The Indian Government set up the Sadler Commission in 1917. This was done to inspect and inform about the issues faced by Calcutta University. The Commission came into power under the chairmanship of Leeds University’s vice-chancellor, M.E. Saddler.  

Calcutta University reported an urge to improve the condition of secondary education and overall university standards. After visiting all university centres, the Commission submitted its report after seventeen months. This report consisted  of significant and minor information and played a significant role. The report has 13 volumes that give a comprehensive and critical survey regarding India’s educational issues of university, secondary, and collegiate education. Although the report majorly talks about Calcutta University only, the problems mentioned were largely the same in the education system of India. As a result, the suggestions given were widely accepted and applied to all universities.  

Goals and Findings of the Commission

• The Sadler Commission 1917 was mainly appointed to reduce the load on university education
• The Commission surveyed and reported problems that Calcutta University faced to improve the quality of education
• The Sadler Commission reported the need for better quality at the secondary level to ensure the improvement of university education
• The Commission reported the sorry state of the education system in the country
• There was a need not only for better administration but also for an increase in the number of universities
• Teacher’s training was not given due importance
• Methods of teaching and education were traditional and needed to be modernised
• Women were overlooked and had to be included as part of the literate population
• Also known as the Calcutta University Commission, it provided several recommendations for the betterment of education in Calcutta University and the entire Indian education system

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Recommendations of the Commission 

The following were the recommendations of the 1917 University Commission – 

• The Commission made recommendations regarding training of teachers
• Provisions of facilities were to be made for adequate training of the teachers
• It stated that a university should have a certain amount of power that allows them to function independently, without external control by the Government or officials
• A boundary among the secondary courses and the university was created, and the Government also received the power to create Intermediate colleges
• Intermediate and Secondary education created different boards
• A separate residential teaching college at Dacca should be established
• A paid, full-time Vice-Chancellor must be appointed for administration
• Intermediate Colleges must be set up separate from universities. The curriculum should have various streams like  Arts, Engineering, Science, Industrial education etc
• Only after passing the intermediate examination instead of Matriculation Examination will students be allowed to enter the University premises
• In University education, Pass courses must be differentiated from Honours courses
• The Board of Secondary and Intermediate Education, having representatives of High Schools, Government, universities, and Intermediate Colleges needs to be established
• As per the Sadler Commission 1917, there should be certain flexibility to frame the rules and regulations for the universities
• The establishment of an Inter-University Board was also recommended to coordinate the activities of different Indian universities
• More encouragement was given to autonomous institutions
• One primary concern was women’s education. The Board of Women Education was established  at Calcutta University to encourage women’s education
• The Commission also promoted the growth of schools, universities, and colleges in towns so that higher education could be imparted quickly and efficiently

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Impact of the Commission 

The Sadler Commission of 1917 resulted  in genuine improvement on the academic front. Also, with the help of this, several activities were brought up in colleges and Multiversities along with the beginning of the Honours courses. The versatility and the introduction of several languages came in force, which also allowed the practice of higher education and research. 

Here are several other impacts of the Sadler Commission 1917 on the Indian Education system- 

• After the Sadler Commission suggestions, the number of schools, colleges, and universities increased massively. New universities were established in several parts of the country to propagate quality education to the children. In Patna, Mysore, Benaras, Lucknow, Dacca, Osmania, and Aligarh, several new universities were built from 1916-to 1921
• Establishing new universities also increased the demand for teachers which led to the start of teaching work in  different universities. The first three universities of the country in cities like Madras, Calcutta, and Bombay were confined to examination, affiliation, and finally, conferring degrees
• The suggestions of the Sadler University Commission were proven to be significant   in the development of academic standards
• Also, student welfare was a significant provision suggested by the Sadler University Commission. As a result, universities, for the first-ever time, were inclined towards the student’s welfare. Each university had a Board of Students Welfare

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Conclusion

The Sadler Commission or Calcutta University Commission was set up with the aim to find and report the problems of Calcutta University. The Commission found several weaknesses in the education system, including a few institutions, poor administration, lack of trained teachers, traditional methods, exclusion of women, and reduced focus on secondary level education.The Sadler Commission gave a set of recommendations that would help to improve the situation of education in Calcutta University and the country. These recommendations proved to benefit India on the educational front and improved the functioning of institutions.