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THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 1888. 



TECHNICAL EDUCATION. 



WE are glad to see that the Government Bill for 

 the Promotion of Technical Instruction (which we 

 print elsewhere) is down for second reading as first order 

 of the day on June 14. The objects effected by this Bill 

 are substantially the same as those of the Government 

 Bill of last year, and of that already introduced by Sir 

 Henry Roscoe and other friends of education, this year, 

 on behalf of the National Association for the Promotion 

 of Technical Education. That is to say, it is an enabling 

 Bill, giving powers to localities, if they think fit, to 

 apply local rates to the purpose of promoting technical 

 instruction. 



In Clause 6, " technical instruction " is defined to 

 mean "instruction in the principles of science and art 

 applicable to industries, and in the application of special 

 branches of science and art to specific industries or em- 

 ployments." It does not include teaching the practice of 

 any trade, or industry, or employment ; but, subject to this 

 reservation, it includes " instruction in the branches of 

 science and art with respect to which grants are for the 

 time being made by the Department of Science and 

 Art, and any other form of instruction which may for 

 the time being be sanctioned by that Department by 

 a minute laid before Parliament, and made on the 

 representation of a School Board or local authority that 

 such a form of instruction is required by the circumstances 

 of its district." This definition appears good, so far as 

 it goes, but in our opinion it does not go far enough, for 

 it does not .specifically include, as Sir Henry Roscoe's 

 Bill does, the commercial subjects and modern languages. 

 This, however, may easily be amended by a slight altera- 

 tion of the wording of Clause 6, which should read : 

 "Technical instruction means instruction in subjects 

 applicable to industry and commerce, and in the appli- 

 cation of special branches of science and art to specific 

 industries and employment." It is, however, to be noticed 

 that Clause 5 suggests the possibility of Imperial grants 

 in aid of instruction in technical subjects in the words, 

 " Every minute of the Department of Science and Art 

 with respect to the condition on which grants may be 

 made for technical instruction shall be laid on the table 

 of both Houses of Parliament." What the precise nature 

 and amount of such grants may be is not stated, and 

 we shall await with interest the explanation of the 

 Government on this essential point. 



In any case, however, it will be necessary that such 

 grants should be accompanied by inspection under 

 Imperial authority, but this does not necessarily form 

 part of the Bill, which, after all, is one simply for giving 

 rating power, and only contains one compulsory clause, 

 viz. that in which School Boards availing themselves of 

 the provisions are required to grant similar powers to 

 voluntary schools in their districts claiming such powers, 

 up, be it always understood, to the limfrof one penny in 

 the pound. 



Vol. xxxviii. — No. 971. 



There are many points of difference between this 

 Government Bill and that of last year. In the first place, 

 the clause giving powers, granted by the last Bill, to fifty 

 ratepayers to demand a poll is very wisely omitted from 

 this Bill. In the second place, under the Bill of last year 

 the powers of promoting technical instruction could only 

 be exercised by School Boards or by Town Councils 

 where School Boards do not exist. No provision was 

 made for districts in which neither exist. Under the 

 present Bill, where a School Board does not exist, the 

 powers may be exercised by any local authority which 

 can carry out the Public Libraries Acts, and this gives, of 

 course, a much wider sphere of action than the former 

 Bill. But, more than this, the present Bill gives power to 

 Town Councils and other local authorities to grant aid 

 from the rates (even where a School Board exists) to 

 supply higher technical instruction, whereas under the 

 former Bill technical instruction both of an elementary 

 and of a higher character was in the hands of one author- 

 ity, viz. that of the School Board. Another new point is 

 that the annual rate in aid for technical instruction is 

 limited to one penny in the pound in the case of that 

 levied by the School Board, and at twopence in the 

 pound where the powers given under the Public 

 Libraries Acts are exercised concurrently. In the 

 Bill introduced on behalf of the National Associa- 

 tion no such limit is named. Possibly, in view of 

 Parliamentary objections, some limitation is advisable, 

 although very serious objections may be raised to this 

 proposal. Admission to technical schools and classes, 

 may, under Sir Henry Roscoe's Bill, be granted to all 

 comers who pay the required fees ; powers being, however, 

 given to Boards and local authorities to institute an 

 entrance examination in reading, writing, and arithmetic, 

 should they think fit. The Government adhere to their 

 former proposal to restrict all attendance in these schools 

 and classes (with the exception of those in which manual 

 instruction alone is given) to such pupils as shall have 

 passed an examination equivalent to that of the Sixth 

 Standard. The exception made this year in favour of 

 manual instruction is a step in the right direction. We 

 should have preferred perfect freedom of admission in the 

 Technical, as is now the case in the Science and Art 

 Classes of the Department, or at least to leave it to 

 the locality to determine whether any such entrance 

 examination is advisable or not. 



No powers are granted in the Government Bill respect- 

 ing payment of fees to deserving students or for the 

 establishment of scholarships, as in Sir H. Roscoe's 

 Bill. These seem to be minor defects, which can 

 be easily remedied. A more important point, and 

 one concerning which not only much discussion in the 

 House of Commons may be expected, but upon which 

 the success or failure of the Bill will probably depend, 

 is the much-vexed question of whether, and, if so, 

 under what conditions, any aid from local rates can be 

 given for the special purposes of technical instruction 

 to public elementary schools not under control of a 

 School Board, i.e. to voluntary or denominational schools. 

 Here the difference of opinion between the two great 

 political parties is very marked. One party will not on 

 any consideration sanction payment from the rates 



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