Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/227

184 Now to revert to our narrative. Shortly after his appointment as professor of Belles-lettres, Vidyasagar was charged by the Education Council to report on the working of the Sanskrit College, for they were already afraid, that the dissolution of the Institution was not very far off. Their fear was not quite unfounded. The numerical strength of the College had been falling off; there were no new admissions. The main cause of decrease in the number of students was, that there were no worldly prospects before them. English education had much spread in the country through the exertions and encouragement of the educational authorities, The Education Council had taken over charge of the education department in 1842. Since that year they had devoted themselves solely to the propagation of high English and Vernacular educations. In 1841, there were 28 schools with 4,632 pupils and 191 teachers. In 1855, these numbers rose to 151, 13,162 and 455 respectively. The Council had made sufficient provisions for the examinations and scholarships for the students of English. But they had not given so much attention and encouragement to Sanskrit education. Besides, those who were instructed in English had ample fields for employment, while the Sanskrit-knowing pundits had none. Consequently, the desire of the people for Sanskrit education had begun to lessen. All these circumstances led the Education Council to fear, that the dissolution of the Sanskrit College