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All the Schools are below establishment in the matter of local instructors, Singa- pore being most favourably placed, having four instructors and being ready to ap- point a foundryman with pattern making knowledge when available. It is probable that Penang will be brought up to establishment as the number of classes increases.
These instructors are found to be very satisfactory, all having held the post of foreman in some local undertaking. Most appear to be men of about forty and seem very keen and careful.
(4) CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS.
The reasons underlying the establishment of Trade Schools in the Straits Settle- ments and Federated Malay States are of extremely diverse natures, and it is remark- able that their establishment should in each case be the solution of the difficulties.
FEDERATED MALAY STATES SCHOOLS.
Kuala Lumpur:Until recent years the Malay, the local son of the soil, has been able to supply his wants by purely agricultural pursuits, the ranks of the motor me- chanics, fitters, carpenters and other trades being recruited from immigrant Chinese and Tamils. The policy of the Malay States is to give the Malay a chance to compete in the industrial field, and for this reason students are practically all Malays, chiefly recruited from country villages. All candidates must have completed Standard V of the Malay Schools, and the age of entry is about sixteen. No knowledge of English is required and there is no organisation for its systematic teaching.
Until this year no fees were charged, and a maintenance allowance of $10 per month was granted to each pupil, a hostel being provided near the school. All students are resident and their accommodation is assessed at $7 per month, leaving $3 for other expenses.
This year's entry is charged a fee of $3 per month; must pay for accommodation in the hostel; and provide overalls as required. The demand for places is as keen as
ever.
Kuala Lumpur School is most interesting as being the only school which has hitherto had much experience of placing students who have completed their course in jobs with engineering concerns. Up to date the position is :-
No. of Students who have completed course
No. of Students employed at trade
70
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a record by no means discreditable when the conditions in the Federated Malay States are considered, especially as several students not employed at their trade have missed chances through lack of English.
As a direct measure of the standard of skill attained, eight students have been engaged from time to time by the Royal Air Force Base, Singapore, at $2.40 per day. All have been highly satisfactory, and when a specialist in metalling steel liners was required, application for such a man was first made to Kuala Lumpur.
The workshop machinery is driven by a heavy oil engine which is run and main- tained by students, who carry out all running adjustments and repairs. Two boys run the engine for a week, and during this time they strip, inspect and re-erect it quite a big job. This side of the work has enabled many to qualify for the State Certificate of ability to take charge of engines up to 200 Horse Power and a number are employed at tin mines on this work.*
Owing to the depression there is likely to be some difficulty in placing boys pass- ing out this year, but a scheme is being propounded whereby they will pass out to the Central Workshops of the Federated Malay States Railway at Kuala Lumpur as im
provers.
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The Federated Malay States Railway has a five year system of trade apprenticeship and it will be interesting to compare the value of the "workshop" and "trade school" apprentice once the latter has settled down to the foreign atmosphere where "piece work bonus" and time saving are of equal importance to accuracy; where the auto- mobile part weighing a few ounces is replaced by a locomotive part weighing as many hundredweights; and where the size of the machines which he has to operate is many times increased.
IPOH.
The School at Ipoh is developing on much the same lines, but has the advantage that the Public Works Department has established a small factory for the repair of motor transport vehicles close to the school, all the labour being supplied by final year students. In addition to automobile work the School undertakes such work as repair of water meters, etc. As much Public Works Department work as possible is passed This close co- through the school, the money saved being credited to Revenue. operation with Public Works Department Workshops is a real asset to the school, as not only is the commercial atmosphere maintained, but boys passing out to Govern- ment workshops have already experience of official methods of control of work and costs. They also, in this way, get to know the type of plant which they will be called on to maintain after passing out from the school.
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS SCHOOLS.
The circumstances which called these schools into being were radically different from those from which the Federated Malay Schools arose.
Partly due to the depression, it had been observed that there was an increasing difficulty in ensuring that boys leaving the English Schools with Junior, or even Senior, Cambridge Certificates, should be able to find sufficiently lucrative employment; this gave rise to the fear that these English Schools would in the near future be producing educated boys for whom there would be no work, and whose very education would render them unsuitable for those manual jobs which are usually available.
In order to prevent the wastage which would arise from the unemployment of this material, it was decided to open Trade Schools which would provide a method of en- trance to industry free from the demoralising influences of Eastern apprenticeship. The Schools, by turning out educated mechanics of good personality, were also ex- pected to exercise an improving influence on the standard of work done in local garages and workshops. There is little doubt that this latter will be accomplished as these Trade School students, given a little experience of the rough and tumble of the com- mercial workshop, will be most useful employees in the better type of garage, or strong competitors should they decide to open a workshop of their own.
In this con- nection it is worth noting that there is one student in attendance at Penang who in- tends to open a modern garage on completion of his course.
The Straits Settlements Schools started with several initial advantages.
(1) The depression was less severely felt in the Straits Settlements than in
the Federated Malay States.
(2) They had the experience of the school at Kuala Lumpur on which to
draw.
(3) All candidates for admission speak reasonably good English.
As would be expected from the causes which gave rise to these Schools, the type of student is considerably higher than in the Federated Malay States. There is also no racial bar, and while the School at Singapore contains a large proportion of Chinese, this race supplies the majority of students at Penang. There is also a certain difference in policy of selection at these Schools, and while the Singapore School seems to set a higher standard for entrants than Penang, in effect the selection at Singapore takes
*Similar work is done at Ipoh and Singapore.
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