Group of mistress and pupils of the Government Normal School, Bombay, 1873 (b/w photo)

Photograph of a group posed in front of the Government Normal School at Bombay, in Maharashtra from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections: India Office Series (Volume 46), taken by an unknown photographer in c. 1873. This image, which was probably shown at the Vienna Exhibition of 1873, shows the European mistress seated in the centre of a group of ten female pupils. Normal schools trained teachers and The Imperial Gazetteer of India states, "In the case of primary teachers and the lower masters of secondary schools the courses of study and the examinations are organized by the Local Governments, and central and District schools are maintained for their instruction by the Government, and in some cases by local boards and missionary societies...Stipends are frequently given to the pupils, who then bind themselves to teach for a specified period. The courses include general and technical subjects and practical training." The number of female Normal schools increased greatly after 1871 in response to the growth in female primary and secondary education in India.