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tions of an economic nature for reorganisation. They consider that the lack of 2 settled policy is in measure due to the Government permitting this important Depart- ment to be administered by Acting Directors, who possibly have felt their responsibility to be limited, owing to the uncertainty of their tenure of office.

THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION.

3. The Commissioners hold strongly the view that the Director of Education should be chosen pre-eminently for his administrative ability and for his knowledge of Chinese, and not because his length of service in the Department as Head or Assistant Master in the schools gives him the position through seniority. The Director ought to be one having considerable standing in the eyes of the public, the Councils, and the Government. He should be above all schools, not of one. It is not to be expected that a master who has spent perhaps fifteen years in a common-room will, if promoted to the Directorship, be an unbiassed critic of his former colleagues. Nor is he likely to be free from prejudice against educational methods other than his own, or against the methods and organiszation of the denominational schools in the Colony, which must necessarily be governed according to the principles and financial circumstances of the religious denomination to which they belong. It is essential that the Director should be above all party, broad minded, a good administrator, and therefore a good disciplinarian.

4. Knowledge of Chinese is also in the opinion of the Commissioners essential. Without it the Director, in his final decisions on educational and financial policy, is forced to rely entirely upon the reports of the Vernacular Inspectors concerning those schools in the Colony where Chinese is the sole medium of instruction, and where the staff has no knowledge of English. As the granting of Government subsidies is based on the Inspectors' reports, a Director of Education who has no proficiency in Chinese necessarily takes upon himself the responsibility of spending public money without a personal knowledge, either of the principles inculcated into the minds of the students, or of the methods of teaching in these schools. This is an undesirable condition of affairs especially in view of the fact that these students number some forty thousand; which number is likely to be greatly increased in the future.

INSPECTORS OF ENGLISH SCHOOLS.

5. What has been said in regard to the qualifications necessary for the Director of Education applies in very great measure to the Inspectors of English schools. It would appear that seniority is the sole qualification at present considered necessary for the holding of these positions, but in the view of the Commissioners, Inspectors should be able to command the respect of all members of the Department for their high qualifica- tions, their breadth of outlook, as well as for their variety of teaching experience. These positions should be filled by appointment from England. This will not involve any unjust curtailment of the prospects of the masters in the Department in view of the following facts, viz. that the positions of the Headmasters have of recent years been greatly enhanced as regards prestige and salaries; that in addition three senior master- ships with special salary have been created; and that all officers of the Department have- now the privilege of a through scale of salary, whereas until recently they were divided into Class I and Class II, which frequently resulted in an officer having to wait several years at the top of Class II until a vacancy occurred in Class I. There is a tendency for masters to look upon the office posts as their right; but the Commissioners have had no great evidence of the general eagerness of the masters to fit themselves for the higher- administrative posts by, for example, attaching themselves to the Board of Education while on home leave, or pursuing any course of studies during that period.

6. The Commissioners feel that, in view of the evidence placed before them as to the amount of actual inspecting work carried out during the year, there is no justification under conditions at present prevailing for two Inspectors of English schools. Accord- ing to the Report of the Director of Education for the year 1929 all English-teaching schools, both Government and non-Government, were "visited" at least once during the year. They are not satisfied that such visits represent in all cases thorough inspections, as from the evidence before them it would seem that the greater part of the time of these Inspectors of English Schools is taken up with office work." The

The Commissioners consider that the employment of such officers at a maximum rate of £1,300 per annum to do office work is totally uncalled for. They recommend that the Director of Educa-

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