Page images
PDF
EPUB

turns at meal-time. The total income of the teachers from fixed salaries and fluctuating fees and perquisites varies from Rs. 3-8-0 to Rs. 7-8-0 per month, the average being rather more than Rs. 5 a month." *

How poor Communities combined to support a School.

"The school at Dharail affords a good specimen of the mode in which a small native community unite to support the school. At that place there are four families of Chaudhuries, the principal persons in the village; but they are not so wealthy as to be able to support a teacher for their children without the co-operation of others. They give the teacher an apartment of their house in which his scholars may meet, one of the outer apartments of their house in which business is sometimes transacted, and at other times worship performed or strangers entertained. One of those families further pays four annas a month, the second an equal sum, the third eight annas, and the fourth twelve annas, which include the whole of their disbursements on this account,—no presents or perquisites of any kind being received from them, -and for the sums mentioned their five children receive Bengali education. The. amount thus obtained, however, is not sufficient for the support of the teacher, and he, therefore, receives other scholars belonging to other families-of whom one gives one anna, another gives three annas, and five give four annas a month, to which they add voluntary presents amounting per month to about four annas, and consisting of vegetables, rice, fish, and occasionally a piece of cloth, such as a handkerchief, or an upper or a lower garment. Five boys of Kagbariya, the children of two families, attend the Dharail school, the distance being about a mile, which in the rainy season can be traversed only by water. Of the five, two belonging to one family, give together two annas, and three others,

Mr. Adam concludes with the comment :- Any measures that may be adopted to improve education in this country will be greatly inadequate if they are not directed to increase the attainments of the teachers and to elevate and extend their views of their duties."

belonging to the other family, give together four annas a month, and thus the whole income of the master is made up. This case shows by what pinched and stinted contributions the class just below the wealthy and the class just above the indigent unite to support a school; and it constitutes a proof of the very limited means of those who are anxious to give a Bengali education to their children, and of the sacrifices which they make to accomplish that object."

Remuneration of Teachers compared with that of
their Social Equals in other walks of Life.

In view of the exceedingly small incomes upon which he found teachers obliged to exist, Mr. Adam instituted a comparison between the salaries earned by teachers and their social equals in other vocations. To quote him :-"I have spoken of the emoluments of teachers as low, not in comparison with their qualifications, or with the general rates of similar labour in the district, but with those emoluments to which competent men might be justly considered entitled. The humble character of the men, and the humble character of the service they render may be judged from the fact already stated, that some of them go about from house to house to receive their daily food. All, however, should not be estimated by this standard; and perhaps a generally correct opinion of their relative position in society may be formed by comparing them with those persons who have nearly similar duties to perform in other occupations in life, or whose duties the teachers of the common schools could probably in most instances perform if they were called upon to do so. Such, for example, are the Patwari, the Amein, the Shumarnavis, the Khamarnavis employed on native states. The Patwari, who goes from house to house collecting the Zemindar's rents, gets from his employer a salary of Rs. 2-8 or Rs. 3 a month, to which may be added numerous presents from the ryots on the first production of the season, amounting to probably 8 annas

a month. The Amein, who on behalf of the Zemindar decides the disputes that take place among the villagers and measures their lands, gets from Rs. 3-8-0 to Rs. 4 a month. The Shumarnavis, who keeps the accounts of the collection of rents by the different Patwaris, receives about Rs. 5 a month. And the Khamarnavis, who is employed to acertain the state and value of the crops on which the Zemindar has claims in kind, receives the same allowance. Persons bearing these designations, and discharging these duties, sometimes receive higher salaries; but the cases I have supposed are those with which that of the common native schoolmaster must be considered as on a level, he being supposed capable of undertaking their duties, and they of undertaking his. The holders of these offices on a native estate have opportunities of making unauthorized gains, and they enjoy a responsibility and influence which the native schoolmaster does not possess; but in other respects they are nearly on an equality; and to compensate for those disadvantages, the salary of the common schoolmaster is in general rather higher-none of those whom I have met in Nattore receiving in all less than Rs. 3-8-0, and some receiving as high as Rs. 7-8-0 a month."

School-houses.

Mr. Adam tells us "there are no school-houses built for, and exclusively appropriated to, these schools. The apartments or buildings in which the scholars assemble would have been erected, and would continue to be applied to other purposes, if there were no schools. Some meet in the Chandi Mandap, which is of the nature of a chapel belonging to some one of the principal families of the village, and in which, besides the performances of religious worship on occasion of the great annual festivals, strangers also are sometimes lodged and entertained, and business transacted. Others meet in the Baitakhana, an open hut principally intended as a place of recreation and of concourse for the consideration of matters relating to the

general interests of the village. Others meet in the private dwelling of the chief supporter of the school ; and others have no special place of meeting, unless it be the most vacant and protected spot in the neighbourhood of the master's abode." In the District of Murshidabad Mr. Adam found school-houses built at the expense of the teacher, or at the expense of a comparatively wealthy person whose son attended the school, or by subscriptions raised amongst the villagers, some of whom contributed in money, others in materials and others in personal labour. In the great majority of cases he found that there was no school-house, and that the children assembled in the house of the teacher, or in a family or village temple, or in an outhouse of one of the parents, or in the hut assigned for the entertainment of travellers, or in the corner of a shop, or in the portico of a mosque, or under a shady tree. In Birbhum there was a school-house that had been built by the teacher at a cost in money of Rs. 1-4-0 with the aid of his pupils, who brought materials from the jungles. The house was thatched, and its walls consisted of branches and leaves of palm and sal trees interlaced.

Elementary Domestic Instruction.

In another part of his Report Mr. Adam narrates :"In addition to the elementary instruction given in regular schools, there is a sort of traditionary knowledge of written language and accounts preserved in families from father to son and from generation to generation. This domestic elementary instruction is much more in use than scholastic elementary instruction, and yet it is not so highly valued as the latter. The reasons why the less esteemed form of elementary instruction is more common cannot in all cases be accurately ascertained. The inaptitude for combination for purposes of common interest, sometimes alleged against the natives, might be suggested; but the truth is that they do often club together, sometimes to establish and support schools, and sometimes to defray the expenses of religious celebrations, dances and plays.

In those cases in which scholastic instruction would be preferred by parents, and I believe such cases to be numerous, poverty is the only reason that can be assigned; and in other instances, as those of the Zemindar and the Brahmin Pandit, the pride of rank and station in the one case, and of birth and learning in the other, acting also upon circumscribed means may prevent the respective parties from looking beyond their own thresholds for the instruction which their children need. Inability to pay for school instruction I believe to be by far the most prevalent reason, and this is confirmed by the fact that in at least six villages which I visited, I was told that there had been recently Bengali schools which had been discontinued because the masters could not gain a livelihood, or because they found something more profitable to do elsewhere. . . . From all I could learn and observe, I am led to infer that in this District (Nattore) elementary instruction is on the decline, and has been for some time past decaying. The domestic instruction which many give to their children in elementary knowledge would seem to be an indication of the struggle which the ancient habits and the practical sense of the people are making against their present depressed circum

[merged small][ocr errors]

The Classes of People who favour Domestic Elementary Education.

[ocr errors]

"The classes of society amongst which domestic elementary instruction is most prevalent deserve attention. Of the 1,588 families 1,277 are Hindus and 311 are Muhammadans; and assuming the average of each class to be the same, namely 11⁄2 children in each family (as already estimated), then the number of Hindu children will be 1,915% and Muhammadan children 466%, or in the proportion of 1,000 to 243. . . . The proportion of Musalman children receiving domestic instruction is rather less than 1 to 4. This disproportion is explained by the fact that a very large majority of the humblest grades of native society in this district (Nattore) are composed of Musalmans-such as cultivators, daily labourers, fishermen, etc., who are

« PreviousContinue »