53« 



NATURE 



[January 22, 1920 



the many important topics dealt with, but before 

 discCssing any of these we may mention that the 

 key [to the reforms recommended by the Commis- 

 sionbrs is the estabhshment of a Board of Secon- 

 dary and Intermediate Education. The object they 

 have in view is to secure the admission of students 

 to the university who are duly prepared for higher 

 studies, and the exclusion of those who are not. 

 Under existing conditions an enormous number 

 of candidates are sent up for the matriculation 

 examination who are totally unfit to enter on 

 univiersity studies. 



There are, of course, a number of excellent 

 high schools in Bengal, and especially in Cal- 

 cutta, but there are a fai greater number of in- 

 ferior schools. Their inferiority is due in a 

 greejt measure to the low standard of the teaching 

 staff. English, for example, is often taught by 

 an Indian on a poor salary, who is not really 

 qualified to teach it. As the time approaches for 

 the matriculation examination, a test examination 

 is held in each school, and on the result of that 

 test : candidates are allowed to go in for the uni- 

 versity examination. A percentage of marks is 

 demianded of students who are allowed to proceed, 

 but the test varies very much from school to 

 school, and owing to the solicitations of parents 

 and I other causes there is a tendency to show 

 great leniency, for so important is the prestige at- 

 taching to higher English education that to have 

 failed in the matriculation is already regarded as 

 an achievement. All Anglo-Indians are familiar 

 with the claims that are supposed to attach to a 

 man who has failed in the B.A., his value in the 

 marriage-market being far greater than that of a 

 man who has not sat for the B.A. at all. 



The main problems, therefore, which the Com- 

 mission set itself to solve were : (i) how to im- 

 prove the higher classes of the secondary schools, 

 and (2) how to secure the admission only of 

 qualified students to university courses. Having 

 convinced themselves of the impossibility of exer- 

 cising full control of all the secondary schools in 

 the province, which would involve an extensive 

 inspectorate and interference with many private 

 enterprises, the Commissioners came to the con- 

 clusion that control could be exercised at the 

 stage now represented by the intermediate stage 

 at universities, and they therefore suggest the 

 establishment of intermediate colleges, which 

 should be either attached to selected high schools 

 or organised as distinct institutions. These col- 

 leges should be under the immediate control of 

 the Board of Secondary and Intermediate Educa- 

 tion, the constitution of which is representative 

 of all classes. The intermediate colleges should 

 afford instruction not only for the ordinary degree 

 courses of the university in arts and science, but 

 also for the medical, engineering, and teaching 

 professions, and for careers in agriculture, com- 

 merce, and industry. There should be two 

 secondary-school examinations : the first, approxi- 

 mately corresponding to the present matriculation, 

 to be taken at the end of the high-school stage, 

 at the normal age of sixteen, or, in special cases, 

 NO. 2621, VOL. 104] 



at the age of fifteen, and to be known as the 

 high-school examination ; the second, approxi- 

 mately corresponding to the present intermediate, 

 but much more varied in its rang3, to be taken 

 at the end of the intermediate college course, at 

 the normal age of eighteen, and to be known as 

 the intermediate college examination. Success 

 in this examination should constitute the normal 

 test of admission to university courses. 



The constitution of the board is, of course, a 

 very important matter. It is to consist of from 

 fifteen to eighteen members, with power to 

 appoint outside members to sub-committees. 

 The president of the board should be a salaried 

 official appointed by Government, of high status. 

 This board will naturally take a good deal of 

 responsibility out of the hands of the universities, 

 which will, however, be represented on it by seven 

 members, for they will define the curricula, not 

 only of the intermediate colleges, but, as naturally 

 follows, also of the high schools ; and they will 

 further conduct the two secondary-school exam- 

 inations which we have mentioned above. This 

 board will also, of course, relieve the Director 

 of Public Instruction of much detail work, with- 

 out, however, reducing in any way the importance 

 of his department. 



Such is the Commission's proposal for improv- 

 ing the system. The Commissioners have also 

 gone very thoroughly into the all-important ques- 

 tion of improving the teaching staffs, which is 

 chiefly a matter of finance. In this connection 

 they have made several important proposals, of 

 which the three following are the most im- 

 portant : (i) That facilities should be given for 

 the interchange of teachers between privately 

 managed schools and Governmeni schools ; 

 {2) that teachers in Government schools and col- 

 leges should be placed upon a professional rather 

 than a service basis ; (3) that a superannuation 

 fund should be instituted to replace the existing 

 pension system for future recruits to the profes- 

 sion. This last suggestion, which is based upon 

 the federated superannuation scheme which has 

 been adopted in the home universities, should do 

 much to encourage recruiting for the Bengal 

 educational service. 



One of the most difficult subjects with which 

 the Commission has had to deal was the question 

 of the medium of instruction to be used in secon- 

 dary schools. Although, as is natural, there is 

 a general desire among Indians that their children 

 should be educated on a bilingual basis, there is 

 an overwhelming mass of opinion in favour of 

 English as the chief medium from the intermediate 

 stage upwards. The difficulty is to decide at what 

 stage to begin to use English as a medium, and 

 for what subjects. The Commission is of opinion 

 that the vernacular should be used for instruction 

 throughout secondary schools for all subjects 

 other than English and mathematics. It was con- 

 vinced that the use of English in secondary 

 schools as a medium is excessive. The Commis- 

 sioners are, however, "emphatically of opinion 

 ' that there is something unsound in a system of 



