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(6) THE TECHNICAL SCHOOL, KUALA LUMPUR.
The number of Junior European Officers in Malaya is very small and such appointments are practically confined to foremen on the railway. For this reason a well educated type of local Technical Assistant is required by all branches of the Public Works Department, etc., and it was to provide these officers with the requisite techni- cal training that the School was instituted. Originally the School formed a sub- department of the Public Works Department, but has recently passed into the control of the Education Department, for purposes of administration. This arrangement has made it possible to include a fair number of private fee-paying students in the school, these being accepted to fill places not earmarked for the Public Works Department or the Railway.
The Principalship is a full time appointment, and the various European lecturers are released for the necessary hours from the Government Department in which they are serving. By this means students are kept up with the latest practice and there is no tendency for instruction to become too academic. Also, each student receives exactly the type of training which is required by the Department in which he expects to serve. There are a few junior local instructors for the more elementary classes.
The minimum education qualification is Junior Cambridge, and any student may be required to continue his English studies until the Principal is satisfied with the standard attained.
Each department of the Public Works Department and Railway Service has a special apprenticeship system covering four years, each sub-department having a very carefully detailed scheme of training, in which the technical and practical aspects have been carefully co-ordinated. The Public Works Department apprentice does one year practical, then 2 years at the Technical School, then a final 6 months' practical training before sitting the examination which will enable him to pass out as a Technical Subordinate (Grade III) at from S$900 to $$1,000 p.a. according to the percentage received.
Choosing the Railway system for a more detailed examination of its organisation, it is found that, on appointment, the apprentice is attached to one of the sub-depart- ments, and remains in that department throughout his service.
The sub-departments are:
Engine and Machinery Maintenance.
Rolling Stock
Boiler
Train Lighting
Smithy
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