HONGKONG.
653
No. 29
190:2
REPORT OF THE INSPECTOR OF SCHOOLS, FOR THE YEAR 1901.
Laid before the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government.
EDUCATION Department,
HONGKONG, 6th April, 1902.
SIR,--I have the honour to forward to you my Report upon the Education Department during the year 1901.
STAFF.
I was appointed Inspector of Schools from 26th April, 1901, and took over control of the Depart- ment from Mr. BREWIN on 1st May.
Messrs. CURWEN and BULLIN were appointed on 30th August, 1900, and on 24th December, 1900, respectively, to the Belilios Reformatory, their appointments dating from 4th January and 2nd March, 1901.
Mr. and Mrs. JAMES were engaged as Headmaster and Headmistress of the Kowloon British School within the year under review, but had not arrived in the Colony before its termination.
Miss BATEMAN was appointed as Second Assistant Mistress in the Belilios Girls' School from 1st September, 1901.
FINANCE.
The sole source of Revenue of the Department consists in the fees charged at the Belilios Girls' School. Those fees were raised in the month of September from 50 cents a month to $1.50 a month, with certain reductions where two or more children of the same family are at school together.
The total Expenditure for the Department was $48,195 as against $40,532 in 1900. The increase is mainly due to the cost of the Belilios Reformatory, on experiment, which has failed and has been abandoned; and to an increase in the staff and salaries of the Belilios Public School.
GENERAL.
Since arriving in the Colony I have written a report on the System of Education in the Colony for the Board of Education at Home, and I have acted as Honorary Secretary to the Education Coni- mittee, of which body I was also a member. My views have thus been put before the Government at considerable length and there is little to add.
GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS.
English School.-The Belilios Public School for girls is the only Government English School. The staff was strengthened, as already stated, during the year, and is now fully equal to the work before it. The very satisfactory education given reflects credit on all concerned. I have however thought it desirable to request that certain changes should take place in the course studied by the highest class, in the hope of making it more useful in itself and less intended for purposes of examin- ation: the result of the change will appear in the next year's Report.
ANGLO-CHINESE DISTRICT SCHOOLS.
Three of these Schools at Saiyingpun, Wantsai and Yaumati-are in as nearly a satisfactory state as can be expected so long as English subjects are taught exclusively by Chinese. The Report of the Education Committee recommends a complete reorganization of these Schools. The fourth School at Wongnaichung is less satisfactory.
VERNACULAR DISTRICT SCHOOLS.
These are seven in number of various degrees of efficiency. I was compelled to recommend that the School at Aplichau should be closed, and that the services of the Master at Wantsai should be lispensed with. Shek-o, Tanglungchau and Pokfulam are small Schools which do not seem to be par- ticularly needed. There is no doubt that this class of Schools is in want of radical amendment.
GRANT-IN-AID SCHOOLS.
These Schools, and education in general, are so thoroughly discussed in the Report of the Committee on Education that it is useless to deal with the matter further. I propose to give in my next annual Report a full description of the more important grant-earning Schools under the different Missionary
Bodies.
I enclose usual Tables (I to VIII).
Honourable J. H. STEWART LOCKHART, C.M.G.,
Colonial Secretary.
50-21-6-02.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
EDWARD A. IRVING, Inspector of Schools.