FEMALE EDUCATION IN SOUTHERN INDIA.

REPORT BY MRS. BRANDER, INSPECTRESS OF GIRLS' SCHOOLS.

References have been made in this Journal to the good work which Mrs. Brander is doing as Inspectress of Girls' Schools in Southern India. Her Administration Report for 1883-84, dated the 26th June, 1884, shows that a very extensive addition has been made to her charge. Her range now includes Madras, Chingleput, Nellore, South Arcot, Tanjore, Trichinopoly, Madura and Tinnevelly, and thus embraces most of the Tamil districts and one of the Telugu districts. The number of girls who ought to be under instruction in this range is 892,900, but only 23,894, or 2 per cent., are at school. Of these, 7,183 belong to the town of Madras, where the percentage rises to 23, and 5,180 to the district of Tinnevelly, where the percentage is 4. No rural district shows so high a percentage as Tinnevelly, but three of the Municipalities, viz., Ongole, Tuticorin and Palamcottah, have even higher percentages than Madras; and, speaking generally, it may be said that it is mainly in the large towns that female education is taking root. The returns show that two-thirds of the children belong to the poorer classes, and most of the rest to the middle classes, the richer classes being represented by the insignificant number of 222 girls. More than half the teachers have certificates of some kind, but even in girls' schools most of them are men, and no less than 6,412 of the girls are attending boys' schools; but as grants are not in future to be given for girls attending such schools, it is probable that this practice will be checked.

On the standard of education, Mrs. Brander has the following remarks:

"In my range, higher education for girls is confined entirely to the Presidency Division, and, with the exception of one girl, to the Presidency town. Also, omitting Normal Schools, it is almost exclusively confined to Europeans and Eurasians. It is therefore satisfactory to find that a high class has been opened, although with a single pupil, in the S.G.P. Boarding School for Native Christians at Vepery. In my

opinion High Schools for Native Christians are very much required, partly that they may serve as feeders to Normal Schools. High Schools for caste Hindu girls are at present quite impossible.

"The majority of the pupils of the middle departments are Europeans and Eurasians and Native Christians, but a few caste Hindu girls now enter these departments and remain for a year, and sometimes for two, and study for the Special Upper Primary Examination. In a very few instances caste girls have passed the Middle School Examination, but this is very rare."

Mrs. Brander made three tours of inspection, and examined 102 schools, with 4,734 pupils. Miss Carr, superintendent of the Government Female Normal School, acted for Mrs. Brander for three months, and made one tour, visiting 15 schools and examining 1,423 pupils. Two native ladies, Miss Govinderajalu and Miss Rajagopal, were employed as Deputy Inspectresses; but on the resignation of the latter, the Deputy Inspector of Cuddalore took charge of her range, probably because no native lady was available to succeed her. It is satisfactory to learn that Mrs. Brander, in spite of the heavy labours devolving on her, succeeded in passing the High Proficiency test in Tamil. R. M. M.

HOBART MUHAMMADAN GIRLS' SCHOOL, MADRAS.

We have received the following proceedings of the Director of Public Instruction, Madras, dated 30th June, 1885, in reference to the Hobart School:

Read the following letter from the Inspectress of Girls' Schools, Northern, Southern and Central Ranges, to the Director of Public Instruction, dated Madras, 6th May, 1885, No. 1496:

"I have the honor to submit my report of the Hobart School for Muhammadan girls, Triplicane, examined on the 11th

ultimo.

"2. I have much pleasure in reporting that the school has been satisfactorily developed in two directions since the inspection of last year. A Normal department with two classes of five and six pupils respectively has been organised, and an Industrial class containing thirteen pupils has been formed.

"With regard to the staff, the Head Mistress has passed the Higher Examination for Women, and Miss Higgins the Special Upper Primary examination in Hindustani. Miss Cripps' certificate is, therefore, now a perfect first-grade Normal one, and she has received an honorarium of Rs. 300. Miss Higgins has been recommended for a perfect third-grade ordinary certiThe staff has been further strengthened by the appointment of Miss Morgan, a second-grade mistress trained at the Government Female Normal School.

Miss Morgan has introduced Kindergarten teaching and drill into the younger classes; and considering the short time that she has been in the school, and her limited knowledge of Hindustani, she has been very successful.

"5. I propose to examine the Normal department at the end of the year, and I therefore only examined it cursorily at this inspection. The Normal pupils who are in the third class appeared to me to be very promising, and I think that if they work hard they may pass the Special Upper Primary examination in December. Miss Cripps is teaching them very carefully and with a view to their future occupation, but they are not as yet undergoing any training properly so called. It is thought best that they should give all their time to preparation for the Special Upper Primary examination this year, and this seems the wisest course. Three of them teach a little, but without supervision.

"6. The Industrial Needlework class has only recently been formed. The pupils are at very different stages. The work of one was very good; that of three fair, and the rest had scarcely begun to learn.

แ7. There are four work-teachers, but they do not seem to teach the industrial class, nor any of the classes except the first classes in the Normal and Practising schools. More progress in industrial needlework would probably be made if the four work-teachers spent less of their time at work, and more in actual teaching. This school obtained one prize and two medals at the National Indian Association's Exhibition of Needlework this year. Two of the work-teachers give instruction in Indian fancy-work at the Government Female Normal School every Friday afternoon.

"8. The order and discipline were very good in the higher, and fair in the lower classes.

"9. Drill has been introduced in the younger classes, but no swing has yet been erected.

"10. The registers were in order.

"11. A black-board, tables and benches for Kindergarten work, and maps of Madras Town, Europe and Asia, are required.

"12. The building was the same as in former years, and was in order.

"13. I was much pleased with a ball-frame of beads which had been made by the teachers themselves to teach Arithmetic to the infants. An Alphabet sheet of Hindustani letters had also been prepared for the infant class by the Head Mistress."

The Acting Director of Public Instruction has perused the above report with much pleasure. The condition of the school reflects great credit on Miss Cripps and her assistants. The establishment of Normal and Industrial classes, and the introduction of Kindergarten teaching and drill, are steps in the right direction. When the school turns out a number of trained mistresses, they should gradually be employed in the place of the present unpassed and uncertificated mistresses.

2. Mrs. Brander's remarks in para. 7 should receive attention. The Acting Director trusts that early arrangements will be made for the erection of a swing, and also for the supply of the articles mentioned in para. 11 of the Inspectress' letter. Aid will be given if applied for.

3. Five out of six girls secured Upper Primary certificates, while only one passed out of five examined at the Lower Primary examination. At inspection, the girls acquitted themselves satisfactorily. More attention should be paid to spelling. The progress made in Kindergarten occupations and drill is creditable to Miss Morgan.

(A true Copy and Extract.)

Acting Director of Public Instruction.

THE POONA FEMALE TRAINING COLLEGE.

H.E. the Governor of Bombay and Lady Reay, accompanied by Mrs. Sheppard and Captain Hamilton, visited the Female Training College at Poona, on June 25th. Notice of their intention having been given on the previous day, the compound and building of the college were gay with decorations in honour of the illustrious visitors, who were received at the entrance

by Miss Collett, the lady superintendent. Each of the classes from the Practising School and Training College was visited in turn, his Excellency and Lady Reay evincing the greatest interest in everything connected with the working of the institution. The Governor himself put a good many questions in history and geography to the senior students, and was seemingly much pleased by the intelligent replies which he received. After visiting the various classes, the party proceeded to the lady superintendent's office, where the plain and fancy work executed by the students was displayed: this and some beautifully-drawn maps received much commendation. Two globes made by Mr. Gadre, the head-master, were also exhibited. Lady Reay was so pleased with these that she gave Mr. Gadre an order to make three globes especially for herself. After the inspection of the work was over, the children of the Practising School were gathered in the large hall, under the guidance of Miss Brooke, first assistant to the lady superintendent, to go through their Kindergarten drill and songs. The Governor and Lady Reay were much pleased with this performance, which showed that the physical as well as the mental training of the children received due attention, and that school life did not mean for them one dreary monotonous round of lessons. The students of the Training College then sang some Marathi words set to English tunes, and also some native "gurbis" and "shlokes." After this the younger students exhibited some of the most popular of the games and exercises performed by native women and girls on holidays: these caused much amusement to the lookers-on. Two of the senior students then presented bouquets of flowers to Lady Reay and Mrs. Sheppard, which were kindly accepted by these ladies. Before leaving, his Excellency congratulated the students on the excellent training which they were receiving, and expressed a hope that, when they in their turn became teachers, they would follow the plan adopted in the college, and make school life happy and attractive to the children under their charge. His Excellency also expressed to Miss Collett the gratification which Lady Reay and he had received from their visit to the college, and congratulated her on the success attending her work, and Miss Brooke on the very able manner in which she had taught the drill and singing classes.-From the "Times of India."