In 1940-41 out of a total expenditure on education
of about Rs. 30 crores in British India, Rs. 17£ crores
came from public funds. Against this the annual net
cost of a national system of education, when in full
working order, will amount to Rs. 277 crores. This
expenditure is based on pre-war standards in regard
to population and cost of living. Of this sum, aboul;
200 crores would be the cost of Basic (Primary and
Middle) education.
The Sargent Committee Report maintains with all
seriousness___"even if all the funds required were
available it would be impossible to give complete effect
to the proposals which it contains in a period of less
than 40 years." We are offered the consolation that
we may hope to reach where Great Britain, U.S.A.,
U.S.S.R., and other leading countries stand today as
regards education in another 50 years. But by then,
they would be far, far ahead of us. So according to
Sargent we may hope to reach them—never!
In Great Britain, a White Paper has been recently
presented to the Parliament containing proposals for
post-war educational expansion. Says the White Pa-
per "upon the education of the people of this country,
the fate of this country depends." Of no other country
in the world is this more true than of India. And if
Sargent is'a true prophet, our fate is sealed, unless
British rule ends.
The meagreness of our education can be judged
from the enrolment in the Universities in India (1941-
42).
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