and the school registers DISTRIBUTI The distribr esting as an i be considere boys and gir siderations for every 1 an averag dates 54 per cen pupils i every 1 i. e., 6* in the indie not T qu SC and the m There are 1. addition .der the far Beton of the L these schools and courses are included in the totals already considered. public high schools roc technical and 475 courses. The statistics of stration 209 superior primary er high sebooks, and ory of anses for general instruction. Of the schools They comprised in 1891-92 an enrollment of 45,599 pupils 32,806 boys. beshments, and of the courses, 531. This leaves 20 12,793 girls), as against 38,441 in 1886-87. Of the total. 41,844, or 91 in this grade, or one-tenth of the whole-a slight increase over its per cent, were in public establishments. proportion at the beginning of the decade. Of the public high schools, 101 have a two three years' course. years' course and 180 a Provision is made by scholarship funds (bourses) ig promising pupils who could not otherwise continue their in the high schools. The number of pupils so aided in 1891-92 LO (674 boys, 436 girls). ers. The total teaching force of the primary schools was Of these, 8,753 (all women) were in the infant schools, 5,100 public, and 3,613 in the private schools of this class. As to the I teachers in the primary schools proper (elementary and supe70 per cent were in the public schools and 30 per cent in the e. Of the former, 54 per cent were men, as against 56 per cent 56-87. Of the latter, 24 per cent, as against 21 per cent at the r date. e classification of the teachers with respect to position and secular erical relations are set forth in the following table: The number of principals, i. e., of teachers directing a school (82,454), is not quite equal to the number of schools ($2,533). This discrepancy is explained by the fact that the superior primaries or high schools, which are comprised in the total of the schools, are in several instances in charge of the same principal as a lower grade school. It is notice. able also that the total of all teachers, principals, and assistants is a little greater than the total number of classes-102,486 as against 100,815. This is due to the fact that in schools comprising as many as six classes and 300 pupils the principal is not charged with a particular class. The law provides that mixed schools may be directed by either a master or a mistress. The greater proportion of masters employed in these schools, i. e., 70 per cent of the total, is explained, the report says, by the desire of the mayors of small communes to secure their services as secretaries. As already indicated, there is, as a rule, a distinct teacher for each class in a school. An interesting view of the relation of teachers to the work of the schools is afforded by statistics showing the average number of pupils to a class. From these it appears that 88.9 per cent of the classes do not exceed 50 pupils. In 1887 this proportion was 84.8 per cent. The increased proportion of lay teachers in the public primaries and the reverse movement, i. e., increase in the proportion of church teachers in the private primaries, are due to the same causes as the transfer of pupils from secular to church schools already considered. Classification of teachers with respect to diplomas—public and private schools. In respect to the above showing it should be explained that teachers without a professional diploma may have an equivalent or higher guaranty of preparation in a university degree, i. e., the baccalaureate, or even, as is the case with many teachers in the superior primaries, the "licencié" or the doctor's degree. In fact all the men in charge of a school in 1891-92 had either a teacher's diploma or a degree, while of the women principals less than 12 per cent were without diplomas. The decrease in the proportion of assistant teachers not provided with diplomas, which was noticeable in 1887 as compared with 1882, has continued during the last half of the decade, amounting to a decrease of 15 per cent in the case of men and of 4.2 per cent in that of women. As might be expected, the proportion of teachers in the public schools having diplomas is larger than of those in private schools, i. e., 98 per cent, as against 82 per cent. The proportion is, however, increasing in the private schools. For the full title of teacher (titulaire) a diploma (certificat d'aptitude pédagogique) higher than the "brevets" is required. This diploma can not be obtained without at least two years' actual practice in teaching. The proportion of teachers possessed of the same increases as shown by the following table: Under the law of July 19, 1889, the State pays the salaries of primary teachers. Principal teachers are divided into three groups, viz, elementary, superior primary, and normal; each group is divided into five classes, with annual salaries fixed as follows: An additional sum of $40 is allowed principals in charge of a school of three or four classes, and of $80 for a school of more than four classes. Promotion from one grade of salary to the next may be made without a change of place; it depends upon the length and efficiency of service and can only take place when there is a vacancy. Moreover, teachers of the fifth and fourth classes can not be promoted to a superior class until after five years' service in the inferior position; no teacher is eligible to the second or first class who is not provided with the highest certificate (brevet superieur) and who has not served at least three years in the class preceding. It is, however, expressly provided that, so far as length of service affects promotion, teachers having served ten years may be placed in the fifth class; fifteen years, in the fourth class; twenty years, in the third, and twenty-five years, in the second. Assistant teachers in primary schools are paid $160. Assistant teachers in superior primary schools, from $220 to $420. In addition to his salary every teacher must be provided with a residence or with a money equivalent for the same. The law imposes this provision upon the communes and fixes the rates of indemnity for residences. Cities of more than 150,000 inhabitants are not included in these provisions. Their schools are maintained by municipal funds, excepting that the State may contribute thereto a sum not exceeding the product of 8 centimes additional to the direct taxes. TRAINING OF TEACHERS. The law requires every department to maintain two normal schools, one for men, the other for women, unless authorized to unite with another department for this purpose. In 1886-87 only one of the 90 departments was without a normal school for men. Since that year the number of these has been reduced to 87 by the union of departmental schools in two cases. Meanwhile the number of normal schools for women has risen from 81 to 85. The schools for men employed a force of 124 directors 413 regular professors and teachers, and 353 special instructors, and had an enrollment of 3,878 students. The normal schools for women employed 141 directors, 361 regular professors and instructresses, and 219 assistants. Their enrollment was 3,707. From 1887 to 1892, inclusive, the schools for men had a total of 7,189 graduates, as against 8,054 in the five years preceding, and the schools for women 5,615, as against 4,285. It may be added that the professors in the departmental normals are, as a rule, graduates of the State normal schools, St. Cloud (for men) and Fontenay-aux-Roses (for women). In addition to the public normal schools, there are the following private institutions for the professional training of teachers: Institut des Frères de la Doctrine Chrétienne, a Protestant normal school, Boissy St. Léger, and the school of the Alliance Israélite. SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENTS. The buildings for primary schools of all grades are, as a rule, the property of the communes. This is the case as to 53,362 schoolhouses or groups of buildings, leaving 9,870 rented. The number of public primary schools having a gymnasium, more or less complete, is 6,234, an increase of 642 above 1887. There are also 752 schools provided with a workshop, 52,309 with a garden, an increase above 1887 of 236 in respect to the former and of 1,965 in respect to the latter. The following statistics pertain to the chief auxiliary agencies for promoting popular instruction: The number of school savings banks diminishes from year to year. In part this is explained by the fact that many teachers prefer to substitute for the school bank the postal savings bank. |