Sargent Scheme

The Sargent Scheme, formally known as the Report of the Sargent Commission on Post-War Education Development in India, was a 1944 memorandum ^[1] prepared at the behest of the British-run Government of India that outlined the future development of literacy and education in India.^[2]

A central goal of the Sargent Scheme was the educational reconstruction of India.^[3] It recommended the introduction of free and compulsory education for all Indian children in the 6-11 years age group.^[3] The plan aimed to bring about universal literacy in India within 40 years of its introduction, i.e. by 1984.^[4] The scheme went as follows:

• Establishment of elementary schools and high schools.
• High schools of two types :

A. Academic.

B. Technical and Vocational

• Abolition of intermediate courses.

Although the 40 year time-frame was derided at the time by leaders of the Indian independence movement as being too long a period to achieve universal literacy,^[4] average literacy levels in post-independence India had only reached about 65% in 2008 (64 years after the scheme would have been launched) and were increasing only "sluggishly" at 1.5% per year.^[5]