The present day educational system in India has been modeled on the western institutional base as well as content. The colonial rule introduced western legal, administrative, medicinal and educational system. These institutions not only replaced the indigenous institutions but in certain ways were in dissonance with the social structure and cultural ethos of the country. The new institutions have helped in the creation of a hiatus between the vast populace and a select elite minority. The foundation of the new educational system in India was laid by the Britishers. The motive to introduce British system of education was to recruit local people at the lower level of administrative hiearchy. It also led to pursuits of the west and a taste for alien styles of life. There have been several unintended consequences of the Western education, chiefly exposing ser sitive young people to the ideas of liberty, freedom and equality and denial of dogmatic faith. Thus a system which was intended for perpetuation of colonial hegemony itself was responsible for creating a band of people determined to fight for the freedom of the country. Macaulay's system of education did more than mere meet the needs of an imperial administration. 

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Keywords: Educational System, Social Structure, Cultural Ethos, Western Education.