CO885-(18-19) — Page 266

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O.885

18 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE ' BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- | COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

Appoint-

ment of Chief

GO

23. The Chief Instructor should be appointed by the Secretary of State. IIe should be selected by the Colonial Survey Council, advised by the Directors of Instructon, Surveys of the Colonies participating in the general expenses of the establishment, and he should be under the authority of the Director of Surveys of the Colony in which the School is established, unless the Council 'aforesaid have good reasons for adopting another course.

Period of Bervice on coast of Chief

29. My reasons for the above suggestion are based chiefly on experience gained on the West Coast and from information obtained while inspecting the chief Survey Departments in England, America, France, Germany, and Italy. I have found that instructors are not, as a rule, organisers.

30. I am sure that great difficulties will be experienced in selecting a suitable instructor per se, but I think it would be an almost insuperable difficulty to find an instructor and organiser combined with coast experience and suitable for the work. I have cast about and, with all my experience, I can at present only think of one man possessing the qualifications of instructor and organiser, viz., Mr. Člemin- son, Deputy Director of Surveys. I am of opinion, however, that he would not accept the position, if given the option of refusal.

31.

I shall show hereafter that considerably more of the cadets' time should be spent in field, than in academic, training. It may then be seen, a fortiori, why the Director of Surveys should have control in this matter.

32. As things stand at present, I should prefer a joint control by the Directors of the Gold Coast and Southern Nigeria, but such an arrangement might not always be feasible.

33. The Chief Instructor should serve eight months on the coast, with four months' leave,

34. His duties should commence on the 1st of April and terminate at the end Instructor. of November. My reason for this arrangement will be given later on.

Second Euro-

pean In-

structor not necessary. Additional

35. I do not consider that a second European instructor is necessary, at any rate for the present.

36. The additional personnel should be two native surveyors and one native personuel. draughtsman; pupil teachers might be selected, if necessary, but that should be left

to the discretion of the Chief Instructor.

Division of expenses.

Financial

aspect of question.

Cadets to pay.

37. I am of opinion that for the first three years of the School's existence, the expenses should be borne by the participating Colonies in proportion to their esti- mated revenues.

38. After which the expenses should be regulated by the number of cadets sent from each Colony, and refunds might then be made to those Colonies which had contributed too largely during the first three years.

39. I presume it may be assumed that Southern Nigeria, Northern Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, and the Gambia will participate; perhaps it might be advisable to consult the respective Governments as to their views on this subject.

40. The Secretary of State has directed (paragraph 5 of his despatch under notice) that some indication of the financial effect of the scheme should be given. I have already pointed out (paragraph 7, ante) that the project should be com- mercially sound; the returns, however, will necessarily be indirect, and, for the first three years, the outlay will be considerable, while the returns will be correspond- ingly small.

41. It should, however, be regarded in the light of many other public enter- prises, i.e., as necessary for the proper development of the participating Colonies, and as essential to the up-building of public projects. It may, therefore, be looked upon from this standpoint as an asset, in a similar manner to that in which a shipping company would regard a ship in progress of building as an increasing asset from the laying of her keelson to the issue of her commission.

Later on, I shall develop, in detail, what I have here expressed in general

terms.

42. I am strongly of opinion that cadets should be required to pay fees. In substantiation of this statement, I would point out that quite a number of native parents send their children to Europe to be educated as doctors, lawyers, and ministers. I find that the total expenses entailed in these cases is about £1,000 each, and I doubt if the general benefits would be more than should be expected if the youth entered this proposed school, and as a consequence, became a Government official on the pensionable establishment.

43.

61

In the first instance, the chances of failure are considerable and the pro- bability of obtaining lucrative employment decreases as the number of successful students return home to seek practices.

44. I am informed, on good authority, that the keenness of competition is already being felt in the two first-named professions. I have discussed this matter with several influential natives and they are of opinion that fees should be paid.

45. I would suggest that the cadets pay £15 first year, £20 second year, and £25 third year; and that they be bound to serve the Government for at least three years after they have passed through this course. Provided always that they can obtain appointments in the Government service equal in status to those to which their certificates entitle them.

46. Should, however, no such appointment Le available, they may seek civil employment; this should not debar them from obtaining work under Government. When a vacancy occurs, such persons should be given preference over other cadets of the same status who have subsequently passed.

47. I now propose to discuss the period which, each year, should be devoted to Academic academic and field training.

and field

48. I have already stated that the academic course should commence in May training. and terminate in November.

49. The field course should commence on 1st of January and continue till the end of April. This particularly refers to the first year's course; in subsequent years the field course for the Survey Section and the practical drafting course for the Draughtsman's Section should be longer; this, however, could be adjusted as experi- ence suggested.

Only one 50. Only one examination should be held each year, and should take place in examina- November. A "post" examination should, however, be held in the following May tion should for those who failed at the November examination.

51. The Board of Examiners should consist of: The Director of Surveys (in Board of his absence, the Deputy Director of Surveys), the Chief Instructor, and the Native Examiners. Instructor.

52. The first year's examination should take the form of a matriculation at which the students of both sections should sit. In the second year, separate examina- tions should be held for the Survey and Draughting Sections. It is not considered The native that a third year's course is necessary in the Draughting Section. instructor in draughting should take the place of the native instructor in surveying when the Draughting Section was undergoing examination.

be held

each year.

Academic

53. I have already stated that the academic course should be from May to and field November, and the field course from January to May, leaving the Christmas month training. for vacation, with certain alterations for the second and third years' course.

54. Such an arrangement would allow the class work to be carried on during the wet and the field operations during the dry season.

55. My reason for suggesting that the Chief Instructor should be engaged on the eight and four months' system and that he should take up his academic duties in May will now be clearly understood.

Classifica-

56. The Chief Instructor should report to the Director of Surveys at the end tion of of each term (i.e., after the November examination) as to the progress of each student. cadets. This report should be forwarded to the Director of each participating Colony. It should also be forwarded to the Colonial Survey Committee. It would then be possible to differentiate between those students who were likely to develop into surveyors, and those who possessed a tendency towards draughting.

57. It is important, however, that all the students should sit in concourse for the first year's examination, and that they should all have one course of field training. It is not considered that a student who intends to take up draughting requires more than this amount of field experience.

58. It should be remembered that in all educational channels, breadth must give way to intensity. An individual who is a jack-of-all-trades is a master of none. Neither should it be forgotten in a scheme of this nature, where the number of students is comparatively small and where there is no great diversity in the subjects taught, that the machinery governing the establishment should be as simple as possible.

59.

Certifi-

I would, therefore, propose that only two certificates be issued, one for cates. surveying and one for draughting, with an extra certificate for the special course in surveying.