The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1884-08-28

children. The English, on the other
hand, is only taught to those able
to pay small fee per annum. Yet
with all this disadvantage the num-
Der of Government schools taught
in English has grown from II in OPP
Grafton on March 31st 1880 to A in
operation on the same date of the
current year-an increase of 80
schools in 4 years.
COsT
\ movement is now on foot to
still further increase this number by
making the English schools free. If
this is done it will increase the cost
to the nation to some extent, but if
the people will think the results will
justify the increased expenditure it
ought to be done.
The costs of schools have been
steadily increasing. From a careful
analysis of the figures supplied in
the Board of Educations report to
the Legislature of 1882, the cost to
the nation, per head, of the scholars
in uU the Government schools,
English & Hawaiian, could not have
been much less than Sl7.70 per
annum for 1881 and 1882. \ similar
analysis of the figures lSS3-Sl
shows the cost to have increased to
S1S.25 per head per annum, and if
the English schools are to be made
free this will be increased.
At present scholars attending
these schools pay fees amounting to
between $4,000 and Sl5, 900 per
annum. If the schools be made free
an addition of that amount must he
made TO the appropriation at least,
as that amount is now received and
used. And then again in all proba-
bility an increase of schools taught
in English would result in an in
creased attendance. This would
mean an extra appropriation to pay
for teachers and buildings required.
But there is no doubt that this will
have to be done. if not now, at least
in the immediate future. For at
present there are ia Hawaiian
schools with total of 2Sll pupils
attending, and of these there are
onl V 33 schools having an attendance
of 30 or over and none reach TO
over GO pupils; and if the cost of
these schools were fairly examined
and estimated it would be found i'm
mcnsely in excess of the value of
the work done in them.
DEFECTS.
At present our educational system
is ruled by Board, and as at pre-
sent constituted the members rarely
can find time from their other duties
to hold meetings for the transaction
of the educational business of the
country. The Board was constituted
as it is, we believe, to uphold the
principle of Ministerial control.
The principle is right, but could it
not be met by the appointment of
one Minister as President ex-ollicio,
and filling the other appointments
by men of educational reputation in
our community who also possess the
necessary executive ability to fit
them for Board work.
After the Board, and acting un-
der its instructions, come the Secre-
tary, the Inspector-General and the
School Agent. Each has his own
sphere of duties, but these are not
defined sharply enough from the
other, and the result is that there
are too many places from which
teachers may receive instructions.
The pay, position and promotion of
teachers are, at present, unequal in
their distribution, and the latter two
are too uncertain to render teachers
satisfied in their work. The are no
rules publicly known which can be
appealed to in cases of dispute.
The annual public examinations of
the pupils is at present very defec-
tive in method and unsatisfactory in
its results. Too much latitude is
given to individual idiosyncrasies
nn1 30 1;tt1.