CO885-9 — Page 458

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O. 885

9 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

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6. It should be mentioned that special efforts have been made for the purpose of giving the children experimental lessons on the development of the mosquito in its different stages. A meeting of school teachers was held at the Lagos Hospital on the 9th of March, 1903, at which no less than 44 teachers (male and female) were present, and specimens of the evolution of the mosquito from the egg to the fully developed insect were exhibited by the Resident Medical Officer. On the following day glass-bottles containing the larvae of mosquitos in different stages of develop- ment were distributed to the schools, and all school teachers were supplied with special instructions in which they are required to see that each day the children count the numbers of the larvæ that have undergone a further stage of development in the glass-bottles, the process being repeated regularly and the larvæ and developed mosquitos being counted daily, with a view to demonstrate clearly to the children in this practical way that the insect has passed through certain changes of evolution in the interval between two lessons. In this way the children become familiar with the development of the mosquito, and learn to recognise it in all stages from the egg to the fully developed insect.

7. The sum of £20 has been voted by the Legislature for special prizes to school children whether belonging to assisted or private schools who have proved themselves most proficient in the subject of sanitation. These prizes are to be publicly given in connection with the annual competitive exhibition of school work. At the last exhibition held in December, 1902, 44 school children from seven primary and two secondary schools took part in the competition, and the judges reported that the majority of them "showed sound knowledge of the elementary laws of health."

HENRY CARR,

Education Office, Lagos, June 1, 1903.

Inspector of Schools.

TEACHING OF SANITATION IN SCHOOLS. First Stage.

1. Hygiene and the nature and causes of diseases, as contained under headings A and B of the Syllabus of 17th July, 1901.

Second Stage.

2. Air, water, food, dwelling, villages and towns, clothing, habits and customs, recapitulation of all methods of prophylaxis against disease this stage covering- the subjects under headings A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J of the Syllabus of 17th July,

1901,

3. The examination of pupils in the stages may be conducted orally or in writing.

4. The Board shall for every pass in the case of pupils examined orally in general knowledge of the subjects of the stages, but who are not able to pass in either of the stages make a grant of two shillings; but only one such grant shall at any time be made in respect of any pupil thus examined.

5. The Board shall, for every pass in each of the stages obtained by a pupil of a primary or secondary school, grant any sum not exceeding four shillings, where the pass shall have been marked as "fair," and any sum not exceeding five shillings, where the pass shall have been marked as "good."

6. No pupil shall be examined in any stage in which such pupil shall already have passed at any examination held by direction of the Board.

7. One-half of the total grant earned in respect of the teaching of sanitation at any school shall be paid to the teacher or teachers of the class or classes in which the pupils have been instructed, provided that the teacher is a holder of a first class certificate in sanitation. In case the teacher is a holder of a second class certificate, the proportion of the grant to be paid to him shall be one-fourth. The remaining portion of the grant other than what is paid to teachers shall in all cases be applied to the general purposes of the school at which the pupils are instructed.

8. Only feachers who have obtained certificates in sanitation shall be con- sidered competent to teach sanitation in the schools, and no grant shall be made in respect of proficiency in sanitation of any class, unless the class is under the instruc- tion of a holder of a certificate in sanitation.

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No. 2.

JAMAICA.

GOVERNOR SIR J. A. SWETTENHAM to MR. LYTTELTON.

(No. 228.)

(Received May 25, 1905.)

SIR,

King's House, Jamaica, May 8, 1905. In continuation of my despatch, No. 64, of the 28th February last, I have the honour to transmit a copy of a memorandum by the Superintending Medical Officer stating the results of his efforts to secure a manual on hygiene suitable for use in elementary schools in Jamaica, and to say that, in accordance with the suggestion made in the last paragraph, the Board of Education have been asked to consider and report on Dr. Ker's memorandum and, if agreeable to them to do so, to prepare, with the assistance of Dr. Ker and of Dr. Johnston (the member of the Board to whom Dr. Ker refers and the author of the pamphlet mentioned in paragraph 2 of my despatch of the 16th February†), a manual on the subject which could be used in elementary schools in addition to the Tropical Readers, copies of which are sent.

I have, &c.,

J. A. SWETTENHAM;

Enclosure in No. 2.

Island Medical Office,

HONOURABLE COLONIAL SECRETARY,

Governor.

Kingston, Jamaica, May 1, 1905.

In reply to your note of February 17th, 1905, I have the honour to reply as follows. I must apologize first for having kept the papers so long, but have been writing to various places for "simple books on hygiene"

A. I wrote, first, to the Minister of Education in Toronto, as I understood that

a good book was used in the schools of Toronto, but the book he sent me was a "simple

school hygiene," referring only to the principles of school building.

B. I have received from England, however, two useful books on hygiene:—

(1) Home Hygiene, as used by the St. John's Ambulance Association.

(2) First Stage Hygiene, as used in various technical schools in England, the writer of which is one of the masters at the Smethwick (Birmingham) Technical School,

hence my delay in answering.

C. I have also perused the "Tropical Readers" which are now taught in the

Government schools here.

None of these books, however, appear to me to quite meet what I conclude is

the desire of the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, inasmuch as none of them are really written to suit local conditions as regards hygiene.

All of the above books are good in their way, but I notice that none of them, for instance, touch on

1. The mosquito theory.

and the question of

2. Sanitation of native houses, also their construction and

3. The disposal of refuse, slops, house and latrine drainage,

is only slightly gone into.

Having had an opportunity of a chat with the Honourable T. Capper on the sub- ject, I find that whatever form "instruction in hygiene" takes, it must only be of the very simplest character and not at all deep; otherwise neither the native teacher nor the pupil will gain much by the instruction in that subject. Dr. Strachan's treatise, again, is more for grown up people than for school children and is somewhat voluminous, being much more suited for lectures than for education of the young at school.

The two English books are decidedly too deep for the schools in Jamaica, being intended more for English children or youths who are fairly well educated and are capable of digesting the subject-matter embodied in these books.

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