Highland Schools.

The condition of education in the Highlands and Islands continues to engage our attention. In previous reports we have referred to the Minute of 1884 by which specially liberal grants were offered to the schools in these districts, on such terms as seemed likely to increase the attendance. The conditions of this Minute were fulfilled by 668 out of 683 schools inspected during the past year in the specified counties, and extra grants, amounting to 9,6077. 178., have been paid under its provisions during the year.

This Minute offered another advantage to these counties in an increased grant to certain schools for higher or specific subjects. It has been felt that in such districts it was expedient to give special opportunities for higher instruction, and it was in order to help school boards to give such opportunities that grants of 10s. instead of 48. were offered for each pass in a higher subject in certain central schools. Under this clause an additional sum of 1,8197. has been paid in respect of 6,064 passes. Further, as a result of that Minute, special encouragement is offered to the use of Gaelic as a means of instruction, and to the training of Gaelicspeaking teachers.

Care has been taken in introducing the new system of pay ments under the present Code to preserve these special advan tages to the districts in question.

We have previously described how the difficulties in the administration of the Education Acts in these districts were found in 1888 to have increased so seriously as to threaten the very existence of the schools, and how, although unwilling to impair local responsibility, or to interfere with local administration, we, nevertheless, felt ourselves compelled, in the interests of the districts themselves, to come to their assistance. The circumstances of each locality then formed the subject of long, minute, and anxious consideration; and as a result, under a Minute of 21st December 1888, certain terms were offered to school boards which were in circumstances of hopeless financial embarrassment, under which the Department associated itself with the local authorities in the management of schools, and provided some financial assistance. A chief inspector was appointed to the special charge of these districts, and we believe that greater order and vigour have been imparted to educational administration, and that the financial position of the school boards has, in great measure, been restored to a sound basis. Applications to come under the arrangement proposed in the Minute were received from 15 school boards; and of these applications, 13 were actually sanctioned. We have received the most emphatic testimony from the localities of the benefit which has followed the introduction of the scheme which we then promulgated

But this Minute was based upon the allocation of certain sums which were available under the Probate Duties (Scotland and Ireland) Act, 1888, and when these sums ceased to be available it became necessary, if the arrangement under which so much benefit had accrued to the localities was to be continued, to provide other sources from which the pecuniary assistance necessary was to be given. This we were enabled, with the consent of the Treasury, to do by inserting in the Estimates a sum of 4,000l. for special grants to these districts. We are glad to say that the necessities of these districts have so far been relieved that we have been enabled to gradually reduce the amount, which in the estimate for this year stands at 1,2001. The result con:inues to be eminently satisfactory. The boards are restored to a position of solvency, and though it cannot be said that the local resources are in all cases sufficient to meet the present burdens, yet we trust that provision has been made for a sound financial position, combined with increased efficiency, and that before long local responsibility may be fully restored. In the case of six school boards-those of Stenscholl, South Uist, Kilmuir, Barra, Bracadale, and Snizort-we thought it right to bring the provisional arrangement to a close. The Minute was in 1894 confined to Ross-shire and Inverness-shire, in which counties alone the arrangement had actually been adopted.

Secondary and Technical Education.

In previous reports we have referred to the results of the inspection of higher schools, which was first undertaken after the re-organization of this Department in 1885. We have already noted considerable improvement in the condition of many of these schools, the first inspection of which had not shown them to be in a very satisfactory condition; and we are glad to say that their efficiency continues to be maintained. The number of schools under inspection is now 93, 32 being higher class public schools, 25 endowed schools, and 36 schools under voluntary managers who have invited the inspection of the Department.

By the passing of the Education and Local Taxation Account (Scotland) Act in 1892, an annual sum of 60,000l. became available for secondary education in Scotland. The cost of the inspection. of higher class schools, and of the Leaving Certificate Examination, is mainly met from this source, and for the year 1900-1901 a sum of 4,700l. was taken for that purpose. The question of the method of distribution by which the available balance might most effectually contribute to the educational benefit of each locality was referred by the Minute of 1st May 1893 to Burgh and County Committees, who administer the share of the grant falling to their respective districts in accordance with schemes previously submitted to and approved by the Department. This arrangement has been continued by subsequent Minutes and the regulations now in force are set forth in the

Minute of 10th June, 1897, as amended by that of 30th April, 1900. That Minute provides for an extended representation of those local authorities who are willing to entrust to the Committee the administration of sums which are at their disposal for purposes of technical education, and the authorities of 13 counties, 10 burghs, and 21 police burghs have taken advantage of this provision, and passed special resolutions, in accordance with which a sum of 15,632l. 58. 7d. was this year handed over to the Secondary Education Committees for distribution.

As in previous years, we give in Table 9 a synopsis of the schemes which have been approved for the distribution of the grant. Speaking generally, we find that out of a total grant for the year ended 31st March 1901 of 55,300l., together with any balance in the hands of the committees from the grants of former years, about 18,900l. has been assigned in direct subsidies to higher class schools, and about 15,000l. in direct subsidies to secondary departments in State-aided schools, in addition to anything which these schools and departments may receive in the form of capitation grants. The larger portion of what remains is allocated for capitation grants and bursaries. As compared with last year, the fixed subsidies to higher class schools show an increase of about 300l., whilst payments to Secondary Departments in this form are about 1,000l. less.

In Tables 10 and 11 will be found particulars of the actual amounts received and expended by the committees, under each head, during the year ended 15th May 1900, and the number of schools and individual scholars for whose benefit these payments were made.

Under the provisions of Section 2 (4) of the Local Taxation. Account (Scotland) Act, 1898, a further sum is available for purposes of Secondary or Technical (including Agricultural) Education in Scotland, and in terms of the Minute of 27th April 1899, as amended by the Minute of 15th June, 1899, the sum available for the year 1899-1900 was allocated as follows:

:

£ s. d.

2,000 0 0

2,000 0 0

25,450 0 0

7,659 16 0

37,109 16 0

Details of the grants to Higher Class Schools under paragraph 3 will be found in the Appendix. In determining these grants, a fixed sum was first awarded to each school, and this was supplemented by an amount which varied according to the average attendance of pupils over 12 years of age, and (in the case of Higher Class Public Schools) the proportion which the expenditure from rates upon the school bore to the valuation

of the district. No grant in excess of £750 was allowed, and the grants to schools, which would otherwise have received less than £300, were augmented to that sum. In accordance with the Minute of 1st May 1900 the sum of 37,795l. 19s. available for 1900-1901 will be distributed in terms of the previous Minutes.

Previous reports have explained very fully the scheme of a Leaving Certificate Examination in connexion with the inspection of higher schools, which was held for the first time in 1888. We undertook this, after careful consultation with the Universities and with the authorities of secondary or higher class schools, and we are glad to find that the results fully confirm our belief that such a scheme was generally desired. We used great care, in framing the regulations, to provide for such a fair and uniform test, and such strict method in the conduct of the examination, as are necessary to ensure public confidence in its soundness; and the best proof that such confidence has been secured is afforded by the facts that the number of schools participating in the examination, which was 29 in 1888, was last year 431 (including 348 State-aided schools); that the number of candidates, which was 972 in 1888, was last year 16,771; and that the total number of papers taken, which was 4,300 in 1888, was last year 54,325. Pupil-teachers were also presented from 270 schools from which no ordinary pupils were presented.

We are not yet in a position to give particulars as to the numbers to be presented for the present year. The general resuits of the inspection of higher class schools and of the Leaving Certificate Examination will be given in the report of the Director of Higher Inspection, which will be published in the Appendix.

A large number of university and professional authorities accept the certificate in lieu of such preliminary examinations as are held under their directions.*

In connection with the transfer of the administration of Science and Art Grants in Scotland to this Department, an opportunity has been afforded for making certain desirable changes in the organization of Secondary Education in the

The Lords of Council and Session (for the purposes of the Law Agents
Act);

The War Office and the Civil Service Commissioners (for the Army
Preliminary Examination);

The University of Oxford;

The University of Cambridge;

The Joint Board of the Scottish Universities for the Preliminary Examination;

The Royal Indian Engineering College, Cooper's Hill;

The General Medical Council;

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh;

The Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain;

The Society of Solicitors before the Supreme Courts:

The Institute of Accountants and Actuaries in Glasgow ;

The Society of Accountants in Edinburgh;
The London Chamber of Commerce; and
Girton College, Cambridge.

country. The subjects of the Science and Art Directory have hitherto, like the specific subjects already referred to, been taught without much regard to the general curriculum of the school, and very largely without any definite aim or purpose beyond that of bringing additional grants to the school. In considering the organization of instruction in Science and Art, and of Secondary Education generally, a distinction must be drawn between such instruction as forming part of a scheme of general education such as is given in Secondary Schools or Secondary Departments, and the teaching of isolated subjects to pupils who have already completed their school career, and who, while engaged in some business or industry, desire to take up the study of some special subject in which they are interested or which they find useful in connection with their daily occupation. Such special study is usually pursued in evening classes.

The lines of organization of Secondary Education in day schools are fixed by the Education (Scotland) Act of 1872, which distinguishes between those public or other schools which may share in the Parliamentary Grant, and those others defined in the Act as "Higher Class Schools" which may not. It has been thought more in accordance with sound administration that all forms of instruction in the former class of schools should be aided from the Parliamentary Grant, and accordingly in the Code of 1899 and succeeding Codes provision has been made for the payment of very substantial grants obtained in part from the commutation of Science and Art grants formerly paid to these schools-on account of the instruction of the pupils who by obtaining the Merit Certificate, have shown their fitness for more advanced instruction. In very few of these schools do the pupils remain beyond the age of 15 years, and regard must be had in framing a curriculum for the advanced departments of these schools to this circumstance, as well as to the fact that a very considerable proportion of these pupils will on leaving school follow occupations of an industrial or commercial nature. Great stress has accordingly been laid on the teaching of science, drawing, and modern languages in such schools, in comparison with subjects which, although intellectually valuable, are less likely to be of practical use to pupils who will leave school at a comparatively early age. Further, it has been thought that the teaching of science should consist rather in the experimental investigation of fundamental principles than in detailed study of some special branch, while in the teaching of such subjects as arithmetic, drawing and languages, opportunities of practical application should be kept constantly in view. But considerable freedom will be left to managers to adapt curriculums to special schools, and the grant will be paid on a satisfactory completion of the curriculum as a whole, and not according to the number of separate subjects which may be taken up.

Higher class schools are, as already stated, not eligible to share in the Parliamentary Grant, but some of them have, in the past, been in receipt of considerable sums of varying amount from