1.
as giving offence upon religious grounds. You will, however, observe that the omission of the "word "Elementary" from 1 (a) of the Rules, necessitates a further alteration in the definition (a) of "Public Elementary School in the Schedule; where in place of the words 'a Public Elemetary "School shall mean a school where elementary education is the principal part of the education given,' "the following words should be substituted a Public School shall mean a school where education is
given in the subjects of the Standards.'”
44
"It seems to me necessary to insist upon certain other points objected to by Bishop RAIMONDI, (8 "and 9 in his letter to Dr. ErTEL). The requirement of 200 attendances under Rule 14 should be "preserved, as I regard it as a safeguard for the thoroughness of the education; and in order to secure the general efficiency of the schools, the children must not be withheld from examination without "reasonable excuse. I also consider that, for the present, at any rate, the capitation fees should remain "as they are. Bishop RAIMONDI appears to me to do only justice to the Government when he describes "the Grant-in-Aid Scheme as a fair and liberal one. It will be time enough to consider the propriety of ugmenting these fees after the Roman Catholics have come into the scheme, if upon a fair trial they are able to show that the amounts granted are unreasonably low, or are so arranged as to operate unfairly to their schools.”
"As to the question of building grants, which have hitherto been dealt with separately upon the uerits of each case as it arose, it is of course impossible for the Colony to make to the Managers grants equivalent, or indeed approaching, to the sums which it spends upon the Government Schools, "But I am quite willing to approve, as part of the Code, a general regulation on this subject applicable "to schools receiving grants-in-aid and framed so us fairly to meet all cases.
And I have to request you to transmit for my approval before it is brought into operation the drafts of such a regulation which, if approved, will eventually become part of the Grant-in-Aid System."
[No. 36.]
SIR,
THE INSPECTOR OF SCHOOLS TO THE HONOURABLE THE COLONIAL SECRETARY.
INSPECTORATE OF SCHOOLS,
HONGKONG, 25th April, 1879.
In accordance with the instructions contained in your letter No. 329 of 27th ultino, I have the honour to forward, under this enclosure, a draft of the new Grant-in-Aid Scheme, revised by myself on the basis of the Despatch No. 15, of 6th February, 1879, from the Right Honourable Sir MICHAEL HICKS-BEACH, Bt., M.P., to Governor POPE HENNESSY, C.M.G.
2. As regards "Building Grants" I have drafted, in accordance with the Secretary of State's instruction, a general regulation, which is simply an abridgment of the regulations introduced in England under the "Code (1871) of Minutes of the Education Department.”
3. I take this opportunity to direct the attention of the Government to another alteration in the, Grant-in-Aid Scheme, which I beg to suggest and which is of no vital importance to the Scheme, but of practical utility in Hongkong. I propose to abolish rule 1, on page 1, "the average attendance is not under twenty." This rule is borrowed from the English Code, but is quite unsuited to the peculiar character of Chinese schools, in which class teaching finds but limited application, so that a teacher can scarcely teach more than twenty boys effectively. More than one half of the Government schools of the Colony have actually all along had an average daily attendance of less than twenty. To prove this I enclose a table showing the number of those Government schools, out of a total of thirty, in which, during the last five years, the average daily attendance was under twenty. This table is compiled from the Annual Reports of the Education Department as published in the Government Gazette.
4. I should also like to direct the attention of the Government to the fact that the Hongkong Scheme, as it now stands, makes no provision for night-schools nor for industrial schools, which are admitted in England under the New Code of 1871.
The Honourable W. H. MARSH,
Colonial Secretary.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
E. J. EITEL, Inspector of Schools.
Enclosure in Inspector of Schools' Letter of 25th April, 1879.
GRANTS-IN-AID.
For the better promotion of Education in the Colony, the Government of Hongkong is prepared to assist schools on the
system of grants-in-aid, subject to the following conditions:-
1. Before any grant can be made to a school, the Government must be satisfied that--
(a.) The school is conducted as a public school.
(6.) The school is not carried ou with a view to private emolument.
(c.) The school premises are healthy, well lighted, drained and ventilated, properly furnished, and contain sufficient
internal space for the average attendance.
(d.) The master is competent.
(6.) The time devoted to instruction in the subjects of the Standards is not less than four hours daily,
(A) The school roll is carefully kept, and propor discipline maintained.
(7.) The organization is good, and the work conducted in accordance with a proper time table.
2. The Government will not interfere in any way with--
(a.) The religions instruction of a school,
(5.) The hours for such instruction.
(c.) The appointment of a teacher, provided he is competent.
(4.) The school books, provided they are sufficient, as regards the instruction which they contain, for the purposes
of the Standards hereafter to be referred to.
(e.) The style of handwriting, but a bold round hand is recommended for European writing,
(f) The stipulations of this code, without six months' previous notice in the Gazette.
3. Grante will be subject to a cumulative reduction of five per cent, on the whole sum gained by a school, in each case where the Inspector reports defects in--
(a.) The teaching.
(.) The accommodation,
(c.) The keeping of the school roll.
(d) The organization,
(e.) The discipline.
(f) The books and apparatus.
Due regard in all these cases will be had to circumstances.
4. A school receiving a grant must be-
(a.) Open at all times to Government inspection.
(6.) Represented by a Manager, distinct from the paid teacher, who will conduct all correspondence with the Gov-
ernment, sign the receipt for the grant, and furnish all Returns which the Government may require.
5. In the case of Chinese schools not under European supervision, the Inspector will be manager when necessary.
6. The Goverment will not bind itself to give grants to all schools claiming thera under the foregoing conditions, but will be guided by the circumstances of each case, and by the amount of money at its disposal for educational purposes. In all cases where a grant is refused, the reasons for the refusal will be given.
7. The Government will reserve to itself the power to withdraw or reduce grants. In all cases, the reasons for the withdrawal or reduction will be given. No grant will be withdrawn, or materially redneed, nutil a second examination has been held by the examiner assisted by two assessors, the one chosen by the Government and the other by the Manager.
8. One-fourth of the total grant made to a school will be handed to the paid teacher as a personal payment. In the event of a change of paid masters, each will receive his proportion of this sum, according to the period of his service. If a 'paid master is dismissed, his share of the grant will go to the school.
9. A detailed account, with proper vouchers, of the total income and expenditure of each school must be furnished by the Manager annually, in the form provided for that purpose.
10. Grants will be made for definite results in the subjects mentioned in the Standards hereinafter referred to and no others.
11. Those results will be ascertained at the annual examination of the school by the Inspector, or by such examiners as the Government may appoint.
12. Examiners who are not in the service of the Goverment will be paid for their assistance.
152 F
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.