542 Report S.A.A. Advancement of Science. 



to these questions is not yet decided upon, and its position is conse- 

 quently more independent tlian that of institutions whose futures so 

 largely hang on the line of action ultimately adopted. 



I therefore decided to accept the Council's invitation, and to 

 open this discussion with a brief (and, I fear, very superficial) survey 

 of the past history and present position of University Education in 

 South Africa, followed by a summary of the more obvious remedies 

 for the present acknowledgedly unsatisfactory state of affairs, leaving 

 the discussion of the relative merits of the several schemes, or the 

 proposal of other measures, to those who have more claim to speak 

 authoritatively. 



This is eminently a discussion, and not an address, and I will 

 make my opening remarks as brief as possible. One of the disadvan- 

 tages of the great distances between the centres of. University work in 

 this country is that we get so few opportunities of discussing questions 

 of this kind together, and as I believe the question of an inter-colonial 

 conference on University matters is now on the tapis, some discussion 

 of the subject on a more informal basis will perhaps pave the way to 

 a more definite policy. Moreover, in an open discussion of this kind 

 we shall have the benefit, I hope, of the views of members not directly 

 connected with University work. 



The present position of University Education in South Africa 

 is, briefly, this. There is a single University, the University of the 

 Cape of Good Hope, which was incorporated in 1873, and received a 

 Royal Charter in 1879. The University did not evolve out of any 

 teaching corporation, but out of a " Board of Public Examiners," 

 established in 1858. The Board had already for many years con- 

 ducted examinations and awarded certificates in academic, 

 professional, and technical subjects, so that the incorporation of the 

 University chiefly resulted in the transfer of these examinations to 

 the University and the substitution of Degrees for Certificates. 



The University has remained an examining body, pure and 

 simple, like the old London University and the Royal University of 

 Ireland, the University of Manitoba (until recently), and, in a 

 restricted sense, the University of New Zealand. 



The growth of Higher Education in South Africa can be judged 

 from the fact that, in each decade since the founding of the Cape 

 University, the average number of students, graduating annually in 

 Arts has more than doubled, so that the average for the years 1896- 

 1905 is nearly 4I times that of the twelve years 1874-1885. A 

 similar steady rise is noticeable if we take averages over periods of 

 five years, as will be seen from the following table : — 



