109 



Native Education. 



[April 



se the impossibility of a Collector devoting a sufficient porti- 

 e< on of his time, to the establishment or enforcement of such 

 " a system ; and his visits, at present, do nothing more than 

 " lend the sanction of his patronage to the worst schools in 

 " the district, without even the consolation of supposing 

 <{ that, bad as it is, an education is given to those who would 

 " otherwise have none ; for I do not believe that these 

 <tf schools are attended by a single individual whose parents 

 " would not pay for his education elsewhere, were they abo- 

 " lished to-morrow." 



" Believing, as I do, that this is a correct account of the 

 Tahsildary schools generally, I strongly deprecate their fur- 

 ther extension for the present ; for I believe that the sole 

 good arising from them has been, that all alarm against Go- 

 vernment interference with public education, so characteris- 

 tic of the people in the South of India, has been prevented, 

 by leaving the selection of these Tahsildary teachers to 

 themselves. 



" But, whilst the machinery requisite for the efficient work- 

 ing of the Tahsildary schools is under preparation, we should 

 not be justified in delaying some effort for the immediate 

 improvement of the very defective system of education, pre- 

 valent throughout the provinces. The returns made by the 

 Collectors in 1823 shew that no less than 12,498 schools al- 

 ready exist in these territories ; and, instead of adding more 

 to their number, at the expense of Government, I would sub- 

 mit that we should endeavour to improve and render efficient 

 those which exist, and are voluntarily supported by the pub- 

 lic. 



****** 



" Of the nine Tahsildary schools at the Presidency, the 

 Tamil and Teloogoo schools alone are in an efficient state, 

 such as reflects honour on their teachers and their visitors, the 

 head Tamil and Teloogoo masters at the College. They are 

 attended by numerous children, generally from 15 years 

 downwards ; one by as many as 57 pupils. Several of the 

 scholars have been attached to them for 4 or 5 years, and 

 have thus become masters of the language they have studied. 

 In one of these schools the use of the new Tamil elemen- 



9 



