8. The two schools at Sai Ying-p'in suffered severely by their removal. The building had to be handed over, in a pressing emergency, to the Medical Department. Temporary nocommodation was provided as near as possible to the old site, and a new school-house was to be built in the course of a few mons; but the delay in building the new hospital has prevented the erection of the new school, and the failing off referred to is partly accounted for. These native schools require the most delicate handling. Circumstances which of themselves need hardly affect any school, have often serious consequences to them, as was pointed out when the old building had to be handed over.
9. The Aberdeen School remains in a very unsatisfactory state. It made some advance towards the end of the year; but any improvement in it has hitherto proved so fallacious that no hope can be grounded upon it. It seems a great pity to abandon the experiment of introducing English into the illage Schools, but it is evidently not wanted by the people, and they have the power of enforcing their opinion by leaving the school comparatively empty.
10. More detailed information concerning those schools will be found in the Tables that form Appendix I. These have been compiled with the view of showing with all possible accuracy the exact state in which the schools are, as far as this can be shown by statistics. In Table IV. an attempt has been made to calculate with more precision than formerly the average cost of each scholar at the Government Schools. Hitherto the Central School has been debited with all the expenses of the Department except the actual sums paid in salaries, rent, and prizes to the Village Schools. It is obvious that the expense of their superintendence should be charged against these schools; and this has now been done, as far as the circumstances of the case will allow.
11. The Grant-in-Aid Schools are now fifteen in number, although for purposes of examination two of the Baxter Schools have still to be taken as one. Two Basel Mission Schools, one at Sai Ying- p'ún for boys, and the other at Sháu-kí Wán for both boys and girls, were, with the Diocesan Home and Orphanage, admitted to a share of the Grant during the year. As already stated, these schools have added greatly to the number of our school children.
12. The amended Grant-in-Aid Scheme, which forms Appendix II. of this Report, came into operation at the end of the year. The knowledge that it was to contain more advantageous terms than the original scheme neted as a powerful stimulus to both Managers and Masters, and the results were very satisfactory. There were 459 scholars presented, as against 390 in 1876; and the passes amounted to 86 per cent., as against 77 per cent. in the previous year. In England, the average for the whole country has been a fraction less than 80 per cent. The Hongkong Schools, therefore, have gained for themselves a highly favourable position. The percentage of scholars passed, and the percentage of passes in each subject taught in the schools, will be found detailed in Tables XIV, and XV. These show that, with an exception here and there, the results reflect great credit on all concerned in the management and teaching.
13. The Baxter Schools in Sai Ying-p'ún. Staunton Street, and Tái-p'ing Slán occupy the second. tenth and eleventh places on the list of Grait-in-Aid Schools. The first of these increased its number of passes by four per cent. The Staunton Street and Tái-p'ing Shin Schools did not maintain their previous positions. In all the three schools greater attention is required to Geography, and in the two latter to Reading and Explanation. In other respects the work was well done, especially in the Sai Ying-pún School, whose only weak point was Geography.
14. The London Mission Schools made an extraordinary advance. The Tái-p'ing Shán School had an increase of thirty-one per cent. of passes, and the Wan-tsai School of twenty-seven per cent. These schools were peculiarly unfortunate in 1876, but they are now recovering lost ground. They occupy the third and eighth places on the list. The Tai-ping Shan School, if likely to suffer at all, is in danger of doing so from the superabundant energy of the master. His scholars must have been drilled, until school and its belongings could have had little charm for them. This is not said by way of disparagement. On the contrary, it was a positive pleasure to see the efficiency of the school in all the subjects of examination. At the same time, the manager will do well to guard against undue severity on the part of the master. There was no attempt at disguising the fact that he rules with a rod of iron. The Wan-tsai School did not show the saine efficiency as the other, but the present master took over the school after his predecessor had almost wrecked it by neglect of duty. There can be no doubt that, if the present master remains, the school will soon recover all it has lost.
15. The two St. Stephen's Schools occupy the first and ninth places on the list. The Sai Ying. p'ún School had been admirably taught. Composition was the only weak point, and that subject wi!! require the master's best attention. In all other respects the results were very satisfactory. Expla nation had been most carefully attended to, every scholar examined in it passing well. The T'ái-ping Shán School is a large school well taught. No school presented so many children for examination and, with the exception of some weakness in Explanation and in Composition, few of the schools gaine higher percentages in the subjects of examination. The manager's attention has been directed to the advantages that would accrue from the use of black boards in some of the branches of the school work. and, when these are provided and judiciously used, there will be still higher results in these two schools.