->68 



NATURE 



[May II, 1911 



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No other civilised (jovernment nttempis to deal with 

 (general education in two watertight compartments. The 

 present position suggests inquiry which may show that the 

 Board should really be made responsible for the whole ol 

 the educational ladder, and not merely for the lower rungs 

 of it. 'Iliis would take from the Treasury a matter with 

 which, from its constitution and personnel, it is not so fitted 

 to deal n>i is the Board of Education. 



We have already found in two cases, the Meteorological 

 Ortice is one and university education another, and to 

 these can be added a third, the administration of scientific 

 grants, in which the Treasury, the function of which is to 

 control the expenditure of spending departments, acts as a 

 spending department itself ; an Alice in Wonderland 

 arrangement, in which the Chancellor of the Exchequer acts 

 both as )udge and jury ; there is no Minister in the 

 Cabinet to advise or defend expenditure thus administered, 

 except the one whose chief function is to veto it, and no 

 consultative committee to refer to ; to this may doubtless 

 be attributed the small regard paid to the claims on behalf 

 of science and the higher learning generally. 



In the matters under review the practice of foreign 

 Governments varies according as science is regarded from 

 the pure or applied standpoint, but the rule most generally 

 acted on is to place the scientific services under the control 

 of the Minister of Public Instruction, who is thus a 

 Minister for Science. 



It would appear from the foregoing references to the 

 distribution of the services among departments, that much 

 of the apparent confusion would disappear if . certain of 

 them were transferred to the Board of Education. This 

 would be in harmony with Continental practice, and would 

 have the advantage of utilising to the fullest extent the 

 services of an advisory committee, when, foUowing^ the 

 precedent r'>centlv so fully acted on, one is appointed to 

 deal with the scientific services. Another way out of the 

 present chaos is to appoint a Minister of Science. 



Although the words " Science and Art " have disappeared 

 from the title of the Board of Education, it still carries on 

 the work of the Science and Art Department, and the more 

 thoroughly it is carried on and developed the better it will 

 be for the nation. It is unfortunate from this point of 

 view that in the controversies which have been carried on of 

 late years in the name of education, the real functions of 

 the Board have become obscured. 



If we pass to the question of museums we find the same 

 chaos : this was reported on by the Duke of Devonshire's 

 Commission in 1874. Of these the oldest, the British 

 Museum, including the Natural History Museum with a 

 Geological Department at South Kensington, is adminis- 

 tered by trustees ; the youngest, the Victoria and Albert 

 Museum and the Science Museum, also at South Kensing- 

 ton, by the Board of Education. 



The Board of Education also controls the Geological 

 Museum at Jermyn Street, the Geological Department of 

 the British Museum being, as stated above, at South 

 Kensington. 



The above anomalies lie on the fringe of the subject : 

 they are given as examples of the ground to be covered 

 when an inquiry is made. 



Ci'iichisi.uis aiul Krronniiciuhitions of the Tcchmcal 

 Education Committee. 



(\) The work of technical education should be organised 

 as a national system. A system of scholarships or bursaries 

 should enable the most promising students to pass from 

 the technical school to the universitv, or to highly 

 specialised institutions established to promote the scientific 

 and practical study of particular industries. Technical 

 institutions of sufficient standing should be connected with 

 local universities, and others should be assigned work and 

 place in an organic scheme to prevent waste of effort and 

 undo«irahle coinpetition. 



{2) There should be a national .'\dvisorv Board for Tech- 

 nical Education and local .Advisory Boards should also be 

 appointed : these should include' a certain number of 

 teachers as well as representatives of industry and com- 

 merce. Greater appreciation of the value of scientific and 

 NO. 2167, VOL. 86] 



...I...: . . ,1 :,. r . I ._• I progren may xY ' ■ 



scd inttitutions 

 .- . a;h» iirdinoted L. .... 

 appointment of r< vcs of th<- anufacturera 



upon the governii <>f such in 



(3) Courses of study and syllabuses fading to national 

 certificates in technical education should be approved by the 

 National Advisory Board. Such work should be of a mor* 

 advanced character than that for which local bodies msjr 

 grant certificates, but a national <-tt;<,, ,1,. r.. !-..;„,. f« 

 attainmcrnt in the specialised knowlcd. 



be establishird by the local and nat 

 acting jointly. 



(4) Evening classes provide a valuable means of combin- 

 ing theoretical studies with actual practice — concurrent 

 training in factory and school — and have done much to 



qualify strong and capable men for positions of re' -'■ 



bility in commerce and in certain industries. An cr 



of the -opportunities for part-time study in the •! 

 however, greatly to be desired, and the increase ol »u( i 

 classes should do much to advance technical education. 



(5) There should be in each district a sufTicient nu'- 

 (a) trade preparatory schools for pupils of about tv 

 fifteen years of age, such schools to differ frr 

 secondary schools in the large amount of t: 

 various forms of manual instruction; (b) 



schools for part-time day pupils and for evening pupii^ 

 Both (a) and (b) would be concerned chiefly with th 

 further education of pupils trained in primary schools. 



(6) For the comprehensive training required to produ> • 

 future captains and leaders of industry, whole-time instriK 

 tion is essential in institutions of advanced type. It :~ 

 desirable that each institution of this type should add 1 

 its curriculum, as far as possible, specialised instruction i: 

 a particular subject, or group of subjects, relating to orv 

 or more of the principal industries of the district. 



(7) The national and municipal expenditure upon educi- 

 tion in England in respect of technical, art, evening, an<i 

 similar schools and classes is about one and a half million 

 pounds per annum : and the number of students abovr 

 fifteen years is about half a million ; so that, neglectintr 

 younger pupils, the annual cost is only about 3/. p< r 

 student. As, however, the chief part of the work of mo^r 

 of the schools, whether day or evening, is elementary or 

 of a continuation-school grade, it cannot be classified a- 

 technical education ; hence the actual expenditure upon 

 technical education properly so called is only a small 

 amount of the total. 



(8) In most parts of the country, bursaries or scholar- 

 ships are provided, by means of which promising pupils in 

 public elementary schools may pass into secondary schools 

 or technical schools, and thence into a technical college or 

 university for more advanced instruction. For work of 

 what may be called a post-graduate standard, however, 

 little provision has been made, though it is of the highest 

 importance. To secure the highest development of indus- 

 tries, highly technical and specialised work must be carried 

 on in suitable institutions by well-qualified students. 

 Increased facilities should therefore be afforded by liberal 

 scholarships or other assistance, to enable such students to 

 enter institutions of this type and maintain themselves while 

 following approved courses of study or research. 



Report of the Canadian Committee. 



Since the meeting of the organising committee of the 

 British Science Guild in Canada, held in Winnipeg during 

 the meeting of the British AsscKiation, the Canadian com- 

 mittee Has been established on a firm basis, and some 

 definite work has been undertaken. It is a source of 

 satisfaction to have the sympathy and advice of Lord 

 Strathcona, who kindly consented to become honorary 

 president of the committee this year, owing to the with- 

 drawal of Earl Grey as Governor-General of Canada. 



One of the most important questions now being con- 

 sidered by this committee is the teaching of science in the 

 schools. A special sub(X)mmittee has been formed, with 

 Dr. C. J. Lynde, Department of Physics at Macdonald 

 College, as cliairman. The object of this committee is to 

 gather information as to the facilities for science teaching 

 offered in the various provinces. The committee has in 

 view the following questions : — 



