A set of three copper plates belonging to the Rashtrakuta King Amoghavarsha I has been found in a village near Kolhapur. The inscriptions, written in Siddham script, detail the establishment of a state-funded network of Ghatikas (village schools) and specify the grants of land and grain to be provided for the teachers and students.
This find is unique because it provides a clear social history of rural education in the 9th century. The plates also list the curriculum, which included Vedic mathematics, logic, and Sanskrit grammar, indicating a highly standardized and decentralized educational system that predated colonial-era models by nearly a thousand years.