The East Indians in Btitish Guiana. 6l 



Education. 

 It cannot be reasonably contended that the East Indians of the 

 Colony are slow to appreciate the value of education. The problem is 

 beset with so many difficulties that close attention must be given to 

 actual conditions when we discuss the theory. 



Many factors must be taken into account to explain this apparent 

 apathy towards matters educational. 



The main difficulty is that our brethren come from so many different 

 parts of India that there exists amongst us no one common language. 



To the poor immigrant, struggling for existence, education is looked 

 at in the light of a luxury. 



The services of his boy can be utilized in supplementing his meagre 

 income. And then again the question of religion would assert itself. To 

 send his boy to a denominational school to be taught English is to \ \/ 

 denationalize him and jeopardise his religious faith, and so he maintains 

 a calm indifference towards it. 



The labouring communities have neither the necessary funds nor 

 the necessary co-operation to build schools and carry on the Educational 

 work in Hindustani independent of the Government. 



At present there are only English schools ope_n to ihem, although 

 under certain conditions under the New Code one Indian language may be 

 taught. 



With his girl children it is so much the worse. To be mixed up with 

 the opposite sex of various nationalities is unthinkable. 



The East Indian would like to send his children to school if the con- 

 ditions meet with his approval and complete satisfaction. 



The East Indian, unprotected by Public opinion or social laws is 

 naturally afraid to send his children to such schools. He will sooner go 

 illiterate than give up his religion and his society. Thus it happens that 

 illiteracy is very high, among our brethren here. 



In this Colony, the Indian labourer is freed from the bouds of 

 Society. His social Education becomes meaningless to him in new surround- 

 ings. He sees the principles which that Education inculcates in him 

 daily set at nought by the rest of the population. His confidence in 

 those restrictions and rules which form so much of the Hindu Social life 

 is rudely shaken. 



The future of the labouring community depends mostly upon the 

 amount of technical education they receive. Their prosperity even as 

 agriculturists must in these days of scientific cultivation be largely 

 dependent on their knowledge and skill, which can be acquired only by 

 training. But here also the Indian is hampered by the fact that no 

 scientific education however elementary is given in his language. 



