Final answer:
Charles Wood was an important figure in education, known for Wood's Despatch, which aimed to create an educational system in India under British rule and to train Indians for administrative roles.
Step-by-step explanation:
Charles Wood and Wood's Despatch
The correct answer to the student's question is c) Charles Wood was a significant person in education. The context here is clearly referring to Charles Wood, the British statesman known for Wood's Despatch. Wood's Despatch of 1854 was an educational directive sent by Sir Charles Wood, the then Secretary of State for India, outlining the framework for creating a new educational system in India under British rule. This despatch is considered a significant document in the history of education in India.
There are primarily two objectives of Wood's Despatch:
- The first objective was the promotion of Europeans' knowledge through the establishment of an education system that could educate the Indian populace to assist in the administration and to encourage the intellectual development of the people.
- The second objective was to educate the native Indians so that they could be trained to fulfill lower-level administration posts, which would be more cost-effective for the British authorities by employing educated locals rather than transporting British officials to India.
Overall, Wood's Despatch had a profound impact on the education system in India, with the introduction of English as a medium of instruction and the establishment of a number of schools and universities following its recommendations.