137
I deem it advisable to record his opinion which is as follows:—
" All the Veterinary Institutions under the various Provincial Governments have a different
system and teach up to different standards. This, it is in a way difficult to avoid, as the men are
turned out more or less for special purposes by the various Governments and some schools are
more advanced than others.
" It is practically impossible to compare the relative value of the men turned out of the differ-
ent schools at present, as in only two of them has a sufficient time elapsed to allow of any men
presenting themselves for the final examination.
" These two institutions vary so widely in their course of study, in the preliminary edu-
cation of the students, and in the fact that in one of them the course is in English and in the other
in Urdu, that no comparison can be drawn between them. Bombay has this year turned out no
less than 4 Europeans and Eurasians, and these men are naturally far superior as Veterinarians
than are graduates from other schools who have not the chances of obtaining knowledge by read-
ing English works, which these men possess. The Mahommedan, Hassenali, and the Hindu,
Subramani, were both very good men indeed. The President of the Board noted a very marked
improvement in the practical value of the students, and the same fact struck me. We have both
been on three Boards at Bombay, and the men this time surprised us in the way they went about
animals.
" I am in favour of making the examination at Bombay a little more searching, especially in
regard to making it necessary for a student to obtain 33 per cent. in both the practical and theoreti-
cal proportions of a subject; as it is at present, a man may fail in his practical part, but if he is well
up theoretically he may make sufficient marks in his paper to pull him through. Thus it may arise
that a man unable to take a pulse or to give a drench may pass. The Board agreed to my sug-
gestions in this matter, and it is hoped that the Bombay Government may sanction the change.
" Another thing I should like to see done away with is grace marks, which, in my opinion,
neutralize the examination; in any case I would have them reduced to 10 at most. I do not
know that it is altogether a good thing to have teachers on the Board of examination. It is not
done at any other of the schools, and it scarecely seems the thing.
"With regard to Lahore, I have no suggestions to make. The Institution is well managed, and
considering the educational standard of the students, they are wonderfully well taught. The low
standard of their preliminary examination is a great drawback, but notwithstanding this, they are
exceedingly useful men and handle animals well. They only profess to turn out Veterinary
Assistants at Lahore, and they do it very well indeed. Some of the men being exceedingly useful
and fit to take independent charge.
"At Ajmere the class of student is quite up to Lahore, and great credit is due to the staff for
the progress they have so far made with the men. I cannot give any opinion as to the practical
value of these men. as they have not sufficiently advanced in their studies to allow of this being
done.
" At Bengal, the same remarks apply. I have had no experience of the Bengali as a Veterina-
rian, but if the men are wanted for work in Bengal, it is necessary that Bengalis should be trained,
and the action of the Local Government seems a wise one in maintaining the Institution.
" I think it would be a good thing to base all the school examinations on the plan adopted by
Lahore, and to make the system of examinations uniform. I would do away with the written
examinations in Anatomy and Physiology and let the college staff conduct the first year's exami-
nation. It would perhaps be advisable to endeavour to get the various Provincial Governments to
allow a consultation between the Principals of the Veterinary schools, and to allow them to
arrange some common standard of education and plan of examination. I do not include Bombay
in this as there is no comparision between the standard of education there and at the other
schools."
I fully agree with his remarks as far as Bombay is concerned. The sys-
tem of marking is faulty; the giving of grace marks should be abolished, and
teachers should undoubtedly not be examiners. These points have been refer-
red to the Government of Bombay, and I hope to see them rectified before next
examination.
It has long been recognized that too great diversity exists in the teaching
and examinations of the various schools, and that some standard of education is
required. In order to gain this end, the Governments of Bengal, the Punjab,
and the Agent to the Governor General in. Rajputana, have been asked to allow
the Principals of the various schools to meet in conference to discuss the matter,
and at the same time they will be able to decide on the best text books to be
adopted for the different subjects taught at these Institutions.
Dispensaries.
348. Table N (page civ) will show the work done by these Institutions ;
they have been fully remarked on by the Assistant to the Inspector-General,
Civil Veterinary Department, vide page 118. The cost of these establishments
is shown in Table O, page cvii.
Work done by
subordinate Es-
tablishment.
349. But little advance has been made during the year in the appointment
of Veterinary subordinates to the various provinces. The scheme which is now
before the Government and on which much time and thought has been bestowed,