The National Board which presides over Primary Education has shown
itself, under the Union, singularly free from prejudice, either
political or religious. During the last few years it may be said to have
changed the face of the National schools in Ireland, and in a large
part of the country has contributed to make primary education what it
ought to be--not a mere glut of random scraps of knowledge, not a mere
conglomerate of facts, dates, and figures, undigested and unassimilated,
of no practical use to the pupil in his later life, and stifling any
constructive powers of thought with which he might have been born, but a
system of self-development and self-expression, with the future of the
pupil as a citizen in view, rather than his mere monetary value in the
shape of school fees. This in itself is a remarkable stride in advance,
which the Separatist will find difficult to explain away. Who will be so
bold as to calculate the harm which was inflicted by the arid and
artificial system of "cram," introduced in 1871, but now fortunately
abandoned in the National Schools, which had only one object in
view--the money grant that was made proportionate to the output of
heterogeneous lumber that could be retained by the pupil until called
for by the examiner? Surely, the great aim of education should be
self-culture, the development of the mind, body, and character of the
pupil, consideration being had to the career he is likely to pursue in
the future. This the National Board has realised in time, and it is
owing to its efforts and the co-operation of men and women of all shades
of opinion who labour in the schools that such signal improvement has
taken place during the last few years.
Apart from this larger question, there are various other features of the
National Schools that ought not to be excluded from this brief review.
Some of them are evidence of progress made, others of grievances which
still require redress. No one will deny that, taking Ireland as a whole,
the structural character of the school buildings has been greatly
improved in recent years, and that the cleanliness of school premises,
which still leaves a good deal to be desired, is attended to with far
more care than it used to be. In days gone by, the Board could grant
only two-thirds of the estimated cost of a new building of the cheapest
and shabbiest description. The result was that, for a whole generation,
a low standard of school-house was stereotyped, and the requirement of a
local contribution entirely prevented the erection of new school-houses
in poor districts where they were most needed. The new plans, on the
other hand, are designed according to the most modern ideas, and as a
local contribution is not insisted upon in impecunious districts, where
valuation is low, the Board can grant the whole of the cost where
necessary. It is easy to appreciate what a difference this important
reform must make, not merely to the landscape or to the comfort and
health of the children, but to the general efficiency of pupils and
teachers alike. There is, however, still much room for improvement. The
grants hitherto given have been sadly inadequate, and in order to
provide suitable school buildings, even in those cases alone where the
present structures are actually a danger to the health of the children,
it would be necessary to make grants at the rate of about £100,000 a
year for the next 4 or 5 years, after which they might be reduced to
£50,000.
Another satisfactory development is the increase of teachers' salaries
which has taken place during the last two decades. In 1895, the average
income from State sources of principal teachers in primary schools was
£94 in respect of men, and £79 in respect of women. By 1910, it had
risen to £112 and £90 respectively. Notwithstanding this, their
financial position, especially in large and important schools in centres
where the cost of living is high, is not yet as good as it ought to be,
if it be compared with that of similarly situated teachers in England
and Scotland. As for the incomes of assistant teachers, they also have
risen in the same period from £61 for men, and £49 for women, to £81 and
£68 respectively, and the money, though still insufficient, is now being
paid for a better article. Readjustment of numbers in the higher grades
of national teachers is also required, so as to enable all efficient
teachers who have complied with the conditions of service to receive the
increases of salary to which they are entitled. The cost of such a
readjustment would be about £1,000 a year for the present, but the
expense would gradually increase, and might ultimately amount to £18,000
per annum. For the convenience of the profession, it is also desirable
that salaries should be paid monthly, instead of quarterly, to the
teaching staffs of the schools. The expenditure (non-recurring) required
under this head would be about £280,000, with an additional yearly sum
of £5,000, due to increased cost of administration. That a Dublin
Parliament would welcome or even less be able to satisfy these various
demands upon its purse without further taxation is extremely improbable,
especially in view of Mr. Birrell's warning that the finances of Home
Rule would be a very "tight fit."
Since 1900, a period of training has been required from the principals,
and this rule has recently been extended to assistant masters. In fact,
the qualifications demanded of national teachers in Ireland are much
higher than in England. When all the foregoing changes are considered,
it will be quite evident that not only must the teachers benefit from
them, but that the children cannot fail to benefit as well. Indeed, it
is these various reforms which, in all probability, have conduced to a
better school attendance than could be boasted of in the past. Many an
educational reformer has had cause to wring his hands over the
meagreness of attendance in days gone by. Even to-day it is not as it
should be. It is lower than in England and in Scotland, but it has
steadily risen, and continues to rise, and stands now at about 71 per
cent., an advance of between 30 or 40 per cent. upon what it was less
than 40 years ago; a fact which is certainly remarkable, when the
poverty of the population and its scattered character are taken into
account.
Another evil which the Board has had to fight has been the mushroom-like
multiplication of small schools. It is hardly necessary to emphasise
what must be a manifest disadvantage for any authority which is trying
to raise the standard of educational efficiency in a country. This
multiplication was largely due to the fact that Protestant Schools were
accustomed to receive grants when they could maintain an average
attendance of 20 pupils, quite irrespective of how many other schools of
the same or a similar denomination there might be in the immediate
vicinity, and whether they were really wanted or not. How far these
grants were conducive to unnecessary multiplication may be gauged from
the fact that, whilst there were 6,500 schools in operation in 1871,
when the population of Ireland was five and a half millions, there were
8,692 in 1901, or 2,000 more, when the population was a million less.
This vast and unprofitable growth in the numbers of educational
establishments could be stayed only by drastic regulation. Where
neighbouring mixed Catholic or Protestant schools cannot show an average
attendance of 25, they are now obliged to amalgamate, and the same
result has to follow if neighbouring boys' and girls' schools fall below
an average attendance of 30. These regulations have had the desired
effect, and no less than 300 superfluous schools have been absorbed in
this manner during the last five years.
Before leaving the details of the National Schools, some mention should
be made of the conspicuous improvement in the curriculum which has taken
place in the first decade of the new century. Formerly, it was
hidebound, bloodless, unintelligent, and useless. Now, it does what it
can to cater for the practical side of the pupil's future life, and is
designed with the object of helping him to think out problems for
himself and of equipping him with any knowledge of the historic past
which may serve him, not as a collection of antiquities, but as example
and precept. During the last twelve years an astonishing advance has
been made. In 1899, Hand and Eye training (including Kindergarten) was
taught in 448 schools, in 1910 it was taught in 6,010. In 1899,
Elementary Science was taught in 14 schools only, in 1910 it was taught
in 2,400. In the former year Cookery was taught in 925 schools, in the
latter year in 2,665. In 1899, Laundry Work was taught in 11 schools, in
1910 in 691. If this is not progression--and progression under the
Legislative Union--to what can the predicate be more truthfully applied?
Statistics are apt to be barren and uninforming and can be adapted, with
almost equal plausibility, to support the arguments of either side; but
these figures are eloquent and speak for themselves. They embody a large
and vital portion of the history of Irish Primary Education, and are a
proof of the interest which is being taken in it and of the activity of
the architects behind the scenes. Long may this spirit of progress
flourish and enlighten the generations that are yet to come!
It is only fair to say that, amid a good deal of discouragement and not
always intelligent criticism, the National Board has proved itself
broad-minded and open to argument wherever the interests of Irish
Education have been concerned. Although nominated by the Lord
Lieutenant, and therefore not an elected body, it has never lagged
behind public opinion. In the teaching of the Irish language, for
example, it has shown itself peculiarly sympathetic. In fact, the
experience of the Board has been, that the Irish parents are not quite
so anxious that their children should be taught Irish as the Gaelic
League would have us suppose. Indeed, the difficulty of the Board has
been to maintain sufficient interest in the subject. Nevertheless, it
has done its best. In 1899, teaching in Irish was provided in 105
schools for 1,825 children. In 1911, it was provided for 180,000
children in 3,066 schools, and during the same time bilingual
instruction has been introduced into some 200 schools.
In spite of what has been, and is being done, further reforms in primary
education are still unquestionably required, and can, moreover, be
easily effected without any of the convulsions of a constitutional
revolution. The salaries of principals and assistants, especially in
large and important schools, ought to be increased. In particular, the
Pensions Act needs modification, for, under the present Act, teachers
who retire before reaching the age qualifying for a pension receive
gratuities considerably less than the Old Age Pensions. Even those who
qualify for pensions are very shabbily treated if they retire before
sixty years of age. Building grants also should be increased, so that
the constant applications for the rebuilding of bad premises could be
met.[91] The teaching of infants, greatly improved by the institution of
junior assistant mistresses by Mr. Walter Long during his Chief
Secretaryship, can be still further improved and brought up to the
English standard; and the efficiency of primary education generally can
be promoted in the direction of sympathetic appreciation of the real
needs of the children, regarded from the point of view of thinking human
beings, and not merely as recording machines.