Sessional_Paper_1893 — Page 359

HONGKONG.

355

No.

23

03

THE EDUCATIONAL REPORT FOR 1892.

Laid before the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Governor, on the 19th June, 1893.

No. 37.

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT,

HONGKONG, 6th May, 1893.

SIR,-I have the honour to forward to you the Annual Report on Education for the year 1892. 2. General EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS.-The total number of Educational Institutions of all descriptions, known to have been at work in the Colony of Hongkong during the year 1892, amounts to 229 Schools with a grand total of 10,940 scholars, constituting an increase, as compared with the preceding year, of 14 Schools and 821 scholars. More than three-fourths of the whole number of scholars under instruction in the Colony attend Schools under the supervision of the Education Depart- ment, viz., 130 Schools with 8,277 scholars. The remainder, viz., 99 Schools with 2,663 scholars, consists, with the exception of the Police School (with 371 scholars) and the Roman Catholic Reform- atory (with 75 scholars), of Private Schools, entirely independent of Government supervision and receiving no aid from public funds unless it be that a few of them (as Charitable Institutions) are exempt from payment of rates and taxes.

3. GENERAL STATISTICS OF SCHOOLS UNDER THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT.-The total number of Schools, subject to supervision and examination on the part of the Education Department, amounted, in the year 1892, to 130 as compared with 80 Schools in the year 1882 and with 30 Schools in the year 1872.

The total number of scholars enrolled in this same class of Schools during the

year 1892 amounted to 8,277 as compared with 5,182 scholars in the year 1882 and 1,480 scholars in the year 1872. In other words, there has been an increase of 50 Schools and 3,702 scholars during the ten years from 1872 to 1882 and a like increase of 50 Schools and 3,095 scholars during the ten years from 1882 to 1892.

4. PROGRESS DURING THE LAST THREE YEARS.-Comparing the statistics of Schools under the Education Departinent with regard to individuál years, it appears that the number of Schools rose from 112, in the year 1890, to 117 Schools in the year 1891 and 130 Schools in 1892, while the number of scholars under instruction in these same Schools rose from 7,170, in the year 1890, to 7,672 scholars in the year 1891 and 8,277 scholars in the year 1892. There has been thus a steady annual increase observable during the last three years, progressing from an increase of 63 scholars in the year 1890, to an increase of 502, scholars in the year 1891 and an increase of 605 scholars in the year 1892.

5. COMPARATIVE STATISTICS OF GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS AND VOLUNTARY SCHOOLS.-The Schools under the general supervision of the Education Department may be divided into Government Schools and Voluntary Schools. Under the term Government Schools are included all Schools established and maintained by the Government. Under the term Voluntary Schools are included all those Public Schools, established and maintained by private educationists, which have been voluntarily placed by their respective Managers under the provisions of the Grant-in-Aid Scheme (established in the year 1873 and revised in 1879 and 1883) and consequently under inspection and examination by the Inspector of Schools. In the case of the Government Schools all expenses are provided by the Govern- ment, and the salaries of the teachers, who are members of the Civil Service or Government employees entitled to pension, are paid irrespective of results ascertained by examination. In the case of the Voluntary Schools, the respective Managers provide all expenses but annually receive from the Govern- ment a Grant-in-Aid the amount of which depends, in the case of each School, on the definite results ascertained by an annual examination of each individual scholar, and the paid teachers receive one- fourth of that Grant as a personal reward of their tuitional effectiveness. These two classes of Schools are further characterized by the fact that the Government Schools, as above defined, are virtually secular Schools whilst the aforementioned Voluntary Schools are all Christian (either Protestant or Catholic) Institutions. Referring now to the 8,277 scholars under instruction in the year 1892 in 130 Schools under the supervision of the Education Department, there were as many as 5,655 of these scholars attending 95 Voluntary Schools where they received a religious (Christian) education, whilst 2,622 scholars attended Government Schools receiving a secular education. The subjoined Table exhibits the comparative growth of both classes of Schools since the starting of the Grant-in-Aid Scheme of 1873, which was revised in 1879 and 1883.