383
29
588
28
MATERIALS FOR A HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN HONGKONG.
level of the other Government Schools which remained, as purely clementary Chinese Schools, to act as foeders to the Central School as they had formerly supplied scholars for St. Paul's College, Children of residents were to be admitted into the Central School free of charge, outsiders only were to pay fees. All newly appointed teachers of the Central School were to constitute a definite lower class, and promotion to a higher grade of rank and pay was to be exclusively the reward of erit. All communications be- tween the staff and the Board were to pass through the hands of the Headmaster who was to frame rules for the conduct of the teachers. In accordance with this last Re- gulation, Dr. Stewart, at the request of the Board, drafted Regulations for the better administration of the Government Schools (outside the Central School),' which were amended by the Board on 17th November, 1862, and published in Chinese translation. These Regulations fixed the school-houre in the outside Schools at 72 hours a day, with 4 hours for the study of the Bible on Sun- days when desired by the parents of at least six scholars. Loud bawling at Chi- nese reading was (to the astonishment of the Chinese) forbidden.
In their report for the year 1832, the Board state that, by the absorption of 4 Schools in the formation of the Central School, the number of Schools under their superintendence was reduced to 16, shewing an enrolment of 889 scholars among whom there were 34 girls. The report points out the low moral principle and careless indolence of most of the native School-masters and the difficulty Dr. Stewart had, in the absence of an English Assistant-Master, to give the Schools an effective superintendence. For this reason the Board resolved to discontinue for the present the Schools at Saiwan, Shan- kiwan, Shekó and Little Hongkong and to hand over the school-houses in those places to the respective village communities to con- tinue the Schools under their own direction
(with the aid, later on, of a small monthly
grant from the Government) as Aided Schools.
1863. Mr. Fryer having left for Shang- bai, St. Paul's College School, with an at- tendance of 42 boys, was, during the year 1863, under the tuition of Mr. S. A. Reeve, who reported that he had adopted the monitorial system. The cost of the School was $2,400. The Diocesan Native Training School, under Miss Eaton, which, in autumn 1863, was moved into the newly-erected building on Bonham Road, had an at- tendance of 31 girls (ali boarders) and cost $3,000. Miss Magrath's School, in Mosque Gardens, was attended by 22 children (of whom 17 were girls), cost $1,380. Miss Baxter's Schools included, this year, four separate institutions, viz., s Eurasian Board- ing School in Mosque Terrace and another Eurasian Boarding School in Staunton Street, (the European staff of these Schools consisting of Mrs. Talbot and Miss de la Cour, and the boarders including 15 boys and 33 girls), a Chinese Boarding School in José's Lane (Chung-wan) under a Chinese matron with 20 girls, and a Chinese Day School in William Street (Wantsai) under a Chinese teacher and attended by 23 children (16 of whom were girls). The latter two Schools cost Miss Baxter $1,050, but the expenses of the Boarding Schools in Staun- ton Street and Mosque Terrace are not recorded. The London Missionary Society eunducted, in the year 1863, three Schools, riz. a Chinese Mixed School, taught by Mrs. Kwan Tai-shi and attended by 6 boys and 4 girls, costing $84, & Boys School in Taipingshan where Mr. Ho Yuk-ts'ün taught 30 Chinese boys at a cost of $240 and an- other Boys School at Wantsai with 25 bays under Mr. Leung Cho-tong, costing $144. The Berlin Foundling House School, under Miss Heidsiek and a Chinese teacher, now numbered 1 girls under instruction.
Coming now to the Roman Catholic Schools of the year 1863, we find Mr. Row- land, assisted by Mr. T. Terry, conducted an English Boys School, attended by 32
MATERIALS FOR A HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN HONGKONG.
boys, at a cost (to the Propagation Society) of $720, and a Portuguese School (reported as under Mr. Rowland's tuition) of 20 boys, at a cost of $192, whilst Mr. V. Pereira taught another Portuguese Seiwol, attended by 30 boys, at an expense of $720 and Mr. Chung Bin-lan & Chinese School of 30 boys at a cost of $144. The foregoing 4 Schools were all located in Wellington Street. The same Society continued also its School in Spring Gardens, attended by 48 boys under Mr. Yung Tim, costing $206, and the Aber- deen School in which 20 Chinese boys were under instruction at a cost of $144. The Seminary in Pottinger Street is again re- ported as under the tuition of Fathers T. Raimondi, G. Favini and G. Origo and numbering 10 students, the expenses being $600. The Freneb Ecclesiastical School at Sookonpoo was under the tuition of Père J. Jaquemin, and attended by 22 students (ex- penses not recorded). A new School was opened during this year under the name Westpoint Chinese Day School,' under the tuition of Mr. Cha Hin. It was attended by 32 Chinese boys and cost $144. This was probably the germ from which later on the Westpoint Reformatory sprang up.
No School is reported, for the year 1863, as under the direction of the French Sisters,
who would seem to have closed their two
Chinese Day Schools. But the Italian Sis- ters continued their three Girls Schools in Caine Roud for English, Portuguese and Chinese children, having altogether 120 girls under instruction, at an expense of $3,000. They continued also their Chinese School at Spring Gardens but transformed it into an Orphanage, where they bad 30 girls under instruction, at a cost of $720.
The Board of Education in charge of the Government Schools consisted, at the be- ginning of the year 1863, of the Hoo. (subsequently Sir) John Smale, the Hon. W. H. Rennie, Mr. J. J. Mackenzie, Rev. Dr. Legge, Dr. Kane and Mr. J. C. Power (Secretary)-all staunch secularists. Scripture portions (in Chinese only) con-
Tet
tinued to be used as school-books both in the Central Behool and in the outside Schools. At the beginning of the year the Board had a little squabble with the Colo- nial Secretary. They had sent in a notice of reprimand of the Master of the Aided School at Sheko for publication in the Chinese issue of the Government Gazette, and the Colonial Secretary had exercised his discretion in excluding the notice from publication. Thereupon the Board coolly informed the Colonial Secretary that they had unanimously resolved that, so long aa the privilege of inserting notices in the Chinese Gazette is conceded to the Board, the Board alone are responsible for the effect produced by them. No doubt Dr. Stewart, who had quite lately (16th Decem- ber, 1862) been authorized by the Govern ment to sign all vouchers of educational expenditure as Head of the Education De- partment,' as well as others, foresaw already that the Board of Education would not be of long duration,
The point which Mr. Mackenzie's Memo- randum had left unsettled, viz. the stand- ard test to be fixed for admission to the two branches of the Central School, was settled by a minute which Dr. Legge prepared and which the Board approved on 17th Febru- ary, 1863,
In this Minute primary in- struction is defined to mean instruction in
the
字經千字文幼學詩
and
Boys were to pass a viva voce examination in those books before they could be admitted into the Central School. As to those boys in the Central School, who had not yet passed into the English division, they were to study the 中庸論語 and and only by passing a viva voce examination in these books could they enter the English division of the School. The boys in the English division were to study the
五經:古文文章 Rod 史記
The Chinese examinations should be ona- ducted by a Committee consisting of the Chinese teachers of the highest gradation, under the superintendence of the Head-
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.