ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION IN THE COLONIES
A Memorandum on Educational Grants-in-Aid. A Memorandum on grants by Government in aid of certain kinds of educational institutions was forwarded by the Secretary of State to Colonial Governments for consideration in 1930. The comments of the Colonial Governments were referred to the Advisory Committee on Education in the Colonies. In the light of these comments the Memorandum has now been revised. An attempt has been made to bring out more clearly the full signi- ficance of such portions of the original Memorandum as seem to have been misunderstood or to be capable of misinterpretation. Here and there effect has been given to criticism in the applica- tion of principles. The general principles set forth in the original Memorandum remain unaltered, as the comments indicate a general readiness to accept them. We have been impressed by the generous and appreciative attitude towards aided education revealed in the replies from the various Governments.
The Memorandum deals with grants made to schools under private management, of which the schools conducted by Christian missions are at present the most numerous. It applies only to those Colonies, Mandated Areas, and Protectorates which have been included in the Committee's terms of reference by the Secretary of State. Local conditions in the West Indies area, Mauritius and Seychelles, have not been taken into account, and the application of what is said in the Memorandum to the denominational schools in these areas might call for considerable qualification and safeguards. Somaliland, Basutoland, Bechuana- land Protectorate, Swaziland, and the Western Pacific Islands, other than Fiji, are also excluded, since the replies relating to these areas, though they indicate no opposition to the principles of the original Memorandum, suggest that the time has not yet come for defining a policy. The Memorandum is not concerned with the relations between the education departments and schools conducted by local authorities, such as municipalities, district councils, or native administrations. Nor is it intended to apply to schools maintained for private profit. We observe that in some areas such schools are expressly excluded from the benefits of grants-in-aid. We are not aware of any principles on which they could be admitted to a grant-in-aid system.
The primary aim of this Memorandum is the establishment of principles for guidance in the use of such funds as may be avail- able for educational grants-in-aid. The importance of voluntary effort in education and its claims to generous support have already
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