Evening star., 1901-11-09

they are now establishing native schools
anu in time hope to make some change In
the 25000,000 people under their govern
ment. I travelled from Batavia to Djokja-
karta with one of the school examiners, a
man who has been teaching here for twenty
five years, and who is now employed in the
high school at Batavia He tells me that
the government has its department of edu-
cation, with minister in the cabinet of the
governor general, and that the authorities
are doing all they can to advance the ma
tlyes. They are training teachers right
alsng IN the native schools, and they expect
that in time the whole population will read
and write.
There are now high schools at Batavia
Soerbaia and Samarang. There are five
colleges for the training of native school,
masters and more than a thousand schools
of lower order, with 125000 pupils. There
are some private schools taught by mis-
and industrial order. All told, however
there are not more than 100000 children in
school, and this in a population of ID coo 900
Is very few.
What the Teachers Get.
We have just sent ship load of teachers
to the Philippines on an understanding that
they are to be paid from $40 to 500 a
month. The Dutch pay their teachers much
better, especially those of higher rank The
school examiner 1 have referred to told ME
that his salary was $500 a month in gold.
SO .e'iu .naI PRIMARY teachers received from
S1 10 SZ20 per month, with house rent and
hlSh school teachers from $3.50 to $500 per
month, while school directors or superSn-
tendents get from $40 to 500 per month
,,a.,o rn auuition TO this the teachers have a
year vacation on half pay at the close of
every ten years service and free trip to
Europe and back. After serving twenty
years every teacher has the right to retire
on a pension amounting to I6 per cent Of bis
salary at the time of leaving.
Inc school work is not SO hard in Javs
as In the Philippines. The hours are short
er. IN Batavia they are from 8 am to
pm. ana as rule teachers expect to nut
in about twenty-four hours per week Ia
instruction In the schools in given in the
Dutch language and it is required that all
chlioren appear there In European clothes
whether they be Europeans, Japanese or
Chinese.
A Visit to a Normal School
During my stay at Bandong I was taken
by the government secretary, Mr. F. Meer-
tens, through the schools. We first went
to the normal school for native teachers
1t is held in a collection of Greek buildings
surrounded by large grounds. AT the back
there is a gymnasium and about it an acre
or campus. Entrance to the school is by
competitive examination, the applicants
coming from the schools below. In this
college only boys Were taken. They enter
at the age of twelve or more years and
graduate three years thereafter. They
spend year under the superintendent of
a Dutch teacher after which they may man.
age school for themselves. The boys are
paid from the time of entrance to the col
lege, receiving s. or Sc per month. which is
enough to clothe them and give them spend
ing money.
The studies include the higher branches
taught in our public schools. They have
geography, algebra, chemistry and physi-
ology They must also learn the Malay and
Javanese languages as we'll as the Dutch.
They are taught to draw and paint and they
are in short given what would be consd
cred a very good education even in the
United States.
l visited the class rooms and heard the
students recite. They do quite as well as
our boys and are equally intell-
gent. In a geography class I asked boy
to go to the map and put his finger on New
York He did 50 at once. 1 asked him how
he could get to San Francisco from that
point. He replied that he would cross the
United States by railroad and outlined the
route with his fingers, although there was
no railroad marked upon the map. l re-
ferred to the war between the English and
the Beers and he took another map and
described for me the territory of the Trans
vaal, and in response to my questions point
ed out the Nile and located Cairo and khar-
toum. l found boys equally bright in every
class and was told by the director that they
showed fully as much Intelligence TIE
European children.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.