Impact Factor:0.1870
ANGLO - INDIAN
EDUCATION IN TRICHINOPOLY
Ph.D. Research Scholar in History (Full time)
Pearl Research centre for History, Culture and
Tourism
St.Mary’s College (Autonomous),
Tuticorin-628 002. Tamilnadu.
Mobile
No: 09976284238
Introduction
Anglo
– Indian education and 1Anglo – Indian schools have had a chequered
career. Indeed, Anglo – Indian schools have traversed many vicissitudes,
political and financial. The East India Company seldom, if ever, undertook any
responsibility towards Anglo – Indian children. Between 1640 and 1660, when the
children2 grew up literally within the sound of shot and shell, it
was not necessary for them to have more than a smattering of the 3 Rs. All
manner of people were employed as tutors – disabled soldiers, old pensioners,
bankrupt merchants or dismissed factors. The first school to be opened was at
St. George (Madras), between 1645 and 1650 that was the result of missionary
effort.
In
Trichy Anglo Indians is one of the smallest communities. Although the community
is spread all over the state, majority are concentrated in and around Cochin.
The traditions and customs followed by the community are mostly those passed on
from the Portuguese. Economically there is a wide disparity among its members
and a large number of its members live below poverty line. A good number of the
children of this section of the community although intelligent and hardworking
find it difficult to continue their studies and land up doing unskilled/skilled
jobs for a living.
A
number of organizations exists in the community which are responsible for the
welfare and well being of its members, however no organization has been able to
economically support the poor and intelligent students to pursue their studies
for professional and other career oriented courses and thereby help the weaker
sections of the community also to come up and lead a decent life. It is in this
context that the activities of the Anglo Indian Educational and Charitable
Society are being focused."
Early History
The next fifty years saw a
considerable increase in the number of Anglo – Indian children. Because of the
growing need, Lady Campbell, the wife of the Governor of Fort St. George, sent
out an apple for funds to start an orphanage for girls. By 1787, the female
Orphan Asylum was established. After this attention was paid to the male
children and the Male Orphan Asylum was opened on the pattern of the 3Calcutta
Orphan Asylum, which had been opened there in 1783. There was a generous
response to the appeal for funds. All ranks below Field officers contributed
two day’s pay and the Generals and Field officers gave more. At the close of
the 18th century the school was financially quite well – off and the
number of boys increased from 150 in to 200 in 1792.
A number were the orphans of non –
commissioned officers and private soldiers and were given free education: the
rest, the children of officers, paid 3 pagodas for the education and
maintenance of child. 4A pagoda was the equivalent of about 8 or 9 shillings
that is equal to about five rupees. All the children were Anglo – Indians. The
boys were admitted at the age of 4 and at 14 they were apprenticed as
artificers, surveyors and sailors. The Female Orphan Asylum confined itself to
Anglo – Indian children born of regular marriages. There was no provision for
children born out of wedlock. The Madras Male and Female Asylums continue into
at Ootacamund and the Civil Orphan Asylum at Madras.
John's Vestry Anglo-Indian Higher
Secondary School
John's Vestry Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary
School is a school located in Tiruchirappalli (also known as Trichy), Tamil Nadu, and India. It is missioner by the Church
of South India.
It is one of
the oldest schools in Tamil Nadu and was established by the British around
1763. It first served as an orphanage for children of British soldiers, but
later it established itself as a school.
When this school was started on 1763 by the 5British, it was
first held inside the vestry room of St. John's church. (A vestry room is the
room where a priest changes his clothes to ceremonial robes.) Hence it acquired
its name of St. John's vestry school. St.John's church is located near the
central bus station.
It was first started as an orphanage for the children of British
soldiers, and later moved to its current location. It has a long history and
one of the oldest schools in Tamil Nadu & rich in Anglo-Indian tradition
dating back to three centuries.
When the school started it covered only a small area of land at the
current location, but expanded so that the campus now has separate buildings
within the campus for year 1 to year 8 (Junior and Sub Junior block) and year 9
to year 12 (Senior and Super Senior block). The school has Montessori
facilities in a separate building.
St. Johns Vestry Anglo Higher Secondary School also has boarding
facilities for students from distant places.
Campion
Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School
Campion Anglo-Indian Higher
Secondary School is a Boys School started in
1934 in Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, India. The school is named after its patron
saint, St. Edmund Campion. The school is one of the
most well known schools in Tamil Nadu. The current Principal is the Rev Bro
Arul.M
The school was
founded in 1934 as the successor school to 6St.Joseph’s European
Middle School, which is now St Joseph's Girls Anglo Indian School. The school
owes its existence to the philanthropy of a great priest, Mgr.Joseph De
Rozario, an Anglo-Indian, who was once a district sessions judge. It was
originally indented primarily for Europeans and Anglo-Indians, but in the
course of years members of other communities have also been admitted. The school
was initially administered by the Jesuits. To mark the 25th Anniversary of its
foundation, the school constructed, in 1960, a beautiful chapel, dedicated to
“Regina Mundi” the “Queen of the World”. In 1970, the school had the unique
honor of celebrating the canonization, on October 25, 1970, of Edmund Campion,
the patron of the school.
At the close of the year 1972, the Jesuits
handed over the management of the school to the owners, the Diocese of
Tiruchirapalli. From the commencement of the year 1975, the Management of the
school, was taken over from the Diocese by the Montfort Brothers of St.
Gabriel, members of a Religious congregation internationally renowned for their
service in the field of education. With the coming of the Montfort Brothers the
school witnessed changes and developments of a far-reaching nature. One
important development was the upgrading of the school to the Higher Secondary
level. The Higher Secondary section started functioning from
June 1979. A swimming pool and two concrete basketball courts were added
to the infrastructure of the school as Diamond Jubilee Memorials in 1994-95.
The school has reached great heights in every sphere of its activities.
In academic studies, the results of the higher secondary and High school Examination
have been mostly flattering. In sports and games, Campionites have been ranked
among the best in Tamil Nadu. In other co-curricular activities, Campion
students have acquitted themselves creditably. The school is now regarded saw
one of the finest in the whole of India.
Since its founding in 1934,campion has
had an array of stalwarts in the persons of Rev.Fr.V.G.Lambert,
Rev.Fr.T.A.Fleming,Rev.Fr.J.Hession, Rev.Fr.Koilparambil, Rev.Fr.A.J.Tamby,
Rev. Fr.T.M.Mathai, Rev.Fr.R.W.Macedo, Rev. Bro.Sebastian Joseph, Rev.Bro.John
Berchmans, Rev.Bro.Selvanathan, Rev.Bro.Michael,Rev.Bro.Soosairaj and
Rev.Bro.Jesuraj.
The Houses
The school has 4 houses named after Saints: 7Britto (red),
Loyola (yellow), Montfort (green), Xavier (blue). There always exists a healthy
competition between the houses, especially during the Sports Day.
Old Boy’s
The school has an active Old Boys Association COBA (Campion Old Boys
Association). The object of the association is to bring into closer union and
friendship, all former students of Campion Anglo Indian Higher Secondary
School, Trichy and to foster and perpetuate their interest and connection with
their "Alma Mater" and also to assist the old boys in any way within
the powers of the Association.
St.Joseph’s Anglo-Indian
Higher Secondary School
St.Joseph’s Anglo-Indian Higher
Secondary School is a government aided school in Trichy run by the sisters of the convent. The motto of the
school is excelsior – aim higher and higher. It is one of the most reputed
schools in Tamil Nadu. This school has given a lot of outstanding students and
has branches at many parts of India.
This school is one of the convent schools in 8Tamil Nadu, India. Convent included the education of the youth as
a part of the religious community mainly to educate the girls. The combination
of divine design and dedicated work of visionaries forced into existence the
convent schools. The main motive of these schools is to guide the students in
becoming an emotionally balanced and intelligent, realizing god and morally
upright individuals. The medium of instruction is English. The second language offered includes Tamil, Hindi and French. The school has high academic
excellence and merits, producing qualified persons, spread throughout the
universe.
The forerunner of the St. Josephs Convent schools was St. Ann’s Convent
Schools which the bishop established with the help of the sisters of St. Joseph
of the apparition from France. On 1 April 1862 he opened St. Joseph’s Convent
School, an English Medium School for girls, the first of its kind in the
Malabar region. Mother Claudine Chenier was the force behind establishing the
school. Mother Veronica of the Passion who was an English Anglican convert
and a sister of St. Joseph of the Apparition was the superior of the convent
and headmistress of the school. After Independence the school was designated as
an Anglo-Indian School.
Co-Curricular
Activities
The activities of the school are tailored to give every child the 9opportunity
to become a holistic individual with a balanced view of life and to use her
potential to excel in the fields for which she has the aptitude. Spirituality is encouraged by imparting faith
education through moral science classes from Std I to XII. Social
service is
encouraged by getting the students to be members of National Cadet Corps, Girl
Guides and Red Cross volunteers. The experience of working
in the community contributes to the students’ understanding of community
issues. 10A lot of emphasis is given to sports and
physical education by organizing training, coaching and competitions between
classes, etc. fostering team work and fairness in competitions. The students
participate in inter school competitions and have won many accolades. 11Artistic
expression and eloquence are nurtured by encouraging students to take part in
recitation, elocution, mono-act, essay/story writing, singing and music during
the literary hour. There are also numerous classes offered during the week such
as Guitar class, Home management class that improves the culinary skills, Piano
class, Singing class, carnatic music class and interior decoration class. 12In
all the activities the students perform to the best of their ability and in a
fair manner thus experiencing the true meaning of participation and team work.
This in turn contributes to the development of an integrated personality.
Self - Help
In Spite of the 13Government’s
neglect, in the first decades of the 19th century many schools were
established. The majority of these schools were started by public subscription
and continued to be supported by donations from Anglo – Indians and Europeans.
Between 1830 and
1850 persons
like General Claude Martin and Capt. John Doveton, an Anglo – Indian officer in
the Nizam’s Army, donated large sums of money for the education of Anglo –
Indians.
Conclusion
In July, 1912, the Government of
India summoned a conference on the education of the community. It was presided
over by Sir Harcourt Butler, the 14Member of Education. The Butler
commission underlined two of the most urgent needs of the community. It recommended
extension of education to all those children who did not attend school and
improvement of the salary and prospects of teachers. It also recommended a more
modern and practical type of education for the majority of the boys.
On the question of 15examinations
it deplored the vicious competition that had been introduced in schools by the
Code in the earlier years. It expressed the hope that education would not be
sacrificed to examinations and that girls, especially, would be saved from
mental and physical strain.
On the question of teacher’s 16salaries
a resolution was adopted, declaring that these should be raised to give the
teachers a respected professional status. The salaries should be on an
incremental scale for a period of 10 years and it should be obligatory on all
schools to have a provident fund scheme. 17The Government, however,
refused to assume full responsibility for Anglo – Indian and European education
because a great majority of the schools were denominational .Very little
concerted action was made during the next 20 years.
Acknowledgement
The authors are deeply indebted to
Professor and Head, Pearl Research centre for History, Culture and Tourism ,St.Mary’s
College (Autonomous), Tuticorin-628 00 , Tamil Nadu, India for their inspiring
help, constant support and for providing facilities in the department to carry
out the research work.
Notes
and References
1. ANGLO – INDIAN EDUCATION. The Report of the Commission
appointed in 1944 by the - Provincial Board for Anglo – Indian
Education.
2. ALL – INDIA ANGLO – INDIAN
ASSOCIATION. The Monthly Journal : from 1926 to 1968.
3. AngloIndians.com,'Anglo-Indians-TheAnglo-Indian
Community',http://www.angloindians.com/community/anglo-indian.html,Accessed: 01/08/09
4. RoyDean Wright and Susan W.Wright, 'The
Anglo-Indian Community in Contemporary.
India',
5. "St. John's Vestry Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary
School". The Hindu. August 26,
2005. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
History of John’s Vestry High School,
South India.
7.
Blair Williams, Anglo Indians, CTR Inc. Publishing, 2002,
p.189
9. 10. "Eurasian". Dictionary.com. Archived from the original
on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 2009- 01-13. 11.The Development of Anglo – Indian
Education and its problems (Thesis presented at the university of Leeds, in 1941, for
the Degree of Master of Education).
10. A Survey of the Anglo – Indian
Community. Report of the national Council (Y.M.C.A), 1926, Association Press.
11. The Anglo – Indian Force, 1916.
12. Great Britain’s Hostages to India, The
Anglo – Indians, Their Magna Carta, 1955, Baldwin Boys’ High School, Bangalore.
13. History of the Church of England in
India Since the Early Days of the East India Company , 1924, Society for
promoting Christian Knowledge, London, (MacMillan & Co)
14. The Hearseys. Five Generations of an
Anglo – Indian Family, 1905, William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh and
London.
15. Anglo – Indian Revolutionaries of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, 1938, Scripture Literature press, Bangalore.
16. The Domiciled European and Anglo –
Indian Race of India, 1926, Bombay.
