The project towards the realization of Which we ate assisting today is surely an admirable plan for the fulfilment of the testator's desire, No, one of intelligence would be foolish enough to decry the value of a general education, especially the presence of the Minister of that Department of the Government; but nevertheless the view Is often expressed that too many students from schools and colleges are turned out into the world merely to swell the ranks of the disaffected and unemployed, because they have no vocational training and" yet consider manual labour beneath their dignity.
The scholars of the new Loster Institute will not come within that category, for they are to be given a sound technical "education for the Purpose of enabling them to, carn their living im the building trade and over oceypations allied thereto, And it seems to me that with the vast scope for building and construc. tion work now offered. in China, 20. more useful and practical education scheme could well be devised I have been asked to make my speech short and Tam all in favour of short speeches from the point of view of the speaker as well us his audience, So I will conclude by saying that while to-day. we are! faving the foundation' stone of now building, we are also adding another stone to the more important edifice of Sino-British friendship and ce-operation, whose foundation was well and truly laid many years ago, Dr. Wang, in his speech, detailed the merits of the educational plan xet forth in the Lester Will and commended the 'Trustees for, their application of this plan, now, to technical training of both an' elementary and advanced nature, His address' is here presented:
Some time ago T was informed that the late Henry Lester made provisions im his Will for the estad-lishment of a schoo! and ain institute technical education at Shanghai The institute is to teach medical science, surgery, civil engineering, architecture and other useful and scientific knowledge; and both the school and the institute are for the benefit of Chinese and foreign scho-Jars, but especially. for Chinese. These are the two outstanding fea. tur ox of the educational plan as provided in his Will. The trusteca are making efforts to carry out his plan, and have asked me to take part in the laying of the foundation stone of the new building to-day, To Suit China To-day The great merit of the educational plan as contained in the Will of the late Henry Lester, it seems to me, the clear and unmistakable em! phasis laid on technical education.
was also the clear intention in the Will to have his educational plan fit the actual needs of China of the present day. T am, therefore, happy to say.a few words to-day on the general question as to the posi-of technical education in' the educational policy of the Chinese Government, Hardly a generation ago we started to build wpa system education on modern lines. In-spite of the shortness of time, we have overcome many difficulties and built up a modern system throughout' the country, At the end of this period of nearly Jo generation we are in a position) to "look around to see where our jedacational system.is leading us. JOne of the things that came to our attention during recent years was that far too few students are devoting themselves to that branch of Jeducation which has the most inti-/ mate connection with the productive Jeapacity of the country, namely technical education, Statistics for 1981 show that of all students exrolied in universities, colleges, and fwechnical "institutions of collex> standing, only 25 per cent, devoted themselves to technology, medicine, science, and agriculture, which came to about 10,000 students.
There are, to be sure, many rea.
Jsons for this state of affairs. 1f consider the immense territory lof the country, and its large pops lation, these figures are execedingls emall.. Ching is in the process of being industrialized, although so far Industriatization has confined itself in certain narrow regions of country. But still the process mux:
on; and for the expansion of the productive power of the country, both in industry and in agrieultu; will need not only capital an. lather things, but also an inereasin: Inumber of "men who are trained laily for the technical professions. "They are indicators of the int at the Lester Schou Henry Lester Institute Jeconomic life of the country, and of Technic Education, From left to right:—Dr. Wang Shih-chieh, Minister of Education, there are many, factors that so to Ward, he ter Trustees, Sir John Brenan, it Consul general, and Mrs assist in the development of she jordan Morriss, one of the Trustees. economic life of the country. One f these factors is education, éxpecially technical education, much in theoretical knowledge as!be especially for the Chinese, and "by Dr. Y.
Wen, Director university graduates, they have should be conducted especi ly to Intemnaticnal Telogvaphs. Dr.
Vocational Schools the advantage over the university 10 give a section of the Chinese sent. the following telegram to Mr Trade and industry can be devel-graduate in possessing intensive st tridents facilities to acquire techni JO. S. Wilkinson, Secretary of japed only when proper educational Practical training in the Institute ¢t education in surroundings and Lester Trust: facilities exist. must be [scheme of education which specially workshops. inder conditions that will insure On account of an unexpected state I think the Trustees of the he best result. lof affairs which necessitates "my qualifies men to promote, develop, presence at Nanking 1 regret that Lester Trust acted very wisely when The founder, the late Henry Jand direct the economic activities of [F'shall not. be able "to be. prove they adopted thix procedure of Lester, for a lifetime a resident the country. With this end in view fat the laying "of" the foundation the Ministry of Education has course "of practical in this city of Shanghai. stones of the Lester" School. and education in technology to a certain He himself was in one of those taken measures to insure that, in the number of students. We are apt Henry Lester Institute of im middle and the lower grades of sometimes to lay over-eraphasis. on with human values, with refeasions "that have most to de art education, proper attention be pai Education. Twin, however [gratulate you on the rapid progress ther theoretical or practical train-ife, namely architecture and to, the development of vocational fof the construction work of the' ing. The golden road to eminence ivil_ engineering He achieved con: schools, and in higher education [building for the school and institute, in engineering o" theoretical science spicuous his profession better stall and better equipment de which serve an. extremely useful Inys in happy blending of the two. luring his lifetime, but he will be furnished for the teaching of science Firstelase scientists are those who land technology. We have also taken can use their hands well, and who Temembered, not only as a_ success: purpose in encouraging, the study: Chinese students of those applied, al architect, ut. also asa" noble measures to insure that a certain can think with their hands, if we chitect. History will et him, doyen sciences, which are so. urgently' proportion of students go to wha: needed by China during the period' may say so. And none can bacon one of the noble men in his Imay be called the technical branches fof, national reconstruction. great engineer without at the ailing, and he wi same tine having familiarized him: nembi mil also be re: The school and the institute have The educationa} authorities would self with the theoretical basis of sh "friendship. Surely great future before them and will, jweleome efforts on the part of any his calling, "This is so" true that {there is no worthier cause to crown Tam sure, make a valuable contribu-\ tion to the development of China' lone to assist, in bringing about the hardly an exception ix ever found. the life of any man than the one {and the establishment of closer rinch desired result, and in giving The Lester Institute of Technical to. which the: Into Henry Lester relations between our two countries the country more and belter facil la devoted himself in the last act of The building will be completed in: tice in the development of technica itis tu this spirit that|side, and it is hoped that "it will and the Lester Insticute of Tech [Seregmeee, one ite in creating the Lesiar Schoo! gotha pacing Wil be classes, will, start complete rogatd the provision in the Willleventanily produce not emly tochnt feat. fucation, "And. T wish "yo [SRE afterwards, The, architect into Henry Lester for an dons, but" ako technicians with [congratulate the star "Tristets [OF Institute of technical education as|+xion, who will do service to the upon having been chosen, to carry 7."Kow Tal. Mr. 8. character, but also of his far-lof ite founder, the late Henry Les [his memory proof, not only of his very noble country and honour to the memory|on this work and to do honour to charge structural Faber is 10 wish them every cage® in sightedness in seeing' the actus needs of this country, Now T wish to say a word on the educational plan as adopted by the Lester Trustees. On x the preliminary report by the principal and the proposals for a building for the Lester School and the Lester Institute of Technical Education, it clear what the general outline of the work will be, at least for the first stages, It is proposed in that report to begin at once with the opening of a Senior day school or Technical Institute for the instruction of civil engineering and the building trade. Besides it is pro: posed to start a Junior day school to. teach a modern trade under industrial working conditions as quick ly and as thorough as possible. This latter is to provide for those boys who are by qualification or efreumstances not able to get a higher technical education.
Besides the Junior day: school, it was also the intention of the Trustees to open an evening school to help the apprentices, workmen, and foremen already engaged i the building and allied trades. This evening, stool will also "prove "of substantial benefit to a large group of men who find themselves in need fof such assistance.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.