Annual Report of the Superintendent of Education Council's Policy N his annual report to the Municipal Council, Mr. L. C. Healey, Superintendent of Education, dealing with educational policy, states—As the Council's education policy is attracting considerable attention at the present time, a brief review of recent developments may prove of interest.
The second part of this report dealing with the annual reports of the various schools will appear in to-morrow's issue.
In 1931 the Education Department emerged as a separate administrative entity following the decision of the Council to establish an Education Board to replace the existing Chinese and Foreign Education Committees. Besides assuming the combined duties of these bodies the Board was asked to formulate a general educational policy. Its recommendations, briefly summarized, fell under two headings (a) am increase in the number of schools maintained by the Council and (b) the issue of grants to existing non-municipal schools which had reached a satisfactory standard of efficiency and were able to demonstrate their need of financial assistance.
The increase in the number of schools io the Shanghai American School without prejudice to the question of policy involved by the issue of a grant to a national school situated outside the Settlement. In regard to Chinese Schools 205 oid and 42 new schools applied for subsidies, twenty-eight of the latter being rejected in the final allocation of funds. The Council sanctioned for this purpose total expenditure equivalent to that voted for the year 1936, ie. $227.760.
The total number of pupils at foreign grant-aided schools was 5,980, of whom 4111 were at the Japanese Schools; 37,001 at Chinese Primary grant-aided Schools; and 9,094 at Chinese Secondary—grant-aided Schools. referred solely to the education of Chinese children; in regard to foreign education only a change in the distribution of schools was proposed. Developments proceeded on these lines until the year 1934 when it became necessary to review the position and curtail on the 1931 programme owing to the difficulty in balancing the budget.
In October 1936 the Council appointed a Committee consisting of Mr. A. D. Calhoun, Mr. H. Porter, cmc. and Mr. T, Yamamoto to consider the question of future policy in regard to foreign schools. The two factors responsible for this investigation were increasing expenditure and the doubts that had been expressed as to whether the Council's existing policy resulted in a fair distribution among the various sections of the community of the money spent on education. The report was submitted to the Council in April. After setting out the historical background, the Committee recommended that, while there was a moral obligation' to provide education in respect of those national groups which are unorganized or whose economic circumstances prevent them from establishing national schools, the Council's policy should be directed towards an extension of the grant-in-aid system, an increase in the number of national schools, and the strict limitation of direct provision of education fróm municipal funds. The Committee was of opinion that, apart from those small national groups which are not large enough to provide their own national schools, the great majority of ratepayers' children should in time receive education in national rather than municipal schools. The Committee believed that if this policy were adopted it should be possible to distribute educational funds more fairly than at present, call a halt to increasing expenditure, and also to effect actual economy. The report also indicated how the general policy recommended could be carried out and, in conclusion, stated that if the policy were approved by the Council it would be-necessary to entrust the working out of details and the framing of concrete proposals to a committee containing representatives of national communities and also experts on education. It might be presumed, added the report, that the Council would submit the matter to the ratepayers before making any radical change in its educational policy.
The report was referred to the Education Board, which submitted the following recommendations to the Council-
(a) that consideration of the Report of the Special Education Committee on Policy in regard to Foreign Schools be postponed, in view of the advisability Df considering the Councils policy Towards Chinese and Foreign education as a whole:
(b) that a Special Education Committee on Policy in regard to Chinese Special Committee, on Chinese and Foreign education be referred, in due course, to the Ecucaiton Board for Consideration.
(c) that both the Reports of the eign Education be referred. in due specia] Committee on Chinese and For-course, to Education Board for con-Sideration.
The Council endorsed the recommendations of the Education Board and subsequently appointed a Committee consisting of Messrs. Vu Ya Ching, E.Y.B. Kiang, and Yulin Hsi, fo deal with Chinese educational policy as laid down in paragraph (b) of the recommendations.
The Council's Schools At the beginning of 1937 sixteen schools were maintained and controlled by the Council—eleven for Chinese and five for foreign children. In addition three night schools for young industrial workers functioned in Primary School buildings.
Conditions were normal until the summer vacation when it was recognized that the re-opening of the schools in the usual premises would be unavoidably delayed. Owing to the outbreak of hostilities in August the buildings situated in the northern and eastern districts were inaccessible, while those located south of the Soochow Creek were used for troop billets, hospitals, and other emergency purposes.
The possibility of securing tempora ary premises in which to conduct classes was considered early in September but it was not unti] November 1, that conditions had sufficiently improved. to permit classes being organized on a part-time basis at various centres. At the time of writing only one of the Council's sixteen schools is available for educational purposes.
Qwing to the disturbed conditions enrolment fell far short of the normal attendance. Figures appended show the enrolment in June and December:—June December Foreign Schools 1469 908 Chinese Secondary
Chinese Primary Schools 2.780 1841
Chinese Night Schools 1,338 Schools 4500 1343
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.