As early as 1857 Mr. Woodrow’s labors in introducing the Circle system into general operation had been recognized in a despatch, No. 85 of 1857, dated the 18th February, from the Honorable Court of Directors:—
“The plan of Mr. Woodrow for the improvement of the indigenous Vernacular Schools in his division is based on the retention of the existing schools, which are, however, to be formed into circles, to each of which a teacher of a higher class is to be appointed, who shall afford instruction to the upper boys in each school, superior to that which the Guru Mohashoy, or village master, is competent to impart. The Guru Mohashoys are to be conciliated by pecuniary rewards of small amount, proportioned to the number of boys of certain specified standards of attainment who may be found in their respective schools, and the tendency of the boys to leave school at an early age is to be overcome by small gratuities to those boys remaining at school who may possess a certain specified amount of knowledge in various branches of study.
“We approve Mr. Woodrow’s desire to make the utmost possible use of existing means of education, and to avoid as much as possible the supersession of the former teachers of indigenous schools, which seem, notwithstanding the small amount of instruction which they afford, to have naturally a considerable hold on the minds of the people. It is hoped by Mr. Woodrow, and seems not improbable from the result of the limited experiment which has already been made, that the plan may have the effect of stimulating the conductors of indigenous schools—the Guru Mohashoys—to self-improvement: and, on the whole, we agree with you in thinking the scheme well deserving of a trial on an enlarged scale, and accordingly approve the sanction given to the recommendation of the Bengal Government."
The details of the scheme are set forth in the Bengal Government Education Report for October 1855, and are published at pages 33 to 36, Appendix A. of the Report of 1855-56.
It is stated in Mr. Woodrow’s last Report for 1867-68, there were in the 24-Pergunnahs, in 40 Government Circles, 124 schools containing 4,844 pupils, at a total cost of Rupees 8,645, or 1 Rupee 12 annas yearly a head for each boy.
This system is extending wider and wider in Bengal; in 1863 it was adopted in Bengal by the Christian Vernacular Education Society for India at the suggestion of Sir J. Logan, and there are about 4,000 pupils in connection with it.
A despatch was forwarded by Lord Stanley, Secretary of State for India in 1859, in which it is observed—
“If it must be admitted that previously to 1854 the subject of Vernacular Education had not received in every part of India the full amount of attention which it merited, there can be no doubt that since the wishes of the Home Authorities have been so plainly declared, the Officers of the Department of Education, acting under the orders of the several Governments, have spared no pains to bring into operation, throughout the districts entrusted to their superintendence, such measures as appeared most likely to place within reach of the general population the means of obtaining an education suited to their circumstances in life.”
