The New York herald., 1922-03-26
ManyImprovements
in IreIand'S Schools,
Plan of Free State
Department Of Education
First in Which 1t AS
serted Its Power.
TRINITY COLLEGES RIVAL
National University, Allied
With Sim Fein, Proves Pow
erful Competitor.


erful Competitor.
Special Correspondence 10 THE New YoaK
HnALp
Copyright, 1875, BY THE New YoaK HERALD.
New York Herald Bureuu,l
Dublin, March Is.
One Of the first demands that will
be made on the Irish exchequer will
be the demand for education. There
Is little general complaint about the
Irish schools and much goes to show
that they have done their work well in
the last twenty-five years. But even
now the schools of all sorts are over
crowded and to some extent under
stated.
The keenness with which Sim Fein
is turning to this problem of education
Is instanced by the fact that the first
department upon the Provisional Gov
ernment ventured to assert it's real
power was the Department Of Educa-
ton. Fionan Lynch in charge Of edu-
cation for the Provisional Government
some weeks ago notified the Commits
sioners Of Education that their powers
were at an end. Broad general powers
over primary and secondary schools
were strongly centralized in the hands
OF this commission and are now in
the hands Of Mr.. Lynch. Within these
broad general lines, however, consid-
erable latitude Of administration was
permitted.
The central authority built and
owned most OF the national primary
schools. 1t prescribed the secular
curriculum and exacted standards of
proficiency. In general, however, each
school was administered by local
manager Of the board Of managers In
which the local clergyman was usually
the dominating factor. Religious in
struction was given in practically all
the schools. but the law provided that
no child need attend religious instruc-
ton not approved OF by the child's
parents and that time must be given
for religious instruction which the
parents might desire.
Religion in the Schools.
AS q result the schools in the South
were generally Catholic schools, and
those within the Protestant encIave in
Ulster were generally Protestant. For
instance. In Leinster there were seventy
four schools under Protestant teachings,
AT under Catholic teachers and twelve
mixed schools. Ninety-five per cent. OF
the pupils in Protestant schools were
Protestant children and 95 per cent. in
the Catholic were Catholic while there
were 10 per cent. Protestants and SO
per cent. Catholics In the mixed schools.
In Munster there were twenty-four
Protestant schools, 421 Catholic schools
and four mixed schools with the per-
centage Of attendance running about the
same as In Leinster. except that in the
mixed schools there was an almost equal
number OF pupils OF each religion. In
Connaught's seventeen Protestant, PAS
Catholic and one mixed school. the per-
centage OF Catholics In all was higher
In listers 643 Protestant and 500 Cath
olic schools the percentage of attendance
was about the same as in Leinster and
Munster. while in the thirty-three mixed
schools so per cent. OF the attendance
was Protestant.
There are at the present time In Ire
land about $4,000 children In 5000
primary schools. with between ten and
twelve thousand teachers. Efforts will
Immediately be made to increase the
ratio Of teachers to pupils. II may be
noted that the recent recommendation
of the Geddes committee in England to
reduce the number of teachers In the
English schools from one teacher for
thirty-two children TO one teacher for
fifty children. raised tremendous fuss
In Britain.
The percentage sof illiteracy In ire
land has steadily fallen The fail was
particularly rapid between 1891 and
1901. In 1S41 only 2s per cent. of ths
people OF Ireland could read and write !.
10 per cent. could read only and SO per
cent. could neither read nor write. BY
1881 SO per cent. could read and write /;
is per cent. read only and 25 per cent
could neither read nor write. For the
last three census years the figures were
as follows:
Read and write. u n SO
Neither read nor write.... is IL Q
No census was taken in Ireland In
1921 on account OF the disturbed condi-
ton.
The move which most incensed Belfast
when Fionan Lynch took over control
OF the schools was his declaration thai
Irish must not only be compulsory In
the schools. but that eventually 1t must
be the language In which all the teach
Ing is done. The question Of Irish speak
Ing. In fact, is making trouble In more
than educational circles. 1t is Sim
Fein's official language. theoretically
all proceedings OF Dali Eireann and all