250,000 Iliterates Taught to Read and Write: Mayor on Compulsory Education Of the 434,482 illiterate persons in areas under the administration of the Shanghai City Government, well over 1000 have deen taught to read and write during the past ten months, Gen, Wu Te-shen, the Mayor, told the members of the Shanghai Inter~ pation Educational, Aveactalon ual dinner held at the New Asia Hotel on March 19, This was made possible by the Popular Literacy Movement introduced here on July 1.
1938.
Speaking on the significance of the movement, General Wu said: "The fundamental force which is. responible for the advancement of nation, for the development of its culture, knowledge. The height of the level of knowledge may safely ye token as a gauge indicating the prom ress of decline of culture, as well ax the gain or Ics in. potentiality, in sny "country. With reference to historical evolution education is, therefore, not merely the initial step towards the establishment of a nation but Is also the starting point of human progress. The platform of the Kuo-infang Includes six programmes for the fulliiment of Lis mission to. the Chinese people. The Popular Literacy Movement is one of them. evident, therefore, that the Popular Literacy Movement is closely and vitally connected with the establishment of New Chi Since July 1, 1935, General Wu continued, compulsory ecueation slong the' lines of this movement was enforced by the Shanghai Popular Literacy Conymittee, of which he himself was the chairman and Mr, Pan Kung-chaa, the Commissioner of Education, the vice-chairman order to arouse public interest and to solicit the ce-operation of all eir-les, an extensive publicity campaign was conducted prior to the introduetion of the compulsory education programme.
In. order {o ascertain the exact extent of illiteracy in Shanghai, a city-wide survey was made in the latter part of May. This very difficult ask was accomplished with the help of groups of workers, assisted by potice.
Exclusive of the two forel the total mumber people, within the axe-range of from Seven to forty, who had never had any education, was found to be 434,- 452, of which 208,161 were male, and 226201 female. Of the same number, 584/383 were adults, and_ $0,100 chil Jdven. It was, however, prestimed that the actual number was very much greater than this.
Special text books were compiled, General Wu said. For better" and more effective control, Shanghat was divided Into 22 districts, each district being placed under the supervision of a district ofllze. Kiangwan was set aside as an experimental district, wherein new plans, curriculum, methods of teaching, in fact every thing concerning the running of literacy classes, were put to test the resulting Andings were circulated for the information of other teachers.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.