greatly disappointed, but, in the vast majority of instances, the disappointment was borne in an admirable spirit and with a determination on the part of the managers and teachers to do better for the future. The consequence was that every year thereafter there was a steady increase in the number of schools in operation, as well as marked improvement in their management. But the paucity of competent teachers which caused the failure of the education movement first referred to continued as the great obstacle to educational success. To meet this difficulty the Government in 1870 established a Training College at Stony Hill and subsidising the Mico Training Institution for the purpose of securing the education of a number of normal pupils in addition to those on the foundation. Thus, besides the private training pupils, twenty-three young men were in 1860 under training as schoolmasters at the public charge. This number was annually increased, and in 1881 a scheme was introduced for giving aid to denominational or voluntary training colleges, under which, especially after it was extended and placed on a more liberal footing in 1887, the whole number of students under training has gone up rapidly and is now over 150. The Government College for such Teachers was closed in 1890 but the students were drafted into the Mico and the voluntary colleges. In 1885 a Government Female Training College was opened, where 22 students are under training.

Another great improvement in the educational system was also introduced in 1870, namely, the making of "opening grants" for the purpose of enabling trustworthy managers or teachers to establish new schools in destitute districts; and this was extended in 1878 so as to provide for the rebuilding or repair of school houses already in existence. The sum of £1,500 is annually paid by the Government under these heads.

The following shows the state of education in the island at the date of the taking of the Census in 1881 and 1891 :

In 1881 education in common with other interests sustained a severe check owing to the results of the disastrous cyclone of 1880. The average number of children attending the schools fell from 32,871 to 26,649; the number of first and second class schools from 70 to 53 and from 238 to 194, respectively; and the total grants from £18,992 17s. to £17,523 5s., a decrease of £1,469 12s. Since then a steady recovery has taken place as will be seen by the following table ::

On 11th June, 1885, a Commission was appointed by Sir Henry Wylie Norman, under the presidency of the Colonial Secretary, to examine into and consider the whole question of the state of elementary education in the colony, with a view to recommending such changes in the existing system as might seem necessary. The members of the Commission, in addition to the Colonial Secretary, were, the Hon. C. B. Mosse, the Hon. T. Capper, the Hon. Geo. Henderson, the Very Rev. Father Porter, the Ven. Archdeacon Douet, Rev. T. B. Butcher, Rev. D. J. East, Rev. W. Gillies, the Hon. Wm. Ewen, and Geo. Stiebel, Esq., with Mr. L. R. Fyfe as Secretary. Before the presentation of the full report of the Commission an ad interim report was presented to His Excellency recommending a large extension of the assistance given to Training Colleges generally, with a view of increasing the number of properly trained teachers. This report was endorsed by the Legislative Council and the necessary expenditure sanctioned. As a result of this decision the number of students in training in the various Training Colleges has been increased from about 78 to 150.

that

The final report of the Education Commission was presented to His Excellency the Governor on the 9th July, 1886, and was published in the Jamaica Gazette on the 26th August. The most important of the recommendations of the Commission were (1) that "the provision of suitable residences should be deemed, at least in country districts, a necessary complement to the emoluments of teachers," and that grants for the purpose should be made by Government on the same principles as now govern the grants-in-aid of school buildings, (2) that a system of superannuation allowance and gratuities for teachers, to a strictly limited extent, should be adopted, attendance at school should be made compulsory between the ages of 7 and 13, (4) that school fees should be abolished, (5) that a Central Board of Education to be "deliberative, consultative and advisory," "as well as a Board of review," should be constituted, and (6) that Local Education Boards should also be established. The Commission included in their report suggestions as to the best means of raising the amount required to meet the additional expense which would be entailed by the adoption of their recommendations.

In the Session of the Legislative Council held in the early part of 1892, two Bills were passed relating to Elementary and Secondary Education respectively, based to a considerable extent on the Report of the Education Commission. The first of these provided for the creation of a Central Board, to be presided over by the Head of the Education Department, whose functions should be mainly advisory, but without whose recommendation no new school should receive aid, nor any change be made in the Code of Regulations. Provision was also made for the payment of a grant in lieu of fees to all schools where fees are not charged; for the enactment by the Governor, in his discretion, on the recommendation of the Board, on, or after the 1st January, 1895, of compulsory attendance at Elementary Schools in such towns or districts as he may designate; for the establishment of small scholarships to assist needy scholars from the Elementary Schools to obtain higher Education in the Secondary Schools; and for the enforcement of a conscience clause similar to the English. The Code then in force was to remain so until altered on the recommendation of the Board.

The Secondary Education Law provided for the establishment of Secondary Schools in any important centres declared by the Governor in Privy Council, on the recommendation of the Board, to be without adequate provision for Secondary Education, and for the granting of Scholarships to scholars in such schools to enable the more promising of them to continue their education at High Schools or Colleges. The following are the chief provisions of the present Code :

:

1. Standards of school management are carefully defined and published for circulation among all the schools.

These standards define excellence, or the highest degrees of efficiency in the eleven branches of school management that are made the subjects of examination at the annual inspections of the schools, which are :——

Reading

Writing from dictation
Arithmetic

}

Chief subjects.

Scripture knowledge

General knowledge

Grammar and Composition

Geography and History

Handwriting

Singing

Organization

Discipline

Secondary subjects.

2. A system of marks is employed to determine the relative merits of the work submitted for examination, or the degrees of efficiency to which the schools have attained in each branch, as tested by the standards, thus:—

In the chief subjects these marks are to be doubled throughout, i.e., from 2 for "Little" to 12 for "Excellent."

3. The schools are ranked in three classes, according to the number of marks that may be awarded to them at the annual inspections, when the results achieved during the year are measured by the standards, thus :—

A first class must obtain 56 marks and 8 marks in each of the chief subjects or of the total obtainable.

A second class 42 inarks and 6 marks in each of the chief subjects or of total. A third class 28 marks and 4 marks in each of the chief subjects or of total. The total number of marks obtainable is 84.

4. New schools or such as come under examination for the first time, and may not obtain the full number of 28 marks, may be recommended for aid at a lower rate when they attain to 24 marks at least and are called "exceptional."

All previously examined schools that do not register 28 marks, and all new schools below 24 marks, are returned as "failures" and are not entitled to receive any Government grants-in-aid.

Schools that obtain less than 4 marks in arithmetic obtain a reduced grant.

5. Grants-in-aid are awarded by the Government on the principle of payment for results, the amounts being determined on two conditions according to the following scale :

In addition to these grants three shilings are also allowed for each girl taught sewing, calculated on the average number of girls attending the sewing class during the

year.

Under the Education Law of 1892 a "fee grant" of 4s. for each child under 14 in average attendance is paid to each school on the receipt of a certificate from the Manager that no payment for tuition or otherwise is required or received from any

such child.

6. Annual grants are also given by the Government to first class schools for the training of pupil teachers, who shall personally pass a satisfactory examination in accordance with the Government Regulations relating thereto. An examination is held annually in December at convenient centres in different parts of the island. Besides pupil teachers other candidates are admitted to the examination on payment of a fee of 2s. 6d. In July, 1891, 229 pupil teachers and 290 others presented themselves. The examination will in future be held in December. Teachers

holding first class certificates are entitled to employ pupil teachers whether their schools take a first class position or not. The following are the rates:

No pupil teachers are retained on the Government list longer than three years. After that period they are supposed to go up to the Training Colleges or to engage in school work as teachers.

The sum of £1,500, as before stated, is annually set apart by the Government for the special purpose of aiding school managers to build new school houses or to repair and improve existing school buildings. This sum is distributed in accordance with the Government Regulations published on the 28th February, 1878, in grants of from £10 to £100 to such managers as have made special application in the manner prescribed by the Regulations and are prepared to comply with the conditions contained therein. The allotment of these grants is determined by the importance of the school operations and the necessities of each case, considered in connection with the extent of the local efforts made by the parties applying, on the principle of helping those who help themselves.

An annual sum of 108. is paid to each school on the Government list for appliances on receipt of a certificate from the manager, in accordance with Article 77 of the Code of Regulations.

In addition to the foregoing the following means are employed by the Government to promote elementary education:

1. A number of male students (at present 45, but by a resolution passed at the last session of the Legislative Council to be increased to 60 as soon as the requisite accommodation can be provided) are supported at the Mico Institution in Kingston, who are being trained as schoolmasters. In addition to

the number supported by the Government there are also 20 students on the original foundation.

2. A Training College is maintained at Shortwood, in St. Andrew, for girls, in which 30 students are intended to be under training for the work of schoolkeeping. There are 22 students at present in residence.

There are also regulations providing for an annual examination of students in Training Colleges and of teachers of elementary schools with a view to the grant of "certificates" to those who are successful, and for the payment to such of these teachers as pass the examination and to successful third year students at Training Colleges of an annual bonus of from £5 to £15, varying with the class of their respective schools. Provision is also made for a payment to the managers of voluntary Training Colleges of £20 a year each for a specified number of students under training, and of £15 for every resident student and £7 for every non-resident student who passes the yearly examination. Up to the present time 149 teachers have presented themselves for examination, of whom 61 have been successful and have obtained certificates.

GOVERNMENT TRAINING COLLEGE FOR FEMALE TEACHERS.

THIS College, which is under the management of a Board of Visitors appointed by the Governor and consisting of ladies and gentlemen, was established in September, 1885, to meet the want long and pressingly felt of trained female teachers for the Elementary Schools of the island. The College is strictly undenominational; ordinary students are selected by competitive examination, and an entrance fee of five pounds is paid on admission. Students are in most cases boarded and lodged at Government expense during the period of their training, subject to an undertak

ing on their part to teach for as many full years as they remain in the College in Jamaica Elementary Schools.

The ordinary College course occupies three years, during which the course of instruction is in accordance with the schedule attached to the Government Rules for Voluntary Training Colleges; but students who fail to pass the annual Government Examination are expected to remain and be again examined in the same standard, unless, in the opinion of the Lady Principal, they are not likely to profit by such extension of their time, in which case they are expected to leave at once. The Board of Visitors may also, at its discretion, on the recommendation of the Lady Principal, allow any student who shews special ability and desire for higher studies to stay and prosecute those studies, for which purpose facilities will be afforded her. The students are classified in three divisions according as they are preparing for the first, second or third year examination.

While in residence the students are expected to dress uniformly. To facilitate the carrying out of this regulation, a stock of material is kept at the College from which the students may purchase what they require, but in no case is the uniform provided by the College.

This College, which was first established at Barbican, in St. Andrew's, and subsequently transferred to Camperdown Pen, was finally in September, 1887, removed to its present site at Shortwood.

The course of training includes practice in teaching and the management of a class, which is carried out in the Practising School attached to the Institution.

The College library of books of reference is open to teachers in the neighbourhood on Saturday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., where the text-books recommended in the Code, from time to time, may also be seen.

LADY PRINCIPAL.-Miss Amy Charlotte Johnson, Associate in Arts of the University of Oxford and Certificated Teacher of the University of Cambridge, assisted by a Staff consisting of three Assistants and a Mistress of the Practising School. An Industrial School for Girls has also been established at Shortwood which was opened on the 1st April, 1892, under the Superintendence of Miss Johnson, the Lady Principal of the College.

The Board of Visitors of the College is also the Board of Visitors of this School which serves as a Practising School for the College.

The Industrial School for boys at Hope has been placed under this Department. About 30 boys are in residence there who receive education such as is given in the Elementary Schools of the colony, besides instruction in carpentry and agriculture.

THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

The Board of Education constituted under Law 31 of 1892 consists of-
The Hon. Thomas Capper. Superintending Inspector of Schools, Chairman ex officio.
The Right Rev. Enos Nuttall, Bishop of Jamaica, Vice Chairman.

The Right Rev. Bishop Gordon

The Right Rev. Bishop Hanna
The Rev. William Gillies

The Rev. Thomas M. Geddes

The Rev. William Pratt, M. A.

The Rev. William Simms, M. A.

The Hon. George Stiebel, C.M.G.
The Hon. William Ewen
The Hon. Dr. John Pringle
Francis Lyons, Esq.

John Vassall Calder, Esq.

Secretary-J. D. Kerrich, Esq., B.A.

The duties and powers of the Board are laid down in the 11th Section of the Law and are as follow: :

*Off the Island Mrs. H. H. Isaacs, acting.