NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
35
"What are the qualifications required for the promotion of
Provincial officers to the Imperial Service and who is to be respon-
sible for their promotion?
"Are Provincial men who have been promoted to fill a certain
proportion of the Imperial posts or is promotion to be given as a
reward? I am opposed to making the Imperial Service a sort of
selection grade and such a course would be obviously extravagant.
"If this is going to happen the sooner the Provincial and Imperial
grades are amalgamated the better. The scheme would probably
be economical as the pay would be revised on a uniform scale between
the two services, non-domiciled officers receiving adequate overseas
allowances.
"In the meantime if the Government of India are determined
to promote a certain number of Provincial officers to the Imperial
Service, I think we should recommend very strongly that some
standard of qualification should be laid down. It should comprise
special post-graduate instruction successfully completed in (a)
particular subjects (Professors) or (b) State medicine (District
Officers). A detailed syllabus of minimum requirements should be
prepared by a committee of veterinary officers. I consider also
that only men of outstanding character and ability should be selected
and that a Selection Board of as permanent a constitution as possible
should approve of every candidate before promotion."
Mr. Hewlett submitted the following note:—"In my view the
promotion of Provincial officers (present service) to the Imperial
Service had better be left in abeyance until it has been decided
of what class of men the Imperial Service, is to consist. In the
future if a superior Provincial Service is created to take the place
of the present Imperial Service, the question will become one
of local concern and should be left to the Local Government to
decide."
Khan Saheb Sheikh Naiz Mohammed, in his circulated printed
notes, stated: "Some posts of the Imperial cadre should be reserved
for Provincial officers as is done in the Civil Service, Educational
Service, Medical and Police, etc., the promotion to be made by
selection (seniority, of course, must be given special consideration in
selecting such officers) from among such officers as have special
qualifications in the veterinary profession, by undergoing a post-
graduate course in special subjects such as bacteriology, parasito-
logy, breeding of animals, etc. The officer must be able to express
his views thoroughly in good English. A list of all Provincial
officers should be kept at the Government of India offices. Arrange-
ments for temporary vacancies can be made locally by the province
in which these vacancies occur."
36
Mr. Hewlett further stated that he understood that the men
at present selected for training with a view to entering the Imperial
Service would be employed in the provinces from which they came.
In this manner they would represent merely a selected grade of
Provincial officers drawing Imperial Service pay. He considered
that the promotion of officers to the Imperial Service by this method
had better be left in abeyance for the present, and that the Imperial
Service, properly so called, should be restricted to British officers
as hitherto, recruited in England. The training of Provincial
officers with a view to replacing Imperial Service officers had also
better be left in abeyance for the time being. The men now under
training, he thought, should be admitted into the Imperial Service
grade, but when a superior Provincial Service grade was created,
they might be made to enter that category of the Service. The
men under training should be promoted if there were appointment
available when they emerged from training. He had recently
advocated the promotion of Provincial officers who had done
remarkably good work during their careers, but this method of
promotion should be rare and exceptional. Indeed, he was not
prepared to recommend men for promotion for some time to come.
The Chairman said he believed that the Punjab Government
would have stern objections towards making the Imperial Service
a selection grade for Provincial officers.
Mr. Howard explained the predicament in which some members
of the Imperial Service now undergoing their period of probation
found themselves. It appeared not unlikely that they would be
turned out of their appointments when the promoted Provincial
officers had completed their training.
Mr. Krishna Murthi, in making answer to the remarks made in
the President's discourse, stated that since the year he had got
qualified in 1909, he had taken great pains to submit himself
virtually to continuous post-graduate instruction under eminent
masters and that on account of the efforts which he had made in
this direction and the services which he had rendered, he had been
selected for appointment in the manner stated to the Imperial
Service.
Mr. Kerr was in a dilemma as to the object of recruiting for the
Imperial Service in this manner.
Mr. Hewlett explained that in the Report of the Public Services
Commission it had been stated that a certain proportion of Pro-
vincial Service officers must be promoted to the Imperial Service
after undergoing further training, and that the Government of
India had taken steps officially in accordance with this recommend-
ation.
37
Mr. Wilson explained that he had deputed one of his officers to
the Muktesar course with a view to having him trained more
especially in laboratory technique. He subsequently discovered that
the officer was being trained in the general duties expected to be
performed by men of Imperial Service rank.
Mr. Hewlett believed that it was clearly laid down that the
promoted men must be subsequently employed in their own pro-
vinces.
Mr. Quinlan agreed with the observations made by the Chairman
regarding the high-handed manner in which the Imperial veteri-
nary officers in charge of provinces had been treated in the matter
of the training of the men now undergoing instruction with a view
to promotion.
Mr. Howard maintained that only men possessing the diploma
of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons should be eligible for
the Imperial Service.
Mr. Quirke likewise stated that the M. R. C. V. S. qualification
of its equivalent should be insisted upon. He pointed out that
there would arise difficulties of a commercial nature if men were
admitted not possessing these qualifications, as certificates in regard
to animal disease were not accepted by certain corporations or
individuals unless they were signed by a holder of that particular
diploma.
Mr. Cameron also stated that this objection was a real one, for
it often occurred that there was difficulty in granting a certificate
in regard to the export of hides from Burma when no M. R. C. V. S.
was available. The Government of Australia, for example, would
not accept a certificate in respect of exported hides unless it was
signed by a M. R. C. V. S.
Mr. Riley also raised the question regarding the possibility of
hardships for Imperial Service officers now under probation, when
the men now under training became promoted.
The Chairman then proposed the terms of a Resolution:—
Resolution I (b)
(2) That in view of the Government policy providing for the
promotion of a proportion of Provincial Officers to
the Imperial Service, it is considered that promotion
to the Imperial Service should be restricted to those
Provincial officers who have at least 10 years' further
service to the credit of Government, whose selection is
approved by a Standing Committee of Imperial officers,
and undertake to submit themselves to a course of special
work to be prescribed by this Committee and pass success-
fully the tests laid down for the course.
38
Mr. Hewlett opposed the institution of tests on the admission
of officers for training upon the advice of a Selection Board.
Mr. Quinlan submitted that the question of safeguards might
be left to the experience of Mr. Edwards, who had undertaken the
training of these officers at Muktesar.
Mr. Edwards explained the main aspects of his experience
gained in training the officers selected for promotion during the past
year at Muktesar. He insisted that it was necessary to examine men
of the type selected for promotion carefully beforehand in order to
ascertain whether they could carry a superstructure of post-graduate
training involving an intelligent appreciation of modern know-
ledge regarding animal disease. It was his experience that logical
discussion on broad issues with ill-educated men merely conveyed
to them the impression that they were being imparted a theoretical
teaching, and such men were not capable of grappling with the
difficult propositions encountered by practical workers in disease
investigation. There appeared to be an all-round clamour among
officers occupying posts in the Indian Services, who had ceased
their training in Europe at a comparatively very early age, that
all that was necessary to attain full competence and efficiency in
their pursuit was to attend a so-called post-graduate course of train-
ing; whereas, in reality, competence could only be acquired by
hard work and study and long apprenticeship under a skilled master
of the calling. It seemed that the self-styled "practical" man
in the veterinary profession in every country was a man who never
read, or studied, and was too much obsessed with his innate abili-
ties to seek improvement from the experience of others. He had
found great difficulty in impressing upon the students whom he had
under training the need of submitting themselves to repeated testing
in order to gauge their progress; he could not undertake to train
men satisfactorily unless they were prepared to submit themselves
unconditionally to what he considered to be essential tests. It
had been represented to him by students that in post-graduate
courses elsewhere no system of tests was instituted. He had had
to point out to them that the ordinary post-graduate courses were
attended by men who generally paid for their instruction themselves
and attended the courses at considerable personal sacrifices in order
to improve their knowledge concerning matters in which they were
deeply interested. The men he had had for training were at first
under the impression, in common with many other individuals, that
training in practical work merely involved recognition of type
specimens at the class-room bench, and failed to realize that scienti-
fic investigation involved tedious and prolonged examination of
material which did not invariably conform with the type specimens
39
selected usually and purposely for the ready teaching of class stu-
dents. He pointed out also the difficulty he had had to convey
to students the necessity of unremitting attention to their work if
they wanted to acquire competence in the methods in disease investi-
gation. He had found that they had become the slaves of office
procedure, with its restricted hours and numerous so-called gazetted
holidays. The resolution as drafted by Colonel Walker seemed to
be an indispensable safeguard for ensuring that men deputed for
training would make the effort which was expected of them during
their attendance at such courses.
He further wished to impress on the meeting that he had strongly
advocated the training of veterinary graduates who were selected
to occupy the highest posts in the service in India at Muktesar,
because the institution now presented facilities which were probably
unrivalled in the world for the teaching of problems in animal
preventive medicine, particularly those peculiar to India. The
resources of the institution could best be developed if research and
teaching were prosecuted at it concurrently. Moreover, the wealth
of material for study and the strength of the staff available for
imparting instruction in the side of their profession of importance
to the State, namely, what might be termed animal preventive
medicine, epizootiology, or State veterinary medicine, far surpassed
those available in any veterinary institution at Home, where,
moreover, the susceptibilities of the Indian student would not be
specially considered. With patient training he had found the
students become more amenable, and they certainly possessed ability,
so that he was confident of the ultimate success of the training. The
course at present was merely a trial course, and he had submitted
his report on the first session of the two years of study to the Govern-
ment of India. The needs of the men deputed for training would
always be carefully watched, and the instruction given would be
modified as necessity arose to fit them for the duties which they
would subsequently fulfil.
The resolution drafted by the Chairman was then passed un-
animously.
SUBJECT I (b) (3).-THE DIRECT APPOINTMENT OF INDIANS TO THE
IMPERIAL SERVICE.
The Chairman said: "With regard to the direct appointment
of Indians to the Imperial Service, I presume that the same quali-
fications as those required by the Secretary of State for British
officers will be considered necessary. Hitherto, the Secretary of
State has selected only British officers who possess the diploma of
40
the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and have passed through
a post-graduate course of training or have some special qualification.
I do not know if similar qualifications have been demanded from
Indians recruited for the Imperial Service. In future, recruitment
will be almost confined to Indians. I think all we can say is that
we hope it will be possible to maintain a high standard in the recruits
and enlist Indians of high character and good education. I consider
that Indians selected for scholarships abroad should be selected
by a competent board in India, and that after completion of their
training they should be examined before appointment by a com-
petent board in London. The minimum qualification for recruit-
ment should be that of the Membership diploma of the R. C. V. S.
for the present. Later, when the University degree in veterinary
science has been instituted in India according to the recommenda-
tions of the Principals' Conference, the course proposed in their
report might be adopted."
Mr. Hewlett submitted the following note: "In my view the
direct appointment of Indians to the Imperial Service should be
made by the Secretary of State from youths sent to Europe to study
as State scholars and from youths studying in Europe at their own
expense. Later, no doubt this method will have to cease if the
recruitment of Indians to the Imperial Service ceases and the
superior Provincial Service takes its place. In that case the appoint-
ment of our officers will rest with the Local Governments, who,
probably, would wish to select the youths and send them to Europe
or America to study as State scholars."
Further he stated that, in his opinion, Indians appointed direct
to the Imperial Service should possess the diploma of the Royal
College of Veterinary Surgeons and should be given a post-graduate
course of training in this country on appointment.
Mr. Edwards stated that he believed that the Government of
India would be in a position to provide technical facilities for the
training of appointed men for one year in this country on arrival
to take up their posts.
Mr. Quinlan maintained that it should be impressed upon the
men who had gone to the United Kingdom in order to qualify them-
selves for the diploma of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
that it was necessary during their course of training to observe the
conditions of cattle practice with reputable practitioners in the
large dairying districts in England. The feeling among Indian
students trained at the Indian colleges was that their own professors
were noticeably defective in their practical knowledge of cattle
practice. He considered this knowledge essential on account of the
predominant position of the ox as a domesticated animal in India.
41
Mr. Edwards explained that the difficulties which had forbidden
insistence upon a form of apprenticeship during the college curri-
culum for British students would be much accentuated in the case
of Indian students undergoing training in England. They would
probably meet with little sympathy even if they exhibited a marked
inclination to better their practical experience in regard to cattle
practice while they were undergoing training in England. He
believed that facilities existed which were admirably suited for their
training in this respect in this country and he mentioned particularly
the herd of dairy cattle at Pusa maintained under the supervision
of the Imperial Agriculturist, and the well known breeding herd of
draught cattle at Hissar. His own students under training had
recently been sent to Pusa in order to study the improved conditions
of maintaining dairy cattle there adopted, and he contemplated
deputing them to other centres. It was much more likely that the
susceptibilities of students would be studied at these institutions on
their return from training in England.
Khan Saheb Sheikh Naiz Mahammed in his note on the subject
stated: The candidates (Indians) for direct appointment to the
Imperial Service should be subject to the same rules and regula-
tions as are at present in force for the Service.
The Chairman subsequently addressed the members on the neces-
sity of adopting safeguards for maintaining a high standard of
general education, basic scientific training, and modern professional
knowledge in entrants to the Imperial Service. Although the
membership diploma of the R. C. V. S. had been hitherto recognised
as the essential qualification for entrance to this branch of the Service,
the Secretary of State had demanded additional attainments in
candidates for vacant posts in view of the fact that the work upon
which they were subsequently engaged was of a highly responsible
nature and required considerably more knowledge regarding the
larger issues in controlling animal disease than was usually obtain-
able from the teaching imparted in the four years' curriculum laid
down for membership graduation by the R. C. V. S.,—a curri-
culum which, moreover, was planned with the object of providing
primarily for the requirements in training of the great majority
of veterinary graduates in the United Kingdom, namely, veterinary
clinicians, or practitioners. In order to cater for the comparatively
few students who had the necessary ability and desired to undergo
a more thorough training in veterinary science, which would provide
them with a sufficiently sound groundwork of knowledge to fit
them later to deal with the peculiar problems in animal disease of
interest to the State, some of the British veterinary colleges had
taken steps to become recognized schools of the local universities
42
and university Matriculates who passed successfully through the
prescribed courses of study at the schools were granted degrees in
Science (Veterinary Science) by the universities concerned. The
prescribed courses could be taken concurrently with the course for
the membership diploma of the R. C. V. S., but it was recognized
that ordinarily an additional year would have to be spent in study
by those who took both courses. As the courses of training pre-
scribed by the British universities were calculated to impart the
soundest primary veterinary knowledge that was desired in candi-
dates for the Imperial Veterinary Service, he strongly commended
to the members that they should embody in the resolution drafted
under this section an expression which would convey to the Secre-
tary of State the view that in the selection of candidates, who neces-
sarily possessed the diploma of the R. C. V. S., preference should
be given to those who possessed a university degree in veterinary
science of a British university. If the system of study formulated
by the Principals' Conference at Bombay were adopted eventually,
it would be imperative to impress upon the Secretary of State that
the standard represented above, by the degrees granted by the
British universities, was the standard considered to be necessary
for entrants to the Imperial Service.
The Resolution passed by the members was as follows:—
Rosolution I (b)
(3) That candidates selected for direct appointment to the
Imperial Service should possess the diploma of the
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons; perference should
be given to those who possess a university degree in veteri-
nary science of a British university, and have taken
steps, moreover, to observe the methods of cattle practice
during their course of study, on their arrival in India
they should first undergo a course of post-graduate
training at Muktesar and instruction in animal hus-
bandry and dairying at the institutions concerned with
these pursuits in India.
SUBJECT 1 (c).–EDUCATION. WHAT FORMS OF POST-GRADUATE
TRAINING SHOULD BE DEVISED FOR:–(1) VETERINARY
ASSISTANTS, (2) PROVINCIAL OFFICERS, (3) IMPERIAL OFFICERS.
The Chairman said:—"We have now to discuss what forms of
post-graduate training should be devised for the different grades.
I have already said that I consider post-graduate training is indi-
cated for Veterinary Assistants who have only done a three years'
course of study before promotion to the Provincial grade. Each
43
veterinary college might undertake such a course of training, and
if you agree we will appoint a committee to define the courses
required in order to obtain some uniformity. The system of post-
graduate instruction that should be laid down for Provincial officers
selected for promotion to the Imperial Service forms a large
problem, but I think the same committee should be able to deal
with it. We have Mr. Edwards' scheme to go on and it should be
helpful. Imperial officers should take up post-graduate courses
under the leave study rules and we may make some suggestions
for such courses."
Mr. Hewlett:—"With regard to post-graduate training, the
ordinary Veterinary Assistant does not require any such special
training. He should be kept up to the expected standard of
efficiency by his own officers, who should examine such men for
promotion from time to time. The post-graduate training of men
selected for the Provincial Service should consist of special courses
in Europe or America. Imperial officers desiring to go through
a post-graduate study should, I consider, do so in Europe at the
recognised schools."
Khan Saheb Sheikh Naiz Mohammed stated the following
requirements:—
(1) Veterinary Assistant. (a) Elementary bacteriology, so
that the assistant may be able to prepare . slides
and morbid materials to be despatched for further
bacteriological examination and he should know the
use of microscope, with a few of the very common
staining methods;
(b) Elementary entomology, a short course on biting flies
and ticks;
(c) Parasitology, common worm parasites and their eradica-
tion.
(2) Provincial Officers. A further course of another 6 months
in all the above subjects and also training in practical
animal breeding on certain farms.
(3) Imperial Officers. (a) A practical course on the conta-
gious diseases usually prevailing in India;
(b) Training with some senior officers in practical field work
in India;
(c) Practical training on animal breeding, connected with
the indigenous breeds of India. on some important
farms.
(d) A short course at Muktesar.