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school examination in'fl891 was 16,000, of whom 12,000 were 

 declared to have passed. The recent orders issued by Gov- 

 ernment making it obligatory on candidates for village offices 

 to pass this examination have given a great impetus to the 

 extension of primary education which will progress even 

 more rapidly than it has done hitherto. Night-schools have 

 been established in several places for the education of the 

 labouring classes. There were 802 such schools in 1892 with 

 an attendance of 14,771 pupils. Special measures are now 

 being taken for the instruction of Pariahs and other degraded 

 classes of the population. 



Schools for the education of girls aided by Government 

 may be said to have almost come into existence since 1871. 

 In 1891 there were 1,021 schools with an attendance of 48,090 

 pupils. Including the girls attending boys' schools the total 

 number of girls under instruction |was 87,715. Female can- 

 didates appeared for the Matriculation examination of the 

 Madras University for the first time in 1877. Since then 

 314 candidates have been examined up to 1892, of whom 171 

 were declared to have passed, 34 in the first class. Of the 

 number passed, however, 26 were Native Christians, 57 East 

 Indians and 84 Europeans and 3 Parsees. 



Great as has been the advance made since 1871 as com- 

 pared with the past, there is almost unlimited scope for 

 further progress, when it is remembered that education, in 

 however elementary a form, has touched the merest fringe 

 of the population, and that there is a dense mass beneath 

 which has yet to be brought under its influence. This has 

 been clearly shown by Dr. Duncan in his very interesting 

 report on public instruction for the year 1891-92. He 

 points out that out of every 1,000 boys between the ages of 

 5 and 9 years who ought to be under instruction, 230 or be- 

 tween one-fourth and one- fifth are receiving instruction, the 

 remaining three-fourths being allowed to grow up absolutely 

 illiterate. Again out of every 1,000 boys between the ages of 

 10 and 14 years who might be expected to be in the ' lower 

 secondary stage' as regards instruction, only 12 receive such 

 instruction. And out of 1,000 boys between the ages of 15 

 and 19 who might, if circumstances permitted, be expected to 

 be in the ' upper-secondary ' stage, only six reach that stan- 

 dard. Lastly, only 26 out of every 10,000 young men between 

 the ages of 20 and 24 enjoy the benefits of collegiate educa- 

 tion. Dr. Duncan's remarks in regard to higher education 

 are specially worth quoting, as considerable misapprehension 

 prevails on the question of collegiate instruction having over- 



