Reports on the State of National Education. Mr. E. Downing. Teachers in the new In July there were appointed four assistants to Miss Prendergast, Directress of Needlework. These assistants, one of whom is stationed in each province, visit schools daily, with a view to improve the method of instruction pursued in case of Needlework. occasionally give instructions on Saturdays to teachers assembled at certain centres from the neighbouring districts. They also Instruction of I have been present on several occasions at the instructions given by the sub-organisers of the various subjects, and I can testify that these instructions are very valuable, and that the amount of skill and zeal displayed is most praiseworthy. branches. Concluding remarks. I append some extracts from the General Reports of the Senior Inspectors bearing upon the above subject: Dr. ALEXANDER: "Three sub-organisers of Cookery and Laundry instruction have been at work in the circuit since October last one in Cork City, another in Skibbereen, and the third in Newcastle West. The classes have been most successful, owing largely to the whole-hearted manner in which the sub-organisers discharged their duties. The members of the classes, on their part, took a deep interest in their work, and lost no opportunity of benefiting by the instruction afforded them. "I may add that several classes of teachers have been formed in the circuit for instruction in Hand-and-Eye Training and Drawing. These classes meet every fortnight." Dr. SKEFFINGTON : "The teachers displayed much eagerness to avail of the courses of lectures given in Dublin on Hand-and-Eye Training, and subsequently in Science. The courses in Cookery, &c., are also anxiously looked for by the managers about Waterford, New Ross, and Dungarvan, which towns are suitable centres for this district. "The Vocal Music class for teachers held at New Ross was well attended, though in severe weather, and was most useful and successful, the teachers having benefited much by it. At present two classes in Hand-and-Eye Training are being held at Waterford. Teachers even at great distances have applied to attend these classes." Concluding Remarks. The other matters in which important changes have been made are: (1) the mode of paying teachers; (2), the system of inspection, and (3), office regulations. It is premature to report on the effects of these changes, which, indeed, are not yet completed, and, therefore, I shall conclude with a few brief observations. Whatever stimulus to exertion of any kind was afforded by the system of Results payment is practically withdrawn; and the substitute for it is a triennial grant of increment of salary dependent on efficiency of school work. There will also be, I understand, a capitation payment of residual grant. With reference to the inspectors, there will be less examination and more inspection. The reports will necessarily be less definite as regards the quantity of work done; but, on the other hand, the quality of the work will receive more consideration, and certain features of school life which, in the past, under the pressure of the Results requirements, were practically ignored, are likely to receive due attention in future. National The increased freedom of action allowed to managers and teachers Reports on brings with it a proportionately increased responsibility for the success the State of of the new scheme. It seems to be most important that it should be Education. clearly understood that the Education Office and the inspectors will in future have much less to say than formerly in the direction of the details of school work. It seems to be also necessary to direct attention to the fact that the new subjects of the school programme cannot be successfully introduced into the school without considerable local expenditure, in addition to the funds granted for the purpose by the Government. I am, Gentlemen, Mr. E. Downing. The Secretaries, &c., &c. Your obedient servant, E. DOWNING. II.—GENERAL REPORT by Chief Inspector, Mr. A. PURSER. GENTLEMEN, As I have not been personally engaged in the inspection and Mr. A. Purser. examination of schools since my appointment as Chief of the Inspection Department in October, 1898, my knowledge of the present condition of National schools has been gained through conference with head and district inspectors (now re-classified and named senior and district inspectors), and through the medium of the reports furnished to the Education Department by these officers. 1871. Further on in this Report I shall place before the Commissioners extracts from the statements submitted by the senior inspectors of my division of the country as to the general state of education in their districts. Before doing so it may be useful to give a short summary of educational progress made in this country during the last thirty years-i.e., since my first connection with the Board. This Educational course seems the more suitable, as these thirty years almost exactly conditions in cover the period of the now expired "Results system." They include a brief period of about eight months before the Results examinations began, and similarly a brief period since they ceased. As the first period included a whole term*, I had inspected every school in my district (North Mayo and West Sligo, with Ballina as centre), and had become familiar with the then condition of primary education in that remote part of Connaught. That was in 1871. The latter part of the same year was taken up with the examination of schools under the newly introduced Results system-as many of the schools as possible being examined, including all those under probationary and third-class teachers, to whom alone on that occasion Result fees were paid, varying in amount from £12 to £3, so as to raise their salaries from £15, £18 or £24 to £27 for men, and from £14, £16, and £20 to £23 for women; but in many cases the amount earned failed to reach the amount that could have been paid, so that for the year The inspection year was then divided into three terms, during each of which the Inspector was required to visit and inspect every school in his district; a full examination of all the schools was looked for within the year. C Reports on the State of National 1871. many male and female teachers received a smaller sum than £27 and £23 respectively as salary from the State. During the first year of my service therefore the schools were practically unaffected by the newly-introduced Results system, and it may be interesting to give Mr. A. Purser. a brief sketch of the state of the schools in North-west Connaught Educational at that time. A very large proportion of the school-houses were conditions in wretched thatched cabins, badly lighted, badly and inadequately furnished, and kept in bad repair. The few exceptions to this were chiefly vested schools, which were however very rare in those days, and such of them as were not under Roman Catholic clerical management were not allowed to serve the purposes of their erection, as the children of that denomination were forbidden by their clergy to attend them. Bad houses are, I am informed, now quite the exception, and I am glad to say teachers have not to pay rent for their schools-a crying evil that was not uncommon thirty years ago, the recipient of the rent being in some cases the manager himself, who was the owner of the wretched hovel in which the teacher had to perform the duty of educating the poor children of the country. Teachers. Irregular attendance and low Teachers were for the most part very poorly qualified for their position, and indeed it was no wonder that persons of fair education declined to enter the Board's service, considering the miserable salaries paid, especially those of the lower grades to which I have already referred. Theoretically, of course, these salaries were only a grant in aid, but as every one knew they represented all, or very nearly all, that the unfortunate men and women received for their labour-many of them bestowing much painstaking and conscientious care in the discharge of their duties. In 1871 the total number of literary teachers in the Board's service was 9,428, of whom 5,976 were in third class or lower, and of these 1,578 (one-sixth of all the teachers in the service) were mere probationers, i.e., provisionally recognised teachers, very many of whom were quite incompetent, and failed at the next annual examination. In the matter of classification of its teachers, Mayo was certainly much below the average of Ireland, so its teachers presented a still more unfavourable picture than the above. The teachers in second class in all Ireland numbered 2,562, and in first class 890. About 3,500 were trained-most of them in a short course of five months; the rest were untrained. Quite as injurious to the schools as were the defects in the teachers' qualifications was the gross irregularity with which the children attended. To one who had practical acquaintance with the state of classification. affairs before 1872 it is evident that great progress in school attendance has been made. The pupils strolled into school pretty much all day. Rolls were not required to be called until 12 o'clock, and many teachers preferred running the risk of a reprimand to marking them so early, and thereby causing many a loiterer to be entered in the roll-book as an absentee. Even of those who came in time many did not remain the entire school day if they could find any excuse for getting early leave, such as having to go to a shop or market in the neighbouring village or town. They attended just as many, or rather as few, days as they pleased; nothing depended on it; the school and teachers had no inducements to offer, and it need scarcely be said that under such circumstances the pupils' progress in "learning" was not sufficiently rapid to inspire the majority with any great enthusiasm. The Report of the Royal Commission (1867) on Elementary Education in Ireland gives many statistics and details, which throw a melancholy light on the then state of affairs. To ga National back to 1852, we find that with a population of nearly 6 millions Reports on there were about 750,000 pupils on the rolls of the National schools the State of during at least some part of the year, and that about 280,000 were Education. in average daily attendance. In 1855 and 1856 the average attendance had fallen to 250,000, and it was not until 1861 that 280,000 Mr. A. Purser. was again reached. In 1865 it had mounted up to 320,000, and— apparently under the stimulus of the Royal Commission-further advanced to 350,000 in 1868, at which figure it practically remained until 1872-3. A return obtained by the Royal Commission showed that of these pupils only 253,000 had attended on 100 or more days within the year 1867. By 1871 the number on rolls during any part of the year had reached almost one million-and this number has never been exceeded by quite 100,000. The population in 1871 had fallen to less than 5,400,000, a decline since 1852 of nearly 1,000,000 persons. The above figures show that the state of education in Ireland was at that time in a lamentably low condition. A consideration of the classification of the pupils makes the picture still blacker. In 1861 only 6 2 per cent. of the pupils were in the senior classes, and even after ten years (in 1871) the proportion was only insignificantly higher, namely 7.9 per cent.; yet of the pupils found in attendance by the inspectors and examined, 12 per cent. were over thirteen years of age, and 42 per cent. were over ten years. At that time the Fifth class was the highest, and according to the Report of the Royal Commission we find that in the large County of Mayo, with a population of about a quarter of a million, there were only 15 pupils enrolled in Fifth Class, the average attendance being 11 9. Nor was this exceptional, for of the pupils enrolled in Fifth Class Leitrim had only twenty-four, Louth thirteen, Longford ten, Fermanagh fifteen, even though pupils twenty years of age and upwards were on rolls. These figures show that the pupils' attendance and classification Low were bad. A glance at the Commissioners' Report for 1870 will proficiency. prove that the state of the pupils' general proficiency was equally bad, as indeed might naturally be expected. The following table shows in round numbers how many children were examined by the Inspectors in each of the ordinary subjects of the school programme, and how many they were able to pass : Vocal Music was taught in 695 schools, and Drawing in 268. Reports on the State of National Education. I have dwelt thus long on this matter because it will be impossible to judge fairly of the progress since made without having a clear conception of the condition of education before 1872-a condition that is probably unknown to, or unrealised by, most of those who are inteMr. A. Purser. rested in, or concerned with, education at the present time, or who have forgotten how extremely backward we were before the "seventies." Comparison, 1870 and 1899. Staff. To sum up, we had then a population of about 5 millions; we had about 1,000,000 children whose names appeared on the rolls during at least some part of the year; we had an average daily attendance of about 350,000 pupils, of whom probably at most 280,000 attended 100 days in the year; teachers so badly paid that suitable persons in sufficient number could not be attracted to the service, or if attracted, could not be induced to remain in it; the result of these last two circumstances being that children received entirely inadequate instruction, were miserably backward in their studies, and in consequence remained year after year stagnating in the same classes. One of the Senior Inspectors in his report draws attention to this last point as the most serious blot on the system prior to the introduction of payment by results." " I have already referred to the improvement in the school-houses in North-west Connaught. The improvement is general, and though the more recently-built houses still leave much to be desired, they are in almost every way superior to the class of house that prevailed before the "seventies." The improvement in the teachers is at least equally marked, as might be expected from the superior inducements held out by higher scales of salaries that have since been in force, and from the greater facilities offered for reaching the higher grades of classification. The following table shows the classification of the teachers at the two periods: Of the teachers noted as trained in 1870 (and indeed for twelve years later), the majority spent only five months in the one training college recognised at that time. Now there are five other training colleges, besides one in course of erection, and most of the students spend nearly two years in these establishments, fitting themselves for the efficient discharge of their responsible and onerous duties. Many |