St.John's College, Agra, an earliest institution in this part of India

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St. John's college, Agra Educrib

 In the pre-British period, the primary education was imparted to the Indian students through the Patasala or Gurukulam in the case of Hindus and Madrasa in the case of Muslims.  The British, in the early stage under the ESI  did not show any interest in Indian education because their focus was more on trade expansion and profits than on other aspects.  Having settled down firmly in Bengal during lord Wellesley's time (he was the Governor General of British India),  he founded Ft. William College  (also called College of Ft. William) on 10 July 1800.  It was academy of oriental studies and a center of learning.  Wellesley also used the college to train the British Administrators  to  gain knowledge in native languages  so that they could manage Bengal and other places. 

On the personal level, Britishers like William Jones, Colebrook, Gov. General Warren Hastings  showed keen interest in spreading Oriental education among the natives along with some like-minded Indians. It was at this institution  thousands of books were translated from Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, Bengali, Hindi, and Urdu into English. The Christian Missionaries were the first to come forward to spread education in India on the model of western system.  The Baptist Missionary William Carey came to India in the year 1793 A.D. He along with his friends established Baptist Mission in Serampore (1800 A.D.). By their keen interest, many primary schools came up in  many  places. By their sustained efforts Serampore college was established in 1818. Earlier, David Hare, in 1817 established a Hindu College in Calcutta (Kolkata) which later became the famous Presidency College.

St. John's College of Agra, 1914. HockeyGods

 In the 1840s Charles Wood  was the Chairman of the Board of Control (education). His proposal about education known as Wood’s dispatch was quite famous. He took efforts  to regularize the education system from primary stage to University level and  also instructed to educate pupils in both English and Vernacular. By his recommendation Education Department was established.  It was in  1857 A.D  Calcutta, Bombay and Madras Universities were established in their respective Presidencies.

St. John's College of Agra, Uttar Pradesh established in 1850 it  is now  part of the Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar University which was earlier known as Agra University.  Considered as one  among  the oldest educational institutions  in India established by the Church  Missionary Society of England jointly with Agra C.M.S. Association, it was named  after John the Apostle, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus.

First principal Rev.Thomas Valpy French (1825-1891),en.wikipedia.org

This historic college had a humble beginning  with  297 students, out of which 199 were Hindus, 76 Muslims, and 22  in the early stage - 1869-70. One  Rev.Thomas Valpy French (1825-1891), a fellow of University College, Oxford was the first Principal of the college. Initially, it was  affiliated to the University of Calcutta  from 1862 to 1888 and later  to the University of Allahabad till 1927. With the formation of  Agra university (now Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar University) the college got the affiliation from it. Dr. A.W. Davies became the first Vice-Chancellor of the newly formed University. Since 1893, the college has offered post-graduate courses.  

Principal Anglican- priest Whitcliffe. en.wikipedia.org

 

Above image: Grave of Rev. Dr. Arthur Whitcliffe Davies, American born Anglican priest in the Cathedral Cloisters- Worcester Cathedral He was the son of businessman Harris-Davis...........................

Bharat Ratna Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan former president of India in 1957 laid the foundation stone of the Centenary Wing as part of the centenary celebration on that occasion . Late  Prime Minister, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru on 9 October 1959 inaugurated the centenary wing of the  building.

A constituent college of the Agra University established by Church Mission Society to Agra, it is a Christian college under Church of North India..  

 St. John's College is a co-educational institution  built on a large campus and is one of the best colleges in Northern India. It offers several under-graduate and post-graduate courses  to match student's interest and demand.  The college has one of the finest libraries with more than 90000 book covering various fields.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_College,_Agra