667549-1886-Educational-Annual-Report-1885- — Page 1

SUPPLEMENT

To the HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE of 19th June, 1886.

GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION.-No. 233.

The following Annual Reports on Education in Hongkong, for the year 1885, which were laid before the Legislative Council on the 14th ultimo, are published for general information.

By Command,

Colonial Secretary's Office, Hongkong, 19th June, 1886.

(1.)

Report by the Inspector of Schools.

FREDERICK Stewart,

Acting Colonial Secretary.

EDUCATION Department, HONGKONG, 25th February, 1886.

SIR,- I have the honour to forward herewith the Annual Report on Education for the 1885.

year

2. The total number of Schools, subject to supervision and annual examination by the Govern- ment, amounted, in the year 1885, to 90, as compared with 63 in 1880, and 39 in 1875. The total number of scholars enrolled in Schools subject to supervision and annual examination by the Govern- ment amounted, during the year 1885, to 5,833, as compared with 3,886 in 1880, and 2,606 in 1875. It appears, therefore, that there has been an increase of 51 Schools and 3,412 scholars during the last 10 years.

3. The number of Schools at work during the year 1885 was the same (90) as in 1884, but the attendance, instead of increasing as hitherto was generally the rule from year to year, fell off in 1885. In the year 1884 as many as 5,885 scholars were enrolled, but in 1885 only 5,833. This falling off, instead of increasing, of the attendances was caused by local disturbances which took place in October 1884, when about 10 per cent. of the Chinese children attending school were suddenly withdrawn and many of the children were removed from the Colony.

4. The above mentioned 90 Schools, which were supervised and examined by the Government during the year 1885, may be roughly divided into Governinent Schools (wholly or partially main- tained and controlled by the Government) and Mission Schools (subsidized by the Government on the basis of the Graut-in-Aid Scheme). The Government Schools, whilst abstaining from religious teaching in the Christian sense of the word, provide the moral-religious teaching of Confucianism, because it is inseparable from the teaching of the Chinese classical language, and, in the case of 6 Schools, add to it purely secular English teaching. The Mission Schools, whilst giving a religious and distinctly Christian education, are inspected and examined by the Government and receive annual grants, without any reference to specifically religious teaching, simply on the basis of the detailed results as exhibited by the examination of every individual scholar under the respective Standards fixed by the Grant-in-Aid Scheme. Strictly speaking, therefore, none of the Schools under the super- vision of the Government are absolutely secular Schools, though the Government Schools may be said to be non-Christian Schools, nor does the Government make any payment or give any grant directly