SCHOOLS.
From the commencement of Missions, schools have received much attention,
and have absorbed a large part of mission agency. These schools have
been of different orders, many primary, a number secondary, and a few
educating the pupils up to the University mark for degrees. I have had a
great deal of experience in teaching and superintending primary and
secondary schools, and I have seen something of the institutions of the
highest class. I now speak of schools for boys and young men. Girls'
schools will receive attention in a subsequent chapter.
[Sidenote: PRIMARY SCHOOLS.]
I do not know any mission in Northern India where elementary education
has been entirely neglected. Some have done much more in this department
than others, but all have devoted to it a measure of attention and
effort. We had at one time ten schools of this class in different parts
of Benares. In these humble schools many have learned to read, write,
and keep accounts, and have thus been fitted for discharging efficiently
their secular work. Their minds have been furnished and their character
improved by useful information communicated to them. Above all,
Christian instruction has been imparted. The schools have been
frequently visited by the missionary and his native assistants for the
special object of reading with the pupils portions of the Scriptures,
and inculcating the lessons they contain. Thus readers for our
Scriptures and Christian books have been prepared, who we may hope come
to their perusal with weakened prejudice from the kindly feeling with
which we are regarded. A favourable impression has thus been made on the
minds of parents as well as of pupils.
I have already mentioned that these schools have been utilized for
preaching-stations, and have been well adapted for this purpose. They
have been carried on at small expense. The great drawback has been that
with few exceptions the teachers have been Hindus. They have been of the
Kaisth, the writer caste, who are as a caste less imbued perhaps with
Hinduism than any other. When Christians have been available their
services have of course been thankfully secured. For some years the
Hindu element has been gradually withdrawn from the teaching staff. Two
of the early teachers in our time became Christians, one having been
baptized in our Mission, and the other in the Church Mission at Benares.
The whole state of primary education in the North-West, I may say in
India, is on a very different footing from what it was in 1840. Great
progress in every department of education has been made since that time.
Considering the vast importance of primary education, the advancement
has not been so great as might have been expected, but there is every
prospect of its being largely extended in the immediate future. It is
hoped that one outcome of the Education Commission which is now sitting
will be the gathering into schools of many thousands of the young who
have been hitherto neglected.
In most Missions of any standing, even where the chief attention has
been given to direct evangelistic work, some provision has been made for
secondary education. A school with this object was established in our
Mission in 1845. It was taught in a well-sized native house, and was
afterwards transferred to a larger building. It had successive
superintendents, the late Mr. Sherring, Mr. Blake, and myself. It was a
longer time under Mr. Sherring than under any other, and in it he
laboured very diligently and efficiently. It received the name of the
Central School, as our idea was to transfer to it the best boys from
what we called the Bazar schools. It was intended to allow none to enter
who had not made some progress in reading their own language, but we
found this exclusion impracticable, and we were obliged to form an
elementary department. English was taught, and the higher classes were
introduced to geometry, algebra, history, especially Indian history, and
other similar branches of a liberal education. Almost all when they
entered were ignorant of English. Those who remained a considerable time
made fair progress, a few made remarkable progress; and we were happy to
find that many on leaving us obtained responsible situations, which they
continued to hold to the satisfaction of their superiors.
For years under successive superintendents the Head Master was a
Christian, Babu Ram Chunder Basu, who is now most usefully employed as a
lecturer to educated natives. His great attainments, his diligence and
teaching power, did much to promote the prosperity of the school.
In our Central school a very prominent place was given to Christian
instruction. Every day Scripture lessons were given by Christian
teachers; on Saturday, for years, a lecture was delivered to the
assembled school; and on Sunday morning a service was held, at which
there was a good voluntary attendance. The effect of the prominence thus
given to Christian teaching was shown early in 1857, when on a plan
arranged by the zealous public-spirited Commissioner of the Benares
Province, Mr. Henry Carre Tucker, there was a gathering in the city of
the pupils from all the schools in the province who choose to attend to
submit to an examination in Scripture knowledge. Prizes in money and
books were given to those who proved themselves most proficient. A great
number of lads and boys made their appearance, and the high place taken
by the pupils of our Central school showed how well they had been
taught.
[Sidenote: THE UNIVERSITY STANDARD.]
Some missions provide for taking their pupils on to the University
standard. Among these the missions in the Presidency cities have held,
and from their peculiar sphere must continue to hold, the first rank. I
have already observed nothing interested me more, nothing delighted me
more on reaching Calcutta early in 1839, than the sight of many young
men and boys taught in the institutions of the Church of Scotland and of
our own Mission. It was most exhilarating to see so many bright youths
studying our language, introduced to Western knowledge, and, above all,
led to the fountain of truth in the Word of God. Dr. Duff was not the
first in establishing in Calcutta an institution for the teaching of
English; he was not the first in establishing a Christian school; many
were before him in this good work: but he was the first in setting up an
institution on a large scale on a thoroughly Christian basis, in which
English was to have the first place, and in which provision was made for
carrying the students on to the University standard of Europe. In 1843
the missionaries, on account of their adherence to the Free Church, were
obliged to give up their buildings in Cornwallis Square, and to seek
accommodation in another part of Calcutta, where they have continued
their scholastic work with great zeal and efficiency. The institution in
Cornwallis Square has been conducted for many years with remarkable
success by the missionaries of the Established Church of Scotland. All
the missions of Calcutta have taken part in this work, and have sent
forth bands of well-educated young men, who have acquired a large
acquaintance with the Word of God.
Similar institutions have been formed throughout the country. As may be
supposed, these vary greatly in resources and efficiency. Years ago our
Central school was transferred from a rented house in the city to a
large purchased house in the suburbs, where, under the name of the High
School, it has continued to flourish. Many of its students have
successfully passed the Entrance examination of the Calcutta University,
and a considerable number have passed the First Arts examination. It has
always stood high in native estimation, has had a large attendance of
pupils, and is reckoned one of the best institutions of the kind in the
North-West. The change from the Central school, with its secondary
education, the the High school, with its arrangement to carry on the
pupils further, was made by the late Mr. Sherring, and to his assiduous
care and efficient management its success is largely due. It maintains
its character under the superintendence of our friend Mr. Hewlett, who
has arranged for the opening of a B.A. class.
I have mentioned the University standard. For many years after our going
to India there was no University in the land. The establishment of
Universities in Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, and the introduction of
the grant-in-aid system, have effected in the educational department a
change so great that it may be called a revolution. The studies in
mission schools are to a large extent what they were, but they have come
under new conditions, which greatly alter the proportionate attention
given to them, and the degree of zeal with which they are prosecuted.
Under the grant-in-aid system missionaries are allowed full liberty in
giving Christian instruction to their pupils. The only thing required by
the Government Inspector is that the secular education be such as will
entitle the school to a grant. If formerly a mission school egregiously
failed in fitting the pupils for the positions in life to which they
were looking forward, it rightly lost favour, and was soon deserted. Now
there is a new urgent necessity for efficiency, and the healthy stimulus
thus given is in itself a marked benefit; but if care be not taken the
opportunity for imparting Christian instruction is impaired, which
formed the main inducement for missionaries taking part in the work.
[Sidenote: AMBITION FOR UNIVERSITY HONOURS.]
The effect of the change is most marked in our higher schools. There is
a widely spread and intense ambition for University honours. Not only in
the Presidency cities, but in the great cities of the country, a crowd
of boys and young men are eager for admission to the University circle.
This eagerness springs from the desire for honourable distinction, which
is as strong in the minds of Indian youth as in any youth on the face of
the earth. It springs, perhaps, still more from the fact that the
University stamp, attesting educational proficiency, is a high
recommendation in favour of applicants for well-paid situations. It
would be hard to say how far a love of knowledge contributes to this
eagerness for study. It would be uncharitable to affirm it is altogether
absent, but it would be shutting one's eyes to potent facts to suppose
it furnishes the greater part of the motive power. Owing to various
causes, such as the want of opportunity, of capacity, and diligence, the
great majority of students do not aspire higher than the Entrance
examination; but even to pass this successfully is considered a great
feat, and many are proud of achieving it. The Calcutta University has a
high standard for degrees, and those who acquire them are entitled to be
considered well-educated men.
The effect of this eagerness, we may say this rage for University
distinction, on mission schools can be easily conceived. The great
question with the student is, "How can I get to the University goal?
What are the studies which promise the quickest and largest success?"
The studies which do not lead to this goal have little attraction; while
those that lead to it, and just in proportion as they lead to it, are
eagerly pursued. Our Scriptures have no place in the University
curriculum. The consequence is that the student, whose supreme aim is to
acquit himself well when he goes up for degrees, and estimates studies
by their bearing on his success, gives to the Bible only the attention
required by the rule of the institution he attends, and he often gives
that attention reluctantly; so that even the knowledge he cannot fail to
acquire can scarcely be expected to tell on his heart and conscience.
Every hour given to the Bible he is apt to regard as taken away from the
studies which he most highly values, and in which, with all his
application, he finds it difficult to attain proficiency.
[Sidenote: THE POPULARITY OF MISSION SCHOOLS.]
It is undeniable that mission schools have been, and are, popular with
the people of India. From the Report just published of our Benares
Mission it appears that at present there are 1,265 pupils in its
schools, boys and girls. Various things have conduced to this
popularity. Missionaries as a class have acquired a firmly established
character for attention to their pupils and kindly treatment of them.
They are credited with good motives by many who have no drawing to
Christianity. Then, for a considerable time no charge for tuition was
made, the pupils being simply required to pay for their school books.
Since fees have been taken they are, I believe, generally lower than in
Government institutions; though, on the other hand, these have
scholarships and prizes which are far beyond any pecuniary advantage
mission schools can offer. There is, of course, in our schools the
possibility of the pupils' ancestral religion being weakened, or even
abandoned, but the hope is entertained both by them and their parents
that the danger will be escaped. While the main motive for resorting to
our schools is secular advancement--undoubtedly a right motive, if kept
within due limits--the missionaries, while earnestly desiring the
temporal welfare of their pupils, are actuated by a still higher motive,
which they constantly avow. Till the establishment of the University,
boys and young men, while prosecuting the special object for which they
had put themselves under tuition, with few exceptions showed no
disinclination to Christian instruction. A portion of the school-time
was allotted for it, and to the work of that time many cheerfully
applied themselves. Some became deeply interested, and a few were led in
consequence to avow their faith in Jesus. With the new University system
a new order of things has come in, which has placed Christian
instruction under great disadvantages.
In consequence of this change some have advocated the entire withdrawal
of mission agency from the schools where the higher education is
imparted. It has been said, "Why should missionaries from day to day be
doing the work of mere secular teachers, in hope that during the short
time allotted for Christian instruction to young men, indisposed to
receive it, they can secure their spiritual good?" If they withdraw,
what then? The alternative is the loss of influence over a class that
may be expected to take the lead in all movements of their people, and
their transfer to teachers who are, in many cases, the avowed and bitter
foes of Christianity, and whose object will be to imbue them with their
own sentiments. There is abundant testimony to the fact that the pupils
of mission schools regard missionaries with a friendly feeling, and
diffuse that feeling in their respective circles, and also show respect
for the Gospel even when they argue against it to justify their
adherence to their ancestral religion. May it not be hoped, too, that in
many minds a conviction is left that Christianity is the religion of
heaven, although there are formidable obstacles to that conviction
obtaining sway over the heart and life? There have been instances where
the conviction has broken through every obstacle, and has been avowed by
open profession of faith in Christ. Our Missionary Societies may well
shrink from the abandonment of a sphere which furnishes the opportunity
for favourable influence over so many minds--and minds, too, which are
sure to be very influential in the community.
[Sidenote: SABBATH SCHOOLS.]
The preferable plan has been adopted. It appears from the latest
statistics that the number of students in mission schools is greater,
and the course of study more advanced, than at any previous period. I am
not aware that any of the missionaries in the higher institutions have
proposed to abandon them on account of the new state of things. While
giving themselves cheerfully to the imparting of the education which
their pupils are eager to acquire, they put forth resolute steady effort
to counteract the secularizing tendency of their studies. The assembled
school is opened with prayer, Scripture lessons are given, and, taught
as they are by Christians, the pupils are under Christian influence
during all their school hours. It is common in the North-West, and I
suppose in other parts of India, to have services in the schools on
Sabbath morning, at which the attendance is voluntary; and at Benares,
at least, the attendance has been very encouraging. Of late Sabbath
schools, apart from day schools, have been established in many missions,
with every prospect of success. The attendance is large, and in some
places a number of parents are present. These schools are carried on
largely on the English and American model. The international lessons are
used, pictures and books are given as prizes to attentive scholars; and
they have a yearly treat, in conducting which care is taken against the
violation of caste. The American Episcopal missionaries have taken the
lead in this new departure.
It has been often remarked that our higher schools can show very few
converts. The conversions have not been many, and yet they have not been
so inconsiderable in number as they have been represented. When we look
at our mission agents we find that a large proportion of our most
efficient men, the men that have done the best service, have come from
these schools. At the great Missionary Conference at Allahabad in 1874,
at which I was present, they acquitted themselves in a manner which
attested their mental power and Christian earnestness, and gave one a
high opinion of their fitness for evangelistic work among their
countrymen. At the late Decennial Missionary Conference in Calcutta they
took a prominent and effective part. It is, indeed, a matter for deep
regret that of late our accessions from this quarter have been few; but
when hope has been at the lowest ebb one has appeared here and there to
strengthen it by avowing himself a follower of Christ.[3]
[Footnote 3: At the Calcutta Conference there was much discussion about
schools, especially of the higher order. Experienced educationalists
gave expression to their views, some stating in strong terms the
aversion to Bible lessons shown by many of the pupils; while others,
among whom Mr. Miller of Madras was prominent, represented the pupils as
generally willing to receive Christian instruction.]
In reference to our schools, in reference to our work generally, it is
important to keep before our minds the great power of public opinion.
Many are the things which go to form it; it is very subtle in its
working; the most acute and observant mind cannot estimate its force:
but when once widely formed its effects are remarkable. In India public
opinion is formed much more slowly than in a land like ours; the
constitution of society presents a stronger front to its action. But
there too it works, and when it works on till it has obtained
overmastering power we may expect to see a marvellous change. We cannot
doubt that missions have a high place in forming this opinion; and among
mission agencies I believe there is no one which has told and is telling
more beneficially on the people than our mission schools.