4. In addition to the efforts which the Registrar General's Department, in one way or other, might make to stimulate attendance at school, I beg to submit that the following measures would also tend, in a subsidiary sense, to stimulate school attendance.
a. The greatest defaulters in the matter of school attendance are those Chinese girls in the Colony, who are purchased servants owned by Chinese families.
But this subject of Chinese bond-servitude is an extremely delicate one, as it touches almost every well-to-do Chinese family in the Colony. I have in former years once or twice suggested registration of these girls, coupled with a mild form of moral pressure, that might be exercised by the Government, through the Registrar General or otherwise, to cause the owners of such girls to send them for a time to school. If it were possible to do anything by way of legislation in the direction of applying the root principle of the English Factory Acts to the system of Chinese domestic bond-servitude, so common in Hongkong, a most powerful stimulus would be provided to increase attendance in school.
b. The children of the Chinese poor, living in the smaller villages and hamlets of the Colony, constitute another class of defaulters in the matter of school attendance, ranking next in importance, though numerically of comparatively small significance. In the absence of a law making attendance at school compulsory (which I do not advocate), this class of Chinese, mostly very poor people, keep their own children, and especially the girls, away from school to do the work of domestic servants in their respective families and also to assist in agricultural or cattle-herding work. As to the girls of this class of people, there are but few separate schools for village girls in existence. Any effort made in the direction of starting additional girls' schools in the villages would stimulate school attendance to a certain extent. The Grant-in-Aid Scheme is, of late years, operating beneficially in this respect, and the Government have made every effort to encourage the starting of girls' schools in the villages by grants of land for the purpose of erecting school houses. But much more remains to be done in this respect.
I do not think, however, the Government should at once step forward and start girls' schools in the villages in a hurry. I think the Grant-in-Aid Scheme is capable of doing the needful work gradually, and in course of time, when the lately proposed Girls' School in town is formed, the Head-mistress of that Central Girls' School might eventually organize any movement that may be found necessary on the part of the Government for the establishment of girls' schools in places neglected by private educationists.
c. As to the school attendance of the male children of Chinese poor in the Colony, there is but little needed in the way of a direct stimulus. Chinese parents, both in town and in the villages, are generally anxious to send their boys to school at least for a few years. What stands in the way, in their case, is what a School-attendance Officer could not remedy, viz., poverty and deficient school accommodation. Poverty is the principal cause that keeps large numbers of Chinese boys out of school, many parents being unable to afford the decent clothing which Chinese etiquette, even in the case of poor scholars, insists upon, or the periodical fees and presents which national custom allots to the teacher, or the desk which in almost all village schools must be supplied by the scholars. As regards school fees and furniture, the Government might, however, step in and do something to stimulate school attendance, by abolishing the fees now charged in the so-called Aided Schools, that is to say, by converting all the Aided Village Schools into Government Schools. The practical effect of this would be that the Government would charge itself with payment of full (instead of half) salary of the Village School Masters and provide the school room and school furniture in each case. This measure would make elementary education in the villages absolutely gratuitous, as it is in the elementary schools of the City of Victoria. I roughly estimate that, if the old furniture of the Government Central School, which the Government has already placed at the disposal of the Education Department for purposes of this sort, were applied to this end, the whole measure of making education in the villages gratuitous could be carried into effect at the beginning of the year 1890 by adding to the Estimates for 1890 the sum of $1224, viz., $1080 increase of salaries of 18 teachers and $144 rent of premises. I have always advocated the principle of making elementary education gratuitous and of charging adequate fees for the higher middle-class education, such as the Victoria College gives, and I would therefore but think it a consistent educational measure to make good the extra expenditure, incurred in making elementary education gratuitous throughout the Colony, by a corresponding increase of the fees charged in Victoria College.
d. A further much-needed and most powerful stimulus to school attendance, both in town and villages, would be furnished by enlarging and improving the accommodation hitherto provided in Government Schools. If large and airy houses were substituted for the present wretched and over-crowded Chinese hovels rented by the Government, the result would be a very largely increased attendance in school. I have pointed out in many annual reports that the supply of school accommodation is throughout the Colony far behind the demand, and it seems to me that if the Government is determined to urge the people to send their children to school, the Government must first of all be prepared to provide sufficient school accommodation for them. At present, with the exception of a few high-class schools similar to the Victoria College in character, every school in the Colony would be condemned, as dangerously over-crowded, by the Imperial Education Code (1886), which demands at least 80 cubic feet of internal space and 8 square feet of internal area for each unit of average attendance, and most of our schools would be so condemned even if the dimensions thus required were reduced by one half. Unless the Government is prepared to provide increased school accommodation throughout the Colony, the best efforts of a School-attendance Officer would be rendered comparatively nugatory. School accommodation is, however, not only costly but requires time to provide it. All that can be done, therefore, is to proceed with a reasonable amount of despatch to remedy, step by step, the most glaring defects in this respect, and to let the work of the School-attendance Officer keep pace with the increase of accommodation. Ten years ago, I recommended the erection of six school buildings, and the recommendation was approved of, but there were other more pressing needs of the Colony to be provided for first. But now, since the new buildings for the Victoria College are completed, the new school premises, approved of ten years ago, might be taken in hand, and the erection of these would most effectively forward the accomplishment of the aim desired by the Secretary of State.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
E. J. EITEL, PH. DR.,
Inspector of Schools.
Honourable F. STEWART, LL.D.,
Colonial Secretary,
118
4. In addition to the efforts which the Registrar General's Department, in one way or other, might make to stimulate attendance at school, I beg to submit that the following measures would also tend, in a subsidiary sense, to stimulate school attendance.
a. The greatest defaulters in the matter of school attendance are those Chinese girls in the Colony, who are purchased servants owned by Chinese families.
But 1 this subject of Chinese bond-servitude is an extremely delicate one, as it touches almost every well-to-do Chinese family in the Colony. I have in former years once or twice suggested registration of these girls, coupled with a mild form of moral pressure, that might be exercised by the Government, through the Registrar General or otherwise, to cause the owners of such girls to send them for a time to school. If it were possible to do anything by way of legislation in the direction of applying the root principle of the English Factory Acts to the system of Chinese domestic bond-servitude, so common in Hongkong, a most powerful stimulus would be provided to increase attendance in school."
b. The children of the Chinese poor, living in the smaller villages and hamlets of the Colony, constitute another class of defaulters in the matter of school attendance. ranking next in importance, though numerically of comparatively small significance. In the absence of a law waking attendance at school com- pulsory (which I do not advocate), this class of Chinese, mostly very poor people, keep their own children, and especially the girls, away from school to do the work of domestic servants in their respective families and also to assist in agriculturing or cattle-herding work. As to the girls of this class of people, there are but few separate schools for village girls in existence. Any effort made in the direction of starting additional girls schools in the villages would stimulate school attendance to a certain extent. The Grant-in-Aid Scheme is, of late years, operating beneficially in this respect, and the Government have made every effort to encourage the starting of girls schools in the villages by grants of land for the purpose of erecting school houses. But much more remains to be done in this respect.
I do not think however the Government should at once step forward and start girls schools in the villages in a hurry. I think the Grant-in-Aid Scheme is capable of doing the needful work gradually, and in course of time, when the lately proposed Girls School in town is formed, the Head-mistress of that Central Girls School might eventually organize any movement that may be found necessary on the part of the Government for the establishment of girls schools in places neglected by private educationists.
c. As to the school attendance of the male children of Chinese poor in the Colony, there is but little needed in the way of a direct stimulus. Chinese parents, both in town and in the villages, are generally anxious to send their boys to school at least for a few years. What stands in the way, in their case, is what a School- attendance Officer could not remedy, viz., poverty and deficient school accommo- dation. Poverty is the principal cause that keeps large numbers of Chinese boys cut of school, many parents being unable to afford the decent clothing which Chinese etiquette, even in the case of poor scholars, insists upon, or the periodical fees and presents which national custoin allots to the teacher, or the desk which in almost all village schools must be supplied by the scholars. As regards school fees and furniture, the Government might however step in and do something to stimulate school attendance, by abolishing the fees now charged in the so-called Aided Schools, that is to say, by converting all the Aided Village Schools into Government Schools. The practical effect of this would be that the Government would charge itself with payment of full (instead of half) salary of the Village School Masters and provide the school room and school furniture in each case. This measure would make elementary education in the villages absolutely gratuitous as it is in the elementary schools of the City of Victoria. I roughly estimate that, if the old furniture of the Government Central School, which the Government has already placed at the disposal of the Education Department for purposes of this sort, were applied to this end, the whole measure of making education in the villages gratuitous, could be carried into effect at the beginning of the year 1890 by adding to the Estimates for 1890 the sum of $1224, viz., $1080 increase of salaries of 18 teachers and $144 rent of premises. I have always advocated the principle of making elementary education gratuitous and of charging adequate fees for the higher middle-class education such as the Victoria College gives, and I would therefore but think it a consistent educational measure to make good the extra expenditure, incurred in making elementary education gratuitous throughout the Colony, by a corresponding increase of the fees charged in Victoria College.
d. A further much needed and most powerful stimulus to school attendance, both in town and villages, would be furnished by enlarging and improving the accommodation hitherto provided in Government Schools. School-houses were substituted for the present wretched and over-crowded Chinese If large and airy houses and hovels rented by the Government, the result would be a very largely increased attendance in school. I have pointed out in many annual reports that the supply of school accommodation is throughout the Colony far behind the demand, and it seems to me that if the Government is determined to urge the people to send their children to school, the Government must first of all be prepared to provide sufficient school accommodation for them. At present, with the ex- ception of a few high class schools similar to the Victoria College in character, every school in the Colony would be condemned, as dangerously over-crowded, by the Imperial Education Code (1886) which demands at least 80 cubic feet of internal space and 8 square feet of internal area for each unit of average attendance, and most of our schools would be so condemned even if the dimensions thus required were reduced by one half. Unless the Government is prepared to provide increased school accommodation throughout the Colony, the best efforts of a School- attendance Officer would be rendered comparatively nugatory. School accommo- dation is, however, not only costly but requires time to provide it. All that can
be done, therefore, is to proceed with a reasonable amount of despatch to remedy, step by step, the most glaring defects in this respect, and to let the work of the School-attendance Officer keep pace with the increase of accommodation. Ten years ago, I recommended the erection of six school buildings and the recommen- dation was approved of, but there were other more pressing needs of the Colony to be provided for first. But now, since the new buildings for the Victoria College are completed, the new school premises, approved of ten years ago, might be taken in hund and the erection of these would most effectively forward the accomplishment of the aim desired by the Secretary of State.
onourable F. STEWART, LL.D.,
Colonial Secretary,
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
E. J. EITEL, PH. DR.,
Inspector of Schools,
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