The Hartog Committee, whose report was submitted in 1929 as an auxiliary committee of the Simon Commission, dealt with the development of:

The Hartog Committee, headed by Sir Philip Hartog, was an auxiliary committee of the Indian Statutory Commission (Simon Commission), set up to report on the growth of education in British India; it submitted its report in 1929.

About Sir Philip Hartog:

• He was a British educationist and chemist.
• He had earlier served as the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dacca (1920-1925).

Findings of the committee:

• It found that the number of schools and students had increased greatly, but the quality of education was poor.
• It pointed out the problem of "wastage" (students leaving school before completing the course) and "stagnation" (students failing and staying in the same class for years).
• It found that a large proportion of children in primary schools did not reach the stage of literacy.

Recommendations:

• It recommended a policy of consolidation of primary education, rather than rapid expansion.
• It recommended that more students should be diverted to vocational and industrial courses after the middle (lower secondary) stage, instead of going on to universities.
• It recommended improving the quality, pay and training of teachers.
• It recommended better inspection of schools.
• It suggested that universities should improve their standards of teaching and research.

Criticism:

Indian nationalists criticised the report because its emphasis on consolidation was used as an excuse to slow down the spread of mass education.

The Simon Commission:

• It was appointed in 1927 to review the working of the Government of India Act of 1919.
• All its members were British, so it was boycotted in India with the slogan "Simon Go Back".

Later developments in education:

• The Wardha Scheme of Basic Education (1937), proposed by Gandhi, stressed learning through productive work.
• The Sargent Plan (1944) proposed a national system of education for India.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Agriculture, railways and police administration were not the subjects of the Hartog Committee.