101. No students may be presented for examination except such as, at the date of their admission, satisfied article 93, and have been resident throughout the whole year. No such students may be left out. 102. The students have a different examination according as they are males or females or are at the end of the first or second year of residence. 103. The first year's syllabus for females includes special subjects for the teachers of infants. Candidates who pass in these subjects, and complete their probation (article 51) in schools for infants, receive special mention thereof (stamps) on their certificates. 104. Students who pass successfully through two years of training receive special mention thereof (stamp) on their certificates. 105. Students who fall into the fourth division at the end of the first year's residence are required to take up the first year's subjects again at the end of their second year. EVENING-SCHOLARS. 106. The managers of any school to which annual inspection has already been promised (article 11) may apply, in writing, before the 1st February, to the inspector of the district for an examination of their evening-scholars, (article 22.) 107. Only one examination is held per annum of evening-scholars in the same school, and it may be held on any day, between the 1st March and 30th April, that may be arranged with the inspector, provided that the school has met the required number of times (article 22) since the date of the last examination. 108. If the evening-school is connected with a day-school in receipt of annual grants, the grant for the examination of the evening-scholars is paid as part of the next annual grant to the whole school, (article 13.) 109. If the evening-school is not connected with a day-school in receipt of annual grants, the grant is paid as soon as possible after the 30th April, at which date, in such cases, the evening-school year is considered to end. 110. The inspector may make arrangements for the examination, at some convenient center, of the evening-scholars of several schools. 111. A separate examination will not be held for any school unless twenty scholars are to be presented; they can be examined only at a collective examination, (article 110,) or at the same time with the day-scholars. 112. The inspector may either hold the examination himself, or intrust it to an assistant approved by the department. REVISION OF THE CODE. 113. The education-department, as occasion requires, may cancel or modify articles of the code, or may establish new articles, but may not take any action thereon until the same shall have been submitted to Parliament, and shall bave lain on the table of both houses within one calendar-month from the meeting of Parliament. Statistics of elementary schools in England and Wales-Contined. At the census of 1861, a return was procured of the number of children from 5 to 15 years of age attending school; but, partly from the working of the act itself, partly, also, from the directions in the householders' schedule, the return procured was found to give comparatively little information from which practical results could be deduced. All this was amended in 1871, the act being drawn up so as to bring out the points which were embodied in the Scottish education-commissioners' report of 1867. SCOTTISH EDUCATION-COMMISSIONERS' REMARKS REGARDING AGE OF CHILDREN AT TENDING SCHOOL. The commissioners remark: "Any attempt at school-legislation must fail unless legislators take into account the period of life which can be spared for educational purposes. From these facts it appears that in Scotland education does not begin much earlier than 6 years. It has already been observed that comparatively few children remain at school after 12 years of age, and the question arises whether school-attendance can be prolonged beyond this period. It may be assumed, therefore, that a large majority of the scholars attend school for some time between the ages of 6 and 12." INQUIRY LIMITED TO CHILDREN BETWEEN FIVE AND THIRTEEN YEARS OF AGE. The census-act of 1871, therefore, very properly directed that when the householder filled up the other particulars required by the act, he should also state whether any, and how many, of such persons, being of the age from 5 to 13 years, were in regular attendance at school, or were in the receipt of education at home under tutors and governesses.' As the instructions as to ages printed in the householders' schedules were to the effect that the age should be entered as at last birthday, every child was entered in the education-column whose age was above 5 years last birthday, up to and including all those who were entered as 12 years of age last birthday. This excluded all those who had completed their thirteenth year. From the circumstances of the ages of children entered in the education-column being different from those required by the list of 1861, no comparison is possible between the education-returns of 1861 and 1871." NUMBER OF CHILDREN FIVE TO THIRTEEN YEARS OF AGE RECEIVING EDUCATION, AND PROPORTION TO POPULATION. "When the census was taken in 1871, it was found that in Scotland, out of a total population of 3,360,818 persons, 494,860 children of from 5 to 13 years of age were in receipt of education. This gives what may be considered the high proportion of 14.72 per cent. of the population in the receipt of education even at these early years. We cannot yet tell the total number of persons at all ages who are in the receipt of education; but in 1861 they amounted to 15.4 per cent. of the total population; and from the numbers above ascertained the total proportion of scholars in 1871 will probably be above that of 1861. The above numbers and proportions, therefore, for 1871, though not including any who are in receipt of the higher branches of education, may be favorably compared with the educational statistics of even the best-educated nation in Europe-the German empire. Thus, in the whole German empire, including all their schools, gymnasia, and universities, it was found that 15 per cent. of the population were in the receipt of education, rising to 17 per cent. in Brunswick, Saxony, Oldenburg, and the Saxe duchies, but falling to 12.6 per cent. in Bavaria, and to 12 per cent. in Mecklenburg. Taking it, therefore, for granted that the mere proportion of children in the receipt of education in Scotland is satisfactory, let us look at the proportion in the different counties, and see whether the conclusions to be drawn from them at all correspond with those arrived at in Germany." PROPORTION OF CHILDREN FIVE TO THIRTEEN YEARS OF AGE RECEIVING EDUCATION 'IN THE SEVERAL COUNTIES. "Of all the counties of Scotland, the insular county of Shetland had the lowest proportion of children in the receipt of education, viz, 12.03 per cent. Seven counties, (Lanark, Renfrew, Nairn, Dumbarton, Inverness, Ross and Cromarty, and Bute) had above 13 and under 14 per cent. of their children at the ages of 5 to 13 in the receipt of education. Six counties (Sutherland, Edinburgh, Forfar, Orkney, Selkirk, and Argyle,) had above 14 and under 15 per cent. of children in the receipt of education. Six counties (Wigtoun, Ayr, Perth, Peebles, Stirling, and Kinross) had above 15 and under 16 per cent. of children in the receipt of education. Eleven counties (Roxburgh, Caithness, Berwick, Kincardine, Haddington, Fife, Aberdeen, Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, Clackmannan, and Elgin) had above 16 and under 17 per cent. of children in the receipt of education. Two counties alone (Banff and Linlithgow) had above 17 per cent. of children at the ages specified in the receipt of education. "Unless we know something positive as to the religious denominations of the people, it would be vain to attempt to draw any positive conclusions from the above statistics. The educational statistics of the German empire and of the nations of Europe have clearly shown that just in proportion to the number of Protestants in the population is a greater proportion of the children in the receipt of education, and that that education is of a much higher class than that supplied to or by Roman Catholics; while in purely Roman Catholic countries, such as Austria and Italy, education is discouraged by the priesthood, is of the most elementary and imperfect description, and often little better than a teaching of the church's dogmas. Though we have not the means of showing it, seeing that the government did not insist on every one returning in the householders' schedule the name of the religious denomination to which he or she belonged, it cannot be doubted that religious sect has much to do even with the proportion of children in the receipt of education in Scotland." PROPORTION LOWEST WHERE ROMAN CATHOLICS MOST NUMEROUS. "Of our native population it is believed that the county of Inverness contains the highest proportion of Roman Catholics, and it certainly seems corroborative of the continental educational conclusions to find that it is one of the counties of Scotland which has the smallest proportion of children in the receipt of education. "But several of our counties contain a very large proportion of Roman Catholic Irish; and they also to a great extent corroborate the continental educational statistics. Thus, Lanark in 1861 had 14.5 per cent., Renfrew 14.7 per cent., and Dumbarton 11.9 per cent. of their populations composed of persons born in Ireland; and these are other three of the counties of Scotland which contain the smallest proportion of children in the receipt of education. We do not yet know the proportion of Irish in these counties for 1871, but it was probably larger than in 1861. "It is deeply to be regretted that we have not the means of tracing the influence of religious denominations in the various counties of Scotland. The most important question of the present day is the education of the rising generation; but here, when much light might have been thrown on it, by comparing the proportion of children in the receipt of education with that of the various religious denominations in each county, we can do no more than gather whatever information we may obtain from other Sources. Some light, however, may be thrown on this subject by taking the proportion of men and of women belonging to the different religious denominations who, when they were married, were able to sign their names in the marriage-register. The following table, prepared for the next report of the registrar-general on the marriages in Scotland, discloses a state of matters well worthy of the serious consideration of all thinking men." PROPORTION OF DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS ABLE TO SIGN THEIR NAMES IN THE MARRIAGE-REGISTERS. "By this table it appears that of persons married according to the rites of the Established Church, 7 per cent. of the men and 163 per cent. of the women, not being able to write their names, were obliged to sign by appending a mark. On the other hand, of the persons married according to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church, so few were able to write their names that 46 per cent. of the men and 16.7 per cent. of the women who married were obliged to sign the register by a mark. Few as the Episcopalians are in Scotland, it is seen that 9.7 per cent. of the men and 20.9 per cent. of the women, not being able to write, were obliged to sign by a mark; while of all the Protestant sects, the United Presbyterians showed the highest amount of elementary education in so far as this test can indicate such a fact, for only 3.8 per cent. of the inen and 11.8 per cent. of the women signed by a mark." The full details will be found in the following table: "To ascertain, however, the true proportion of children between certain ages who. are in the receipt of education, it is not sufficient to show what proportion they constitute of the total population, but what proportion of the children who are at these ages are actually in the receipt of education." The abstracts were sufficiently advanced to give the information as contained in the following tables: Total number of children from 5 to 13 years of age, aud the proportion of such in the receipt of education, 1871. Total population.. Total number of children 5 to 13 years of age. Percentage of children 5 to 13 years of age to total population. 3, 360, 018 629,235 18.72 494, 860 Percentage not in receipt of education. Percentage of children 5 to 13 years of age in receipt of education to total children at same ages.. 78.64 Percentage of children 5 to 13 years of age in receipt of education to total population.... WHETHER THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN HAS ADVANCED SINCE 1861. 21.36 14.72 "It is always of importance to ascertain whether we are advancing or retrograding in the matter of education. Unfortunately for strict comparison, the educational statistics of 1861 were taken up at different ages from those of 1871, including two years more of the life of the children, viz, from 5 to 15 years. They thus include the number of children from 13 to 15 years of age who were not included in the educational returns of the census of 1871. Still, though not rigidly comparable, they may be compared in a general way, and show in a very favorable light the educational statistics of 1871." Total population Educational statistics of Scotland, 1861. Total number of children 5 to 15 years of age.. Percentage of children 5 to 15 years of age to total population. Percentage of children 5 to 15 years of age in receipt of education to total of children at same ages... Percentage not in receipt of education. Percentage of children 5 to 15 years of age in receipt of education to total population.... 3,062,294 685, 912 22.40 439, 388 64.06 35.94 14.34 "When the number in receipt of education is compared with the number of children actually living at the same age, the comparison in favor of 1871 is still more satisfactory. In 1861, of the children between 5 and 15 years of age, only 64.06 per cent. were in the receipt of education, while 35.94 per cent. did not appear to be receiving any instruction. But in 1871, of the children between the ages of 5 and 13 years, 78.64 per cent. were in the receipt of education,, while only 21.36 appeared to be receiving no instruction." Proportion of children from 5 to 13 years of age in the several counties who were in the receipt of education. Established Church. 1870. 1871. 1872. Male. Female. Total. Male. Female. Total. Male. Female. Total. Free Church.. Episcopal Total. |
