685948-1879-Education-Annual-Report- — Page 9

THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 2ND APRIL, 1879.

fixed principles, it is high time to alter those rules and make them stricter throughout. If this is done, there will then be no reason to reduce the value of passes which otherwise would seem far too high for the requirements of schools giving vernacular teaching only.

There have been many complaints in the course of the year on the part of managers of higher schools, giving not merely vernacular teaching,

but a European Education with or without Chi- nese teaching in addition, as to the comparatively

small value of passes in such expensive schools where English is taught in houses the rental of which is very high, and where the teaching

power has to be procured from England at great

cost. There is certainly a great disproportion in the value of passes allotted to ordinary vernacular and to high class English schools, which might well be remedied. The whole Grant-in-aid

scheme, introduced but as a tentative measure, requires revision also with a view to enable those Protestant and Roman Catholic schools of the Colony which at present find themselves prevent- ed partaking of the benefits of this, in its leading principles, excellent scheme. One great objection is the requirement of 200 daily attendances of 4 hours each at secular instruction.

There are other objections to the Grant-in-aid system. The greatest in my own mind, and which I have never heard any one mention yet, is this, that hitherto the Grant-in-aid system has entirely failed to gain for itself the appreciation of the native community. I know of 58 schools kept and paid by Chinese residents, and if we add the night schools for English teaching, the number of schools, all secular school ept by the Chinese community will scarcely befund fall short of a Nevertheless there is not one such hundred.

school, managed by Chinese, under the Grant-in- aid scheme. The reason is not that the Chinese object to take the money of the Government, nor would they object to take the money on the basis

of a strict examination by competent examiners at the end of the year. What they object to is the amount of official interference the scheme implies and the complicated set of conditions by which it is hedged in. A scheme like the Inter-

mediate Education Act (Ireland) for 1878, which is also based on the principle of payment for results in secular teaching, but has none of the officious meddlesomeness of the Hongkong

scheme, would be far more likely, in my opinion,

to gain the sympathy of all classes of the com- munity and stimulate education with true im- partiality and genuine liberality by enlisting under its banner in harmonious emulation the

now divided camps of secular and religious edu-

cationists of the Colony, the native as well as the foreign schools on the whole island.

I have the honour to be,

Sir,

Your most obedient Servant,

The Honourable W. H. MARSH,

Colonial Secretary,

Fc., &c., &c.

E. J. EITEL.

Acting Inspector of Schools.

多文

點鐘之久

此意

易

有也

165

人

歲

教

嘖

使英去

則不用減少 歲嘖有繁言似嫌獎賞之薄自其書 照歐洲教法增以教習華文者該馆師去 若如是而行 輔翼義學中有上等書館不但教習華文乃 獎賞甄別輔翼館之式 端爲其論而其中至大之端乃 照敝監院意見又未嘗聞人

說及者卽此獎賞輔翼館之圖未得本港華民知其貴重照做監院所知民問書館不下五十

獎賞之項否

文而不教英

欸只爲教華 原立甄別輔翼義學法初欲試驗耳兹有 者所最不悅之事乃限定每學童在一年之 享此極妙之益者亦來同享焉彼咻咻不已

之處故或可將甄別獎賞之法稍爲變易也

英 此上等之書館受獎賞與尋常只教華文之 則該獎賞之 書館受獎賞其法一律無異似此實有未合 入此獎賞之法查其故非 幟下合爲一營相和鼓舞 間須讀教門外之書二百日而每日又要四 此可比高壇樹幟使 互相對敵格致教門之二營卽本港英民華民一切書館可以同在 別意欲使天主教耶穌教二教之書館現未 七十六年埃蘭國有中等書館之教例或是體貼甄別獎賞格致之法且無香港之法度管轄 人教師教習英文而言彼實頗多費用而使 八間若加以夜館教習英文者及教格致之學者常有百間之數但書館若此之多亦無一間 之難此式或可合香港英民華民之心如此之法斷無偏視實以厚心鼓舞教訓學童之事因

朱蒙國家之恩賞亦非不悅

* 音之人甄別其

徒所不悅者乃此式内包括官衙尅核事宜太多及許多瑣脣

—此式也於一千八百

文者實是太