The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-03-11

1 fections and was easy to get ac- 1 quainted with without being too read 1 fly intimate
 Her clothes were right" David write. When half the population grows up practically illiterate the incentive to education in the other half must be
 ssnsibly lowered: and. when home edu- cation is a thing almost unknown. the figures Of literacy are affected and education does not bulk as a custom ary adjunct of life.
 ALL SECTIONS NOT ALIKE "Of course, these do not operate to an equal degree in al parts of India. | In Burma there is a tradition of edu- cation through the monastic schools, there i s no caste and there is no purda | tunder the purda system a woman can be seen unveiled by no man outside the members of her own family). Con- sequently, in that province the percent ! age of literates in the male popula- 1 tion is more than three times what it 1 is in India a whole. In the extreme south of India, too the percentage l of literacy is comparatively high; there 1 is tradition of learning, and there l is a strong Indian Christian commu- 1 nifty in which caste and purda are un- | known. Bengal, Madras as whole l and Bombay comes next; these prov l inces possess a comparatively long 1 record of British rule seaboards, mar ketable crops, some industries and l some traditions of learning. It is in the land locked and high agricultural provinces of upper India that things are most backward.
 There is fifth difficulty India is a | poor country, though she is growing richer. The revenue is small for the size a<,x- .1~tt Ttrch has to be met from it, that Is, communi- cations are still defective in some parts of the country. More money is wanted. The present lack of it affects all kinds of education. Higher education partly pays for itself through fees, but the quail ity needs improving Elementary educa- tion falls mainly on provincial funds and rates; the latter are not easily ex- pansible''
 But even in recent years have seen new schools erected and drawing only
 half dozen boys. when there were 40 to 50 who lived within a half mile, could easily have come so far as distance was concerned and would have had to pay no fees at all. But things are improving. People are coming more and more to see that there is some utility in reading and Writing.'
 The correspondent brought up the ques- ton of whether resort would ever be
 had to compulsory education.
 NO CONFUSION YET
 The county is not yet ready for com
 pulsion,' replied Mr. Sharp. You must,
 in vast country like India and so condi-
 toned, have mass education on fairly
 solid basis before compulsion steps in
 to fill the gaps. At present compulsion
 would not be filling the gaps. but creat-
 ing the fabric. That would be likely to
 raise great discontent. A progressive ruler in a native state who has done much to advance education in his state, gave his opinion as follows: Make pri-
 mary education as free as you choose, add as many further inducements as you can, but do not make it compulsory. In tine case of the most advanced classes 1t Is absolutely unnecessary and would serve only to create irritation. In the case of the poor backward classes 1t would inflict harm where good was meant, would subject them to great harassment would be positively cruel and unjust and would be deeply though silently re- sented as such.'"
 The commissioner added, however, that education might be made compulsory in some advanced areas and the measure of compulsion gradually applied to others
 Already the Gaekwar of Baroda has made education compulsory in his state and an experiment is being made in the state of Mysore," he continued. Tn Ba- roda and the surrounding British terri tories the people are naturally rather ap- preciatlve of education. The number of those under elementary education in Baroda has risen greatly since compulsion was introduced and stands now at F per cent of the population.
 DEFECTS POINTED OUT
 The commissioner pointed out some de- fects in the educational system as it stands.
 ''It isoks top heavy" he said. "This is partly due to the slow expansion of mass as compared with higher educa- ton, and partly to the fact that many boys pursue the high school and univer- sity course who would he better in tech- nical. industrial and commercial schools. The percentage of those who are in sec- cndary and collegiate institutions Is .H per cent of the total population, and S15 per cont of the school population. But If we take the male population alone the figures are .s2 and 6.2 rer cent. In the United States Is per ceat of the total population Is in high schools and col leges."
 The commissioners attention was called to the statement, often heard, that there is great deal of cramming and unin- telligent instruction in Indian schools.
 "Unfortunately that is true" he said, but not nearly to the same extent in different localities. The chief cause is poor teaching. Most of the higher insti- tutions are managed by private bodies; for example, 80 per cent of the high schools are so managed. The terms of service for the teachers are unattractive and often the managers pick up any one they can-perhaps man who looks on the job as pot boiler while he studies for the bar. In these privately tnanaged high schools out of a total of ll,sOl teach- CTS of English and classical languages, 1l6%e are untrained."
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