'REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY FOR THE YEAR, 1910-1911' [‎226r] (35/150)

SUMMARY.
. XXIX
on jth April 19 1 shortly after the close of the year. The institute is supported
; } y donations aggregating 22 ^ Idkhs contributed by the public spirit of a few
Bombay citizens. A commencement was also made with the buildings of the
gadhavlal Ranchhodlal Science Institute in Gujarat, for which Sir Chinubhai
jjadhavlal has given a donation of 6 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. . The question of moral and
religious instruction engaged the attention of Government, and a conference was
held on this important subject under the auspices of the Director of Public
Instruction and the Bombay Teachers’ Association. Hand-books are now in
course of preparation containing moral lessons for the use of teachers in primary
and secondary schools. As regards University administration the year was chiefly
occupied with further discussion of the reform measures proposed by Government
in December 1908. Committees were appointed to draft revised regulations in Arts
an d Science on the lines agreed upon by the Senate. In high schools the number
of pupils rose by 47 per cent, to a total of 42,556 which included nearly 3,000 girls.
The rules and regulations for the School hinal Examination were revised during
the year and the question of revising the curriculum of secondary schools was
under consideration. Orders were passed raising the fees in Government high and
middle schools and it was also decided to limit the accommodation to be provided in
Government high schools, due regard being had to the educational needs
of each district. The number of primary schools increased by 5 per cent, to
a total of 12,388. Of the new schools 524 were opened by means of the
special grant of R.s. 1 ,44,000 allotted for this purpose from provincial funds.
Primary school pupils increased by 2'i per cent, and numbered 705,302. The
need is everywhere apparent of more assistant masters, and the expansion of
schools in the last two years has necessitated the employment of many masters
without experience and with little teaching capacity. The percentage of trained
teachers was only 31-8 among the men and 45-2 among the women. An additional
recurring grant of Rs. 44,000 was sanctioned during the year for improving the
pay of primary school masters and for giving the face value of their certificates
to those trained teachers who were not yet in receipt of it. The prospects of
vernacular teachers were also improved by the publication of revised codes for
the training colleges ; but the output of third year teachers has necessarily been
restricted on account of the difficulty experienced by Local Boards in paying the
Ml face value of their certificates to newly trained men, and the attendance at the
men’s colleges has consequently shown some decline. The total number of
Mahomedans under public instruction increased by 2 per cent, only, a somewhat
disappointing result compared with the marked expansion noticed in the previous
year. The figures are affected, however, by the closing of a number of useless
Mia schools in Sind, which caused an actual decrease in the total number of
; ahome dan pupils in that province. There was a satisfactory advance, amount-
■ ng m each case to nearly 10 per cent., in the number of children from aboriginal
n hill tribes and from the depressed classes who attended primary schools.
the ^ t The SCh ° 01 WaS ful1, admisslon havin S t0 be refused in some cases, and Yeravda
work, judged by the records of past pupils, again shows extremely satisfactory R ef °™at°ry
te U S ' 0f the b °y s discharged in the previous three years 81 per cent, are Sch ° ol ‘
and a t0 be gainin S an bonest livelihood, 14-6 per cent, are untraceable
since , reSldue of on 'y 4'4 per cent, are known to have taken to bad courses
credit ?j lVlng tbe reformatory. The results of the annual examination were
a e and the health of the boys was uniformly good.
per cent T t he nUmber ° f P ubIications registered during the year rose by nearly 13 Literature.
Wt) rks. of 3 t0taI ° f . 2 ’ 338 ' The increase appears chiefly in miscellaneous
_ special subjects religion accounts as usual for the largest number of
~8 s