The Education of Civil Servants in India at the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century :

Conclusions from the Examinations and Public Debates at the College of Fort William

Abstract

The East India Company, which was established in 1600 as a trading company, gradually transformed itself into a government institution. Through the expansion of British rule in India, the competencies and administrative knowledge necessary to make an effective civil servant were transferred to the commercial workers of the East India Company. At that time, Richard Wellesley（1760-1842）assumed the position of the Governor-General of India. He realised that junior civil servants were coming to India without completing their general education in Britain and that they were falling into bad habits such as accumulating significant debts. Wellesley established the College of Fort William （FWC）to enhance the quality of civil servants in India. In this paper, I feature examinations conducted periodically for students and public debates conducted in oriental languages. There are several opinions about the frequency with which examinations were conducted at the FWC. The results of examinations were used for the separation of students into classes. Students who earned good grades in their examinations received awards and medals. Preceding studies have neglected to mention that the lectures in the FWC were discontinued in 1830’s and that oral and written examinations were conducted twice per month instead of lectures. Public debates were conducted according to the regulations of the FWC, and students deliberated on a myriad of topics regarding British rule in India. These were conducted in the oriental languages. The main aim of these debates was to prove that British rule in India was justifiable and humane. They were like many other academic debate conventions, but they were notably different in the sense that the FWC’s public debates were held from a pro-government standpoint.