees vary from Rs. 7 to Rs. 9 a month, according to the market price of rations, and the building accommodates fifty boys. Arrangements are being made for the construction in the college compound of a hostel for all classes. The students in the college come from the four districts of the Northern Circars, but the majority belong to Gódávari.
The college is endowed with three annual prizes founded in honour of, and called after, respectively, the late Mr.B. H. Young, formerly Executive Engineer of the district, and two former head-lecturers of the college, the late M.R.Rys. Sundara Rao and Subrahmanya Aiyar. Two scholarships are given by M.R.Ry. G. V. Subbarayadu Sastri, at present Assistant Inspector of -Schools, Guntúr Division, in memory of the late M.R.Ry. B. Gavara Rázu, B.A., of this college, after whom they are named. Their value is respectively Rs. 60 and Rs. 30 per annum, and they are given, on the result of a competitive examination held every alternate year, to necessitous students of the Junior B.A. and Junior F.A. classes respectively.
The training college at Rajahmundry was originally established as an elementary normal school by the Gódávari District Board in 1883. Its status was raised in 1890 to that of second-grade normal school. In 1892 it was taken over by Government and in February 1894 it was raised to collegiate rank with the Union high school, transferred to Government by the managing committee, as its practising school. In May 1904 it was affiliated to the University of Madras for the degree of Licentiate in Teaching. Its aim is twofold: to supply the educational institutions of the Northern Circars and Ceded Districts (Cuddapah excepted) with trained Telugu teachers, the want of whom has long been a bar to education in those districts; and to work (as a practising school) a large and efficient high school at Rajahmundry with classes as large as the needs of the town and the neighbourhood require.
The college is maintained from Provincial funds and the general management is in the hands of the Principal of the Rajahmundry college. The teaching staff consists of a Vice-Principal — a member of the Provincial Educational Service — eleven Licentiates in Teaching, two matriculates, a drawing-master, an agricultural instructor (who holds a diploma in agriculture), two pandits and a gymnastic instructor.
When transferring the Union high school to Government with all its properties, the managing committee also handed over a site, measuring two and a third acres, purchased by them in the heart of the town. On this, the Government began in 1897 to construct a building at a cost of about Rs. 65,000; and, on its completion in 1899, it was occupied by the training college classes, which had been before located partly in the arts college and partly in a rented building. With a view to providing a recreation ground for the boys of the practising school and the students of the training college, and to secure healthy surroundings for the latter, the authorities negotiated with the Rajahmundry municipality for the acquisition of the whole of the Potter's tank, situated in front of the college, and in 1895 submitted proposals for its acquisition. The scheme however fell through then owing to its prohibitive cost. In 1901 the subject was re-opened; and in the following year a portion of the Potter's tank and the house-sites in front of the college were acquired, and this area was reclaimed and enclosed within a compound wall at a cost of about Rs. 18,500. In 1902 proposals estimated to cost Rs. 12,000 were submitted for the extension of the building at its northern end and the carrying out of certain alterations in the existing structure. These were sanctioned, and the work is now proceeding. No hostel is attached to this college. The fees in the practising section range from Rs. 19-6 to Rs. 7-6 a term, and the rates of stipends to students under training from Rs. 5 to Rs. 15.
The arts college possesses certain endowments for the benefit of Muhammadan students; and when it contains no boys of that faith who are eligible for these, they are given to Muhammadan pupils in the practising section. They consist of two 'Yeomiah scholarships,' each of the annual value of Rs. 46, constituted from the funds of an ancient yeomiah which lapsed to Government. The interest on Rs. 7,200, being the amount of a boarding-house fund collected by the late Saiyid Ali Sahib Bahadur, a retired Deputy Collector, supplemented by a grant from Government, is also devoted to forming Muhammadan scholarships open to poor Muhammadan pupils, and ranging in value from Rs. 3 to Rs. 7 per mensem according to the class in which the pupil is reading.
The Pithápuram Rája's college at Cocanada was founded in 1852, as a general English and vernacular school, through the exertions of the then Collector, Mr. Prendergast, and his sheristadar, M.R.Ry. Tulasinga Chettiyar. It depended entirely on private subscriptions, gradually declined, and ultimately collapsed for a time in 1862. In the following year, however, through the efforts of the Collector, Mr. Purvis, whose bust is now placed in a prominent position in the northern block of buildings in memory of his interest in the institution, the school was resuscitated and was formally re-opened on the 28th October 1863. Government made a monthly contribution of Rs. 70 towards its expenses, and the late Ráaja of Pithápuram, who had been one of its earliest pupils, added a further sum of Rs. 100 a month.
It was located in a rented building till 1865, when the increasing attendance rendered it necessary to provide better quarters for it. The late Rája of Pithápuram again showed his interest in the promotion of education by presenting the institution with a munificent endowment of Rs. 28,000, the extensive and valuable site which it now owns, and a sum of Rs. 3,700 for the building and its furniture. Further contributions were collected and a building grant of Rs. 5,000 was obtained from Government, and with these and the Rája's donation the northern block of buildings was constructed. This was soon found insufficient, and shortly afterwards the western block was erected and was called the 'Linton Memorial School' in memory of the late Mr. Linton, an Assistant Collector who had evinced great interest in the welfare of the institution. This block cost Rs. 7,000, of which one half was contributed by Government and the other by the public.
The necessity of additional buildings was felt again in 1882, and a two-storied house was erected at a cost of Rs. 12,000, of which a moiety was contributed by the late M.R.Ry. Pydah Rámakrishnayya, another of the earliest students of the school, and a moiety by Government. The building was opened by the then Governor, Sir Mountstuart Grant Duff, on March 3rd, 1883.
In 1897 a hall was constructed from college funds, at a cost of Rs. 6,000, and in 1902 a hostel was completed at a cost of Rs. 7,550, of which Rs. 2,500 was given by Government. The latter is divided into two blocks (containing six rooms each) which are called respectively the Brodie and Sweet Homes, after Messrs. V. A. Brodie and H. Sweet, a Collector and a Superintendent of Police of the district who took much interest in the improvement of the college.
The school taught up to the 'middle school standard' (corresponding to the present lower secondary course) till 1866, when it was raised to the matriculation standard. In January 1884 the school committee opened an F.A. class, and the institution was duly affiliated to the Madras University and styled the 'Pithapur Rája's College' in honour of its liberal patron. In order to place the institution on a satisfactory financial basis, the committee registered itself on the 29th August 1892 under the Indian Companies Act under the name of 'The Pithápur Rája's College, Limited.'
The institution is managed by a council of which the Collector of the district, the Chairman of the municipal council, a representative of the Rája of Pithápuram, the Inspector of Schools and the Principal of the college are ex-officio members. A separate committee of seven disposes of all matters not expressly reserved for the decision of the council.
The college is supported mainly by school fees, which in 1903-04 amounted to nearly Rs. 15,000. Other important items of income are the interest (Rs. 1,400) on certain Government pro-notes and a mortgage loan of Rs. 400; and a monthly grant from Government of Rs. 90. The college is generally self-supporting, but is sometimes worked at a small loss. The deficit in 1903-04, for example, was Rs. 370. The establishment consists of a Principal and sixteen assistant masters; two Sanskrit, and two Telugu, pandits; two gymnastic instructors; and copy, drawing and music masters. The attendance, according to recent figures, amounts to 487, of whom 39 are reading in the senior, and twelve in the junior, F.A. class. The fees paid vary, according to the class in which the boy is reading, from Rs. 60 per annum for the F.A. classes to Rs. 14 for the first class. The boys come mostly from the adjacent taluks of Cocanada, Rámachandrapuram, Peddápuram and Pithápuram. The hostel buildings completed in 1902 will accommodate 24 boys, who pay twelve annas each per mensem for the use of them. They have not yet boarded there, but a kitchen has recently been built at a cost of Rs. 1,000 to enable them to do so.
Liberal scholarships are given in the college. They amount in all to Rs. 492 a year and vary from Rs. 40 to Rs. 5 per annum according to the class to which they are open. They are tenable for terms varying from two to four years, and are awarded by competitive examinations. They are only open to boys who are too poor to prosecute their studies without pecuniary help; and entrance to the examinations is also subject to certain age limits.