(e)
The system, confined to Parnings & Analysis, geography (Commercial, Mathematical, Political, and Physical with Map Drawing) not as in the Grant-in-Aid confined to knowledge of names of places.
History. Different successive Epochs of English History in successive classes, instead of, as in the Grant-in-Aid scheme, offering the first 100 pages of a Text Book of Frank, Roman, English, or Universal History.
Translation from and into Chinese is obligatory in every class, though some leniency is shown to non-Chinese boys.
(f) There are 21 classes, with gentle gradations of standard, that could not lend themselves readily to be adapted to the rigidity of the six Grant-in-Aid standards.
Fifthly, Parnell's masters in schools have expressed to me their sense of the waste of time, and lowering of power in Education, occasioned by grinding boys to pass satisfactorily the narrow requirements of the Grant-in-Aid System.
My then subject "College to a slavery from which it is already exempt?" is their excuse to me.
Sixthly, Dr. Eitel has told me year after year that he could not set to other schools in the Colony the papers proposed by him for Victorian College. He therefore admits the higher standard of Victoria College.
If there, on due consideration, a uniformity of text and of method of Examination be found necessary for My King, I have the honour to submit that it would be better to train the Grant-in-Aid System into conformity with the Victoria College system, than after 8 years of slow but steady progress to adopt the retrograde policy of reducing Victoria College to the Grant-in-Aid system.
I refer to the Annual Report (which has not yet been reported in the Hong Kong papers as it used to be submitted, as formerly, to the Legislative Council) and I have shown that I do not claim perfection for the system or results at Victoria College, but I give tables to show that healthy progress is being steadily made.
I desire to take this opportunity of correcting a few mistakes I have observed in the Inspector's Report.
§6. Subjects taught in the highest classes of Victoria College.
For English I and II read *1
Chinese Composition is omitted.
For "Translation from and into Chinese," read "Translation from English into Chinese and from Chinese into English."
"The introduction of Shakespeare, Trigonometry, and Mensuration in addition to the ordinary school curriculum of Class I, and Latin in Classes I, II, and III, is itself sufficient to cause 'overpressure'." This suggests that the curriculum of the Upper School was suddenly and considerably increased last year, instead...
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