The times., 1897-08-22
TURKISH GIRLS At SCHOOL
Woman'S Mental Progress a Mat
ter of Modern Thought.
cENTERs OF EDUCATION
Ladies' of the Sultan's Empire
Obliged to Study French-A Accord
ing to the Koran They should
Compare in knowledge Equally
With Man.

| DR.. William 7. Harris, Commissioner of
| Education, presents some Interesting facts
| concerning the educational status of women
| in the Ottoman empire.
The chief features of the organization
/! or Fundamental laws of Turkey are based
/ upon the Koran. According to it, "woni-
| ans education must be equal to mans ~
| This is from I he twenty second chapter and
| the thirty-third, thirty-fourth and thirty
| fifth verses From the beginning of Mo
| hanmeds reign there is frequent mention
OF we'll educated women, but il Is within
| the last twenty years that the subject of
| woi:an's progress has become Of interest
The Turkish schools for girls at Con-
| stantinople number 100, ranging from
| primary to normal, with 6,547 day schol-
ars, $40 boarding nupils and It's teachers.
| The studies ere Turkish language, his
tory and geography of the Ottoman eIn-
pie, arithmetic, drawing and piano, needle
work and embroidery. The norTaal school
has been established twenty five years,
and graduation therefrom entities schol-
ars 10 diploma permitting one to teach
In Turkish houses or in girls schools in
tie provinces.
The Greek schools for girls in Con
stantinople graduate pupils who have be.
come dlrectresses OF other Greek schools
in Turkey. The studies are the foreign
languages, geography mathematics, history,
art, vocal and instrumental music, drawing
and painting. The Greek schools have over
5000 students
The Armenion schools for girls in Con-
stantinople are supported 10y three com
mittees-the Armenian Catholic, the Ar
ian ps,t,n 4. p Dro
tant They have an attendance of about
2 900 pupils.
The schools of the Israelite Alliance have
an enroliment of over COO free students.
The centers Of education are at Constan-
tinople, Smyrna. salonica, tdrianople
ana Yanina The college curriculum
aims to be similar to that OF European ma
tions; the French tongue is compulsory
III the schools, the works of foreign authors
are stGdied under French and German
teachers in the higher elementary schools
The studies include zoology, mineralogy,
botany, cosmography, the elements of
anthropology and physics The body, too,
Is well trained by gymnastic exercises.
In Bulgaria there are about 45. 900 girls
at school, and IN point of education the
womenof Bulgaria are ON par with their
sisters in Thrace and Macedonia. In Ser
via there are about 10000 girls in at
tenGance at schools.
In RounlaDia there are women students
IL the universities at Bucharest and Jassy
IL 1894 the Roumanian minister Of public
instruction appointed woman To the
newly created position of professor OF Ger
man in the university at Bucharest.
Different from all this is the condition
- r.
though, 10 the Bureau of Education thar
many earnest reformers are endeavoring
10 overcome the obstacles To the elevation
OF women in that co untry. About ten years
ago commission was appointed to investi-
GATE the whole system OF education In In
dia. The subject Of the education of women
and the instruction OF Mohammedans re-
ceived especial attention. In British India
alone it IS estimated that only little over
L per cent of the girls of school age ever
attend school.
Statistics Of schools in 1893 showed
that there were woIoen's colleges, with
1Ol students; secondary schools, with
35.T4T pupils; $500 elementary schools,
with 2S4, 2o0 girls attending; 1876 private
schools for girls with 42,371 pupils No
information was obtained as to the cou.
dition of the $4,000 900 women Gen.
orally speaking, the school eucation of In.
dian girls comes to an end between the
ages of ten and twelve.