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EXAMINATIONS,
There are four examinations for the degree of B.A.
(a) Intermediate Examination, Part I (b) Intermediate Examination, Part II. (c) Final Examination, Part I.
(d) Final Examination, Part II.
The details of the number of candidates, of passes and of failures, are given below:-
Intermediate Examination, Part I.-33 candidates, II passed, II failed, and II were referred in one subject. Percentage of passes 33.3.
Intermediate Examination, Part II-26 candidates, 9 passed, 6 failed, and I were referred in one subject. Percentage of passes 34.6.
Final Examination, Part I.-25 candidates, 20 passed, and 5 failed. Percentage of passes 80.
Final Examination, Part II.-13 candidates, 10 passed, and 3 failed. Percentage of passes 76.9.
DEVELOPMENT.
It is gratifying to report that during the year under review an attempt was made to make good the deficiencies in staff indicated in previous reports. At the request of the Vice- Chancellor the Board of the Faculty of Arts pointed out that the most pressing needs of the Faculty were the appointment of a Reader in Philosophy and of a Lecturer in Education, and further added that provision should be made for the extension of the teaching of Geography, so that that subject could be taken for at least two years in certain groups of study. Recently the appointment of a Lecturer in Mathematics has been added to the list of the most urgent needs of the Faculty. That argu- ments in favour of these various appointments are still being advanced in the Departmestal Reports is due to the fact that the whole scheme of development which was made possible by the University receiving a portion of the Boxer Indemnity Fund, has been held up, and is to be considered together with any
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claims which may be made by the Chinese Department, when the reorganisation of that Department is completed. There is now every indication that this will be done at an early date, and it is to be hoped that the University authorities will find it possible to carry out all the recommendations of the Faculty, for these were given as a minimum only after very careful con- sideration, and do not so much represent development as neces- sary provision for commitments which have long existed within the Faculty.
At the commencement of the second term of 1931, the teaching of Geography was taken over by Rev. Fr. Finn, s.J., and this, although only a part-time appointment, is a distinct improvement on the various temporary arrangements which have been made use of for the teaching of this subject in past years. With one person permanently in charge of Geography a depart- ment can be successfully built up and extension to a second year or even to a full degree course in that subject easily made. This, it will be noted, is one of the urgent needs set out above and one which has been voiced on several occasions.
The
whole question of the teaching of Chinese in the University has recently been surveyed by a Sub-Committee of the Court. This Committee has not yet issued its report but an early publication is expected.
The new building presented by Mr. Tang Chi Ngong was officially opened by His Excellency the Chancellor of the University in September 1931, and all the teaching of Chinese in the University and in the School of Chinese Studies is now done in this building. In addition, adequate accommodation has been found in it for the Departments of Education, Geo- graphy, and History, thus relieving the congestion in the main building. The construction of the Chinese Library, which was made possible through the generosity of the late Mr. Fung Ping Shan, is now wtil under way and it should be ready for occupa- tion towards the end of 1932.
Mr. N. H. France, M.A. arrived in the Colony early in the second term to take up the Readership in History made vacant by the resignation of Mr. H. G. Hughes, M.A.
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W. FAID,
Dean, Faculty of Arts.
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