Sept. 5. campisas with' which i aw tate come munication in response (0 the agitation which mmpiness with a
has been proceeding in some quarters against the increase in school fees. It is a method which should-be adopted as often as possible, for if ever it were necessary to prevent the spread of misunderstanding it 1s Surely now, now made quite clear that the parents of every' school chilld was informed In, writing that"it was open to them to apply for bur saries if it was felt it would be a hardship {o have to meet the increased fees. Applica ons numbering 322 were sent in, and that the consideration of the various cases was fon a generous scale is evidenced by the fact that in 235 cases, roughly seventy per cent, of the applications, bursaries were granted Of a total enrollment in the municipal schools of 1,209 about twenty per cent, of the pupils are in receipt of assistance, exclusive of those provided for under the Hanbury Trust.
In addition to this, there is the system of discounts in the case of families sending more than one pupil to school. According to the communique" issued by' the Council, the maximum fee for an individual child' of a Settlement resident is $95.60, That does not appear to be at all an unreasonable sum. Unfortunately to many that sul represents a formidable proportion of their monthly Incomes for not everyone has had increases in their salaries equivalent to the rise in the cost of living and the dwindling value the dollar. Wath them there must be very considerable sympathy, but in truth It has to be said that the Council. is doing all it can be expected to do in meeting their dimiculties. 'There are reasons why they cannot do more, Foreign education is naturally more expensive than that of the Chinese or Japanese, and the Councit 1s already spend= ing' more on foreign education in proportion to the percentage of rates pald by the foreign community than it Is spending upon Chinese and Japanese education.
That, is an important fact which has to be borne in mind when considering this ques= ton, and the request that school fees for foreign children should "be reduced {sin reality a demand that the Council should subsidize their education. That, of course, the Council in justice to all communities in the International Settlement cannot possibly o, and its communique suggests that it has gone as far as it properly can in the relict ithas extended to so many cases. Undoubted~ ly hardships must continue to exist. Indeed this Journal is aware that they do, 1t would bbe more than a pity if because of the rising cost, of education foreign children were to be denied that tuition which is rightfully theirs. Some parents are already making great sacri fies in this connection, and, in those cases where the Council is unable to do all that should be done, it is suggested that the national societies might be induced to step in, Some of them already pay for the main= tenance and education of necessitous children, and it is possible that they. might be induced to extend the scope of their assistance, Only those in charge of the finances of these societies understand exactly the size fof the burden they can carry in this respect, but it is urged that it should not be ime possible, even when there are already. 30 many demands upon the pockets of most people, to secure further contributions for the [purpose of making sure that no child coming under their notice shall be denied his or her Schooling merely for the lack of sulleient funds, It needs to be emphasized that the Council is doing all it" can. reasonably be expected to do, and that assistance must be forthcoming from other quarters. Tncident= ally a passing remark by a correspondent {o these columns concerning the quality of the education given in the municipal schools calls for some comment. There is not the slightest doubt that the teaching given is of the soundest as witnessed by the results of the various examinations and the distinction 50 many of the scholars have obtained. for themselves, and it would be an injustice a very able and conscientious body of men and woman if the impression created by" the correspondent. in. i were allowed lent in question (0
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.