173
No. 10
92
HONGKONG.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE HEAD MASTER OF THE VICTORIA COLLEGE FOR 1891,
Laid before the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Governor, on the 14th March, 1892.
No. 19.
VICTORIA COLLEGE, HONGKONG, 16th February, 1892,
SIR, I have the honour to forward the Annual Report on Victoria College for the year 1891. 1. The total number of boys on the Roll of the College for the year was 1108. As 712 names were on the Roll in January, nearly 400 boys (including re-admissions) were admitted in the course of the year. Of these, 269 were admitted after the Chinese New Year holidays; 39 after Tsing Ming; 57 after Mid-summer, together with 31 at various times. The number of school days is somewhat less than in 1890, the deficiency being chiefly accounted for, by the fact that three Easter holidays did not coincide with the Tsing Ming holidays, and that so many Chinese festivals did not happen to fall on Sundays.
2. The following tables will illustrate the condition of the College during the last five years :—
Average
1887,
1888,
1889,
1890,
1891,
1887,
1888,
1889,
1890,
1891,
YEAR.
Total Number of
Scholars.
Number of
Monthly Enrolment.
School days.
Maximum.
Minimum.
Daily Attendance.
601
234
525
417
449
634
229
536
384
467
919
233
789
466
597
1,075
236
890
683
758
1,108
231
932
712
759
Number of
Percentage
YEAR.
School Boys Examined.
of Passes.
School Fees.
Actual Nett
Expenditure.
Average Expense of each
Scholar per
Average Daily Attendance.
384
97.65
5,547.00
11,872.70
26.40
445
94.15
6,899.00
12,384.14
26.48
676
95.41
9,338.00
15,018.20
25.11
692
89.45
11,912.50
19,222.46
25.34
709
90.26
12,257.77
18,158.60
23.92
3. ATTENDANCE.-In spite of the great anxiety, which the Chinese continue to evince for the admission of their boys into the College, there is strong statistical evidence for the belief that a large number desire only to make an experiment of the study of English. For example, of the 269 admitted at the Chinese New Year, 72 or more than one quarter had left within three months; while of the total number admitted in the year, no fewer than 27 boys were satisfied with an experience of less than 30 days, several not presenting themselves on more than four or five occasions. This must be attributed chiefly to the age of the students. Young men, of 17 years of age and upwards, find the discipline of an English College stricter, and the drudgery of elementary study more irksome than they anticipated; and they accordingly withdraw with more or less expedition.
4. LEAVE IN ADDITION TO HOLIDAYS.-We continue the old practice, of the past thirty years, of recognising Chinese social customs, and give leave to boys on the occasion of their own marriage, or to attend a brother's wedding, to celebrate a grandfather's sixty-first birthday, or to perform funeral rites, &c. I desire however to draw the attention of the public to the magnitude, to which this practice of leave-taking has attained, in the hope that Chinese parents will protect this indulgence from abuse. In the past year, without reckoning sick leave, 20 boys had each leave for one month, 33 for three weeks, 60 for a fortnight, and 72 for one week. It should also be noted that 90 such applications were granted in the last three months of the year; which period, while it is the most important for preparation for the Annual Examination, appears to be specially favoured for Chinese ceremonies.
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