In 1882 the Government appointed a commission under the chairmanship of W.W.Hunter to review the progress of education in the country since the Despatch of 1854. The commission wanted to reorganize education in India. It mostly confined its remarks to secondary and primary education.
It visited all the provinces and passed about 200 resolutions. It emphasized the Government’s special care for the extension and improvement of primary education. Primary education was to base on the instruction of the masses through the vernacular. For secondary education two divisions were expected – a literary education leading up to the Entrance Examination of the University and a practical education preparing students for commercial and vocational should be encouraged.
It drew attention to the inadequate facilities for female education outside the presidency towns and wanted its expansion.