Hunter Commission

A commission was set up in 1882 under W.W. Hunter to review the progress made in the field of education following Wood’s Dispatch. It was confined mostly to secondary and primary education.

The Hunter Commission made a large number of recommendations. It laid special emphasis on primary education whose control ought to be transferred to district and municipal boards.

At the secondary level, there should be two streams - one literary education which should lead to university education and the other of a practical nature leading to a career in commercial or vocational field.

Private initiative in the field of education should be encouraged. It underlined the need to provide adequate facilities for spread of women education outside the presidency towns.

For the next two decades, the recommendations of the Hunter Commission showed its impact all over. It saw unforeseen growth in secondary and collegiate education. The Punjab University and the Allahabad University were founded in 1882 and 1887 respectively.