William Jones was studying ancient Indian texts on law, philosophy, religion, politics, morality, arithmetic, medicine and sciences Soon he discovered that the interests were shared by many British officials living in Calcutta at the time.
Englishmen like Henry Thomas Colebrooke and Nathaniel Halhed were also busy discovering the ancient Indian heritage, mastering Indian languages and translating Sanskrit and Persian works into English. Together with them, Jones set-up the Asiatic Society of Bengal and started a journal called Asiatick Researches.

Rabindranath Tagore's motive behind setting up Santiniketan was
(i) He wanted to set-up a school where the child was happy, free, creative and could be able to explore his own thoughts and desires.
(ii) Tagore felt that childhood should not be restricted in the strict schooling system set-up by the Britishers.
(iii) He believed that creative learning could be encouraged only within a natural environment.

Many Company officials argued that the British ought to promote Indian rather than Western learning.
Some measures were taken to promote Indian learning like:
(i) A madrasa was set-up in Calcutta in 1781 to promote the study of Arabic, Persian and Islamic law.
(ii) The Hindu College was established in Benaras in 1791 to encourage the study of ancient Sanskrit texts that would be useful for the administration of the country.

Rabindranath Tagore's experiences as a student were not pleasing. As a child, he hated going to school. He found the atmosphere in school was suffocating and oppressive. The school appeared to him like a prison, where he could not do what he felt like doing. His mind wandered away while other students listened to the teacher.

Gandhiji was highly critical of Western civilisation and its worship of machines and technology.
He emphasized the need to teach science and technology at Santiniketan, along with art, music, and dance.

The main features of the educational method followed in pathshalas were:
(i) The system of education in pathshalas was flexible.
(ii) There were no formal schools.
(iii) There were no fixed school fee, no books, no regular timetable, no roll-call registers and no annual examinations.
(iv) In some places, classes were held in open space, sometimes in the corner of a village shop or temple or at guru's home.
(v) Teaching was oral and the guru (teacher) decided what to teach.
(vi) Students were not separated out into different classes.

The term 'vernacular' is generally used to refer to a local language or dialect as distinct from what is seen as the standard language of a country. In colonial countries like India, the British used this term to mark the difference between the local languages of everyday use and English, the language of the colonial masters-Britishers.

Mahatma Gandhi thought that Western education was sinful, there was poison in this education.
Colonial education created a sense of inferiority in the minds of Indians. Indians educated in these institutions started appreciating everything that came from the West and began admiring British rule. It made them see Western civilisation as superior. This education destroyed the pride they had in their own culture and country.

James Mill was a severe critic of Orientalists.
He thought that European education was essential in India because:
(i) The knowledge of the East was full of errors and unscientific thoughts.
(ii) The aim of education ought to be to teach what was useful and practical.
Thomas Macaulay suggested that:
(i) India was an uncivilised country that needed to be civilized.
(ii) No branch of Eastern knowledge could be compared to Western knowledge. Oriental learning was of no practical use.

William Jones felt the need to study Indian history, philosophy, and law due to the following reasons:
(i) William Jones had a deep respect for ancient cultures, both of India and the West. (ii) He thought that Indian civilians at ion had attained its glory in the ancient past, but had subsequently declined.
(iii) He believed that in order to understand India, it was necessary to discover the sacred and legal texts of ancient periods.

After 1854, the East India Company decided to improve the system of vernacular education. The measures taken by the Company were:
(i) It appointed a number of government pandits, each in charge of looking after four to five schools. The task of the pandit was to visit the pathshalas and try to improve the standard of teaching.
(ii) Each pandit or teacher was asked to submit periodic reports and take classes according to a regular time-table.
(iii) Teaching was based on textbooks and learning was to be tested through a system of annual examination.
(iv) Students were asked to pay a regular fee, attend regular classes, sit on fixed seats and obey the new rules of discipline.

These points show the differences between the Orientalists and the Anglicists:
(i) The Orientalists had a deep knowledge of the languages and culture of Asia. They favoured the development of Sanskrit and Persian language in India. But their critics, viz. Anglicists preferred English language and urged that English should be the medium of instruction in the educational institutions.
(ii) The Orientalists tried to set-up such institutions that encouraged the study of ancient Indian texts. But Anglicists like TB Macaulay urged that the British Government in India stop promoting Oriental institutions.
(iii) The Orientalists translated many Sanskrit and Persian texts into English, set-up the Asiatic Society and started a journal called Asiatick Researches. But Macaulay emphasised that teaching of English could be a way of civilising people, changing their tastes, values, and culture.