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THE EDUCATION OF THE
SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

CHARLES T. LORAM

B.A.(Cape), M.A., LL.B.(Camb.), Ph.D. (Columbia)

SOMETIME FELLOW IN EDUCATION, TEACHERS' COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
INSPECTOR OK SCHOOLS, NATAL

LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.

39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON

FOURTH AVENUE AND 3OTH STREET, NEW YORK
BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, AND MADRAS

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MY WIFE
HILDA V. LORAM

PREFACE

In his famous address before the Congregation of the Uni-
versity of the Cape of Good Hope in 1909 on the Native
Question, Lord Selborne, then High Commissioner for South
Africa, said, " I believe that everyone who loves South
Africa is bound in honour to make what contribution he
can to the solution of the problem." As a native-born
South African, I feel that the call is a direct one to me,
and in the following pages I have attempted to deal with
one phase of the problem, although fully aware of the diffi-
culties of the task. It is commonly sdd in South Africa
that no one who has lived for more than a year in the
country would dare to write on such a complex and diffi-
cult subject as the Native Question. When it is known
that the present writer was born in that province which
is most thickly populated by Natives, that he was brought
up with Native attendants, and that he has spent all
but seven years of his Ufe in the country, his temerity
may excite all the more wonder. I believe, however,
that those very circumstances, coupled with exceptional
opportunities of studying a similar problem in the United
States, make it incumbent upon me to do what I can
towards the solution of the greatest problem confronting
my native land.

The difficulties which have confronted me have been very
real. First and foremost is the absence of any scientific

VUl THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

account of the ethnology of the Bantu. Books describing
Native customs and habits there are in abundance, but no
adequate accounts of the particular physiology and psychology
of the Bantu have appeared. There is a good deal of opinion
on the subject, but nothing which can altogether be relied
on as a basis for the structure of an educational practice.
A few studies on the physiology, craniology, and psychology
of Negroes in other parts of the world have been made, but
very little agreement of opinion has been reached. A second
difficulty is the absence of any definite policy on the part of
the governing Europeans towards the Native people. The
difficulties of race adjustment have been so great, and the
problems so unique, that the governing Europeans, busy
with the absorbing struggle with their natural environ-
ment, have not succeeded in estabhshing a uniform Native
policy founded on principles. Their non-success is the less
to be wondered at when it is realised that other and older
countries have failed in the same respect. A third diffi-
culty is the fact that until 1910 the four colonies had
separate governments, separate Native policies, and separate
schemes of Native education. A fourth difficulty, and one
that has mihtated against the completeness of the present
study, is the inadequate treatment of Native education
in the annual reports of the Education Departments,
In the Cape reports, which are more detailed than those
of the other provinces, statistics regarding Native educa-
tion are lumped with those of other non-European peoples
under the term " Coloured," and it is impossible to
separate them. The incompleteness of the Transvaal,
Orange Free State, and Basutoland reports has been a
serious hindrance.

These very real difficulties have tempted me more than
once to abandon the study in despair, but the vital necessity

PREFACE IX

for some such study at the present time has induced me to
continue.

Since the Union, Native affairs have become a national
and not a provincial concern, and the five years during which,
and " until otherwise determined by ParHament," Native
education was to be a matter of provincial administration,
have elapsed, so that the time seems to be pecuharly appro-
priate for a consideration of the relation of education towards
the whole problem, for it is in the proper education of the
Native that the greatest hope for the settlement of the Native
Question Ues.

A few words as to the methods used in the investiga-
tion are necessary. Such a study should be based on
unassailable facts, but what should be the procedure when
the facts are not available? The method here used has
been that advocated by Principal J, C. Maxwell Garnett
of the University of Manchester in his address before
the Educational Section of the British Association for the
Advancement of Science, 1915 : " Where facts are available
we should use them, . . . When facts are not available
we should, if possible, ascertain them by direct experiment ;
and, if that is not possible, we should have faith — ^that is,
we should ascertain the facts indirectly by acting on a
hypothesis with a view to its verification or modification
by subsequent experience," There can be no finality in
educational theories and practice ; this is particularly true
of Native education, where we are only at the beginning of
our knowledge ; and although it is beUeved that this study
is sound so far as it goes, and points the way to action on
approved Unes, further research may upset our conclusions.
In any case, the march of civilisation among our Native
peoples will compel us to revise our educational practice
from time to time.

X THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

In arriving at my conclusions I have made use of : —

{a) Reports of Government Commissions. — ^The European
method of surveys by commissions is followed in South
Africa. Of the educational surveys of this nature an American
writer, Mr James Mahoney, in a report to the United States
Bureau of Education, says : " The scope of the foreign survey
is in general wider ; it looks less to local conditions than the
American survey. The method of the European survey is
(a) by oral testimony of school directors, inspectors, and
others who have knowledge of schools ; (6) personal investi-
gation of the schools by recognised experts ; (c) by circular
letters or questionnaires (i) to all persons directly concerned
with the schools in question, (2) to eminent men competent
to judge of educational matters; (d) through personal
investigation of schools resembling those under investigation
in all the other progressive nations." ^ Similar methods are
followed by other than educational commissioners.

{b) Reports of Government Departments. — Although these
reports leave much to be desired in what they include and
in their arrangement, the figures are trustworthy and the
opinions expressed worthy of consideration.

(c) Reports of School Superintendents and Government
Officials in the United States, India, and elsewhere ; and the
very valuable Special Reports issued by the English Board
of Education.

{d) Books, Pamphlets, Articles in Periodicals. — The value
of these depends upon the experience, sincerity, and methods
of presentation of their writers.

(e) Statistical and Experimental Investigations. — ^The writer
has made several studies on what he beUeves to be approved

* " Some Foreign Education Surveys," United States Bureau of
Education Bulletin, 1915, No. 37, p. 5.

PREFACE XI

scientific methods. The difficulty of framing tests for Natives
which do not depend on school training and comprehension
of English has been only partially overcome, but the writer
hopes shortly to derive a series of tests free from these
disabilities.

(/) Personal Experience and the Experience of Colleagues. —
As an inspector of schools in Natal, and as a member of a
special commission appointed to investigate Native training
colleges, I have had experience in matters connected with
Native education. I have been fortunate in having been
in close contact with fellow-inspectors, missionaries, and
teachers who have devoted their lives to supervision and
instruction in Native schools. I have also received replies
to a questionnaire from forty-two of the most experienced
missionary teachers in South Africa. During the fifteen
months which I spent in the United States I took every
opportunity to obtain a first-hand knowledge of Negro
education. The results of my observations at Hampton,
Tuskegee, Virginia Union University, and various types of
Negro schools in Virginia, Alabama, and Maryland, are
incorporated in this study.

My obligations are numerous and varied. In footnotes
I have attempted to acknowledge all the sources of my
information. My deep gratitude is due to the Honourable
F. S. Malan, Minister of Education for the Union of South
Africa, and the Executive Committee of the Natal Provincial
Council, who very generously extended the period of my leave
of absence, and made it possible for me to undertake the
study ; to Mr C. J. Mudie, Superintendent of Education in
Natal, and Mr George Hofmeyr, Under Secretary of Edu-
cation for the Union, for encouragement and interest in my
studies ; to the Secretaries of the several Education Depart-

XM THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

ments, and to my colleague Mr S. B. Theunissen, Inspector
of Native Schools, Natal, who have supplied me with valuable
data ; to the principals of the training institutions and schools,
both European and Native, who have replied to my question-
naire, given me additional information, and assisted me in
the tests. I owe a deep debt of gratitude to several mission-
aries : in particular to the Rev. J. Henderson and the Rev. J.
Lennox of Lovedale, the Rev. David Stormont of Blythswood,
the Rev. F. J. Briscoe of Kilnerton, the Rev. J. Arnt of
Bloemfontein, the Rev. E. Jocottet of Morija, the Rev. F. R.
Bunker of Durban, the Right Rev. Bishop Roach of Pieter-
maritzburg, and the Rev. A. E. Le Roy of Adams Mission
Station, Amanzimtoti. To the last mentioned, and to Mr
B. M. Narbeth of the Durban Technical College and Mr G.
Rees of Addington School, Durban, I am particularly grateful
for help in the supervising and scoring of tests.

My indebtedness to Mr Maurice Evans is not Umited to
the extracts from his well-known book. By the loan of books
and pamphlets and by friendly encouragement he has helped
more than he knows towards the completion of my under-
taking. Mr Evans, Mr James Dick, and the Rev. Father
Bryant have kindly read the book in manuscript and have
made valuable suggestions.

The study was first undertaken as a doctorial dissertation
at Teachers' College, Columbia University. To Dean Russell
and the authorities of the College, to Professors Dewey, Monroe,
Strayer, Thorndike, M'Murry, Kilpatrick, and Bonsor, under
whom I studied, my sincere thanks are due for countless
kindnesses. Professor Strayer in particular has given me
the benefit of his wide knowledge of administrative systems,
and has shown as much interest in our South African problems
as if they were his own. Among my fellow-students at
Teachers' College, Messrs Eaton, Spencer, Marquard, and

PREFACE XIU

De Villiers (the last two being South Africans) have kindly
helped in the scoring of the papers,

I should like to take this opportunity of expressing my
thanks to my good friends Mrs W. R. Poynton, Dr S. G.
Campbell, and Mr G. A. Payne of Durban for their constant
encouragement and generous help. The assistance rendered
by my wife in the completion of the manuscript and in
countless other ways is but imperfectly acknowledged by
the dedication.

C. T. L.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

RACE CONTACT AND ITS LARGER EFFECTS

Sect. I. An Historical Outline

2. The Increase in the Native Population

3. The Enclosure of the Lands

4. Breaking up of Communal Tenure

5. The Native in the Towns

6. The Effect on the Whites .

PAOB

I
3
5
7
9
II

CHAPTER II

THE NATIVE PROBLEM AND THE
SOLUTIONS PROPOSED

Sect. I. The Attitude of White South Africa
,, 2. The Repressionists ....

,, 3. The Equahsts .....

,, 4. The Segregationists ....

17
17
20

CHAPTER III

WHY EDUCATE THE NATIVE?

Sect. I . Can we help Educating the Native ?

2. The Calls of Humanity and Christianity .

3. The Natives' Demand for Education

4. The Native Solving his own Problem

5. Advantage to Europeans in the Education of the Natives

6. The Success of Real Native Education

28
30
3»
33
34
40

XVI THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

CHAPTER IV

MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE AND THE HISTORY
OF NATIVE EDUCATION

Sect. I . The History of Native Education in the Cape
„ 2. The History of Native Education in Natal
„ 3. The History of Native Education in the Transvaal
„ 4. History of Native Education in the Orange Free State
,, 5. History of Native Education in Basutoland
., 6. The General Situation of Native Education at the Present
Time ......

,, 7. Statistics of Native Education, 1912
,. 8. The Missionaries and their Work .

PACB

53
62

65
66

69
71
73

CHAPTER V

THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION OF
NATIVE EDUCATION

Sect. I. Government Grants-in-Aid . . .80

,, 2. Government Certification of Teachers . . .82

„ 3. Government Syllabuses . . . '83

,, 4. Government Inspection and Examination , . 84

,, 5. Supervision in American Rural Negro Schools 89

CHAPTER VI

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY
EDUCATION

Sect. I . Criteria for the Instruction in Native Elementary Schools 93

,, 2. The Origin and Development of the Present System 95

,, 3. The Course of Study 98

,, 4. Uniformity and Inflexibility in School Work . 102

,, 5. The Teaching ...... 106

,, 6. The Supervision ...... 106

„ 7. The Results ...... to8

CONTENTS

XVll

CHAPTER VII

PRESENT SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION

PAGE
128

134
137
139

144

THE

Sect. I. Native High Schools

,, 2. Theological Institutions

„ 3. Training Institutions and Students

,, 4. Methods of Training Teachers

,, 5. The Courses of Study in Training Institutions

,, 6. The Subjects of Instruction

,, 7. The Methods of Instruction

,, 8. The Examinations for Teachers' Certificates

CHAPTER VIII

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF INDUSTRIAL
TRAINING

Sect. I. The Provision for Industrial Training in Special Schools 151

,, 2. The Financial Support of Industrial Institutions . 151

,, 3. Industrial and Manual Training in Elementary Schools . 152

,, 4. The Objections of Industrial Training . . -155

CHAPTER IX

THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF EUROPEAN AND
NATIVE PUPILS COMPARED

Sect. I . The Ages of the Pupils Compared

2. The Test in Writing

3. The Test in Composition .

4. The Tests in Arithmetic .

5. Speed and Accuracy

6. The Educational Significance of the Results in Arithmetic

7. Conclusions ......

CHAPTER X

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION

Part I. — The Mental Development of the Native
Sect. I . General Studies in Racial Psychology

Children of Different Races in the

163
164
171

177
190
191
192

2. Studies of School
United States

195

XVIU THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

PAGC

Sect. 3. A Study of School Children of Different Races in South

Africa ....... 201

,, 4. Sex Differences ...... 207

Part II. — The Theory of the Arrest of Mental Development

in the Native

Sect. I. The Theory Stated ..... 209

,, 2. Evidence in Support of the Theory of Arrested Develop-
ment ....... 210

„ 3. Evidence in Rebuttal of the Theory of Arrested Develop-
ment . . .212
,, 4. The Evidence from Experiments . .216
,, 5. The Reasons for the Lack of Progress in Older Native

Pupils . ...... 218

„ 6. Conclusion ...... 224

CHAPTER XI

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION— con/i.

Part III. — The Position of the Vernacular Languages

Sect. I. Different Views on the Use of the Vernacular in Schools 227
„ 2. The Case for the Vernacular .... 229

,, 3. The Ultimate Supremacy of the European Language 233

Part IV. — Agriculture as a Native Industry 234

CHAPTER XII
THE FINANCING OF NATIVE EDUCATION

Sect. I . The Present System of Government Grants-in-Aid 240
,, 2. Other Sources of Financial Support 246
,, 3. The Comparative Expenditure on European and Non-
European Education ..... 250

,, 4. Does Native Education receive its Fair Share of Financial

Support ?...... 252

,, 5. The Bcisis of Government Financial Support . -254

,, 6. The Nature of the Government Grants . . 255

,, 7. Proposed Government Grants-in-Aid . . . 258

CONTENTS XIX
CHAPTER XIII

PROPOSED ADMINISTRATION OF
NATIVE EDUCATION

PAGE

Sect. I . The Three Factors in Administration . . . 263

„ 2. The Department of Native Education . . . 266

,, 3. The Functions of the Department of Native Education 268
,, 4. The Powers and Duties of the Chief Inspector of Native

Schools ....... 269

,, 5. The Powers and Duties of the Inspectors of Native Schools 269

,, 6. The Powers and Duties of Supervisors . . . 270

„ 7. The Reorganised System of Administration . .271

,, 8. The Reorganised School System .... 273

CHAPTER XIV

PROPOSED COURSES OF STUDY ^

Sect. I . The Elementary School Course of Study . . . 280

,, 2. The Intermediate School Course of Study . 284

,, 3. The Native High Schools ..... 287

,, 4. The Training Institution ..... 289

„ 5. The Industrial Schools ..... 294

CHAPTER XV

THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE COLLEGE

Sect. I. The History of the Movement for Higher Education 296

,, 2. The Objections to the Scheme .... 301

,, 3. The Need for the College ..... 306

,, 4. A Suggested Scheme ..... 306

,, 5. Successful Institutions for the Higher Education of

Negroes in the United States . . . .310

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. Official Reports regarding Native A£fairs in South Africa . 313

B. General Works on the Native ..... 314

C. Books, Pamphlets, and Articles on Native Education . . 315

D. Works on the American Negro . . . . .316
References ........ 317

XX THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

APPENDICES

PAGB

A. Specimens of the Test Cards used for the Inspection of

Native Schools in Natal and the Cape . . -318

B. Examination of Native Candidates for Deacon's Orders, 1916,

Diocese of Natal . . -320

C. Specimen Examination Papers for Native Teachers' Certificates 326

D. Ordinary, Standard, and Superior Schools . . -331

E. Maize Competitions for Native Schools 335

F. Proposed Scale of Grants to Native Institutions in the

Transvaal ....... 337

THE EDUCATION OF THE
SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

CHAPTER I

RACE CONTACT AND ITS LARGER EFFECTS

The thesis maintained in the following pages is that the best
hope for the solution of the problem of race adjustment in
South Africa, the so-called Native Question, lies in the edu-
cation by the dominant Whites of the black race in the hght
of its past history and institutions, its mental and moral make-
up, and its poUtical, social, and economic future.

An attempt will first be made to estimate broadly the effects
of race contact ; next, the efforts already consciously made
by the Europeans to educate the Natives will be critically
examined; and finally, a scheme of education, based upon
the accepted principles of modern pedagogy, our knowledge
of the psychology of the Native people, and the probable
destiny of the race, will be suggested.

In this introductory chapter the larger effects of race con-
tact are touched upon.

Section i. — ^An Historical Outline

Although the Cape of Good Hope was discovered in 1487,
it remained for more than a century and a half a mere land-
mark and place of call for passing vessels. It was not until
1651 that the Dutch East India Company determined to
estabUsh a settlement at the Cape, and despatched Jan van
Riebeek with three ships and a hundred men to build and
garrison a fort on the shores of Table Bay. From the first

2 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

there was conflict between the European and the Native.
The Hottentots, who had been on more or less friendly terms
with the crews of passing ships, perceiving, as was perfectly
evident, that now the Dutch occupation was to be permanent,
and fearing the diminution of their pasturage, took up arms
against the invaders. From this, the so-called " war of 1659,"
until the present day, the history of South Africa has been
largely a matter of race conflict. The white man, expanding
northwards and eastwards, after subduing the cowardly
Hottentots and almost exterminating the treacherous Bush-
men, disputed the possession of the soil with the warhke
Bantu on the banks of the Kei, in the Transvaal, and in Natal.
The issue was often in doubt, but at length the superior
inteUigence of the white man conquered, and the Native
settled down more or less willingly as the white man's vassal.
At first the relationship between White and Black was patri-
archal, but, for reasons which will be pointed out later, the
influx of immigrants from over seas brought the question
of race adjustment into the region of necessary politics, and
created a problem which has increased rapidly in complexity,
and which is to-day undoubtedly the most difficult confront-
ing South Africa.

The common opinion that the present Native tribes were
the original owners of all the land in South Africa, and that
the European peoples have dispossessed them of their
ancestral birthrights, is historically untrue. While it is im-
possible to speak authoritatively in the absence of records,
there is evidence to show that the original inhabitants of
South Africa were the pigmy Bushmen. The Hottentots,
mentally and physically a superior people, invading the
country from the north, disputed the land with the Bushmen,
and at the time of the coming of the white men in the fif-
teenth century had gained the upper hand, and had driven
their pigmy opponents to their mountain fastnesses.^

Be that as it may, it is certain that it was the white man
who saved Hottentot and Bushman aUke from being ex-
terminated by the invading tribes of the great Bantu people,
who, travelling down from Central Africa in many streams

^ See Theal, History and Ethnography of South Africa before 1795,
vol. i. chaps, i., ii., iii., for a conjectured account of these migrations.

RACE CONTACT AND ITS LARGER EFFECTS 3

at divers times, were overrunning the sub-continent. Had
it not been for the resistance offered by the Whites along the
Kei River, the Hottentot and the Bushman ahke would have
been swept into the sea by these warrior invaders. Not only
in the Cape, but in Natal and in the Transvaal, the European
has stood between some conquering Tshaka or Umzilikazi and
his victims.^ Both European and Bantu are in South Africa
by right of conquest, and in the matter of race adjustment
neither can claim the right of original ownership of the soil.

The historic fact, however, as Lord Selborne has clearly
pointed out, does not mean that the Natives have no rights in
the soil of South Africa. Apart from their rights as human
beings, and as subjects of the British Empire, the Natives
possess a peculiar right to the Protectorates of Basutoland,
Bechuanaland, and Swaziland, and to the several reserves
and locations. Basutoland was never conquered by white
men, but came voluntarily under the segis of the British Crown.
Bechuanaland, Swaziland, and the other reserves were the
results of pacts made between the races, and could not now
be alienated without manifest injustice.^ It is the opinion
of some authorities, with whom the writer is inchned to agree,
that not only should the present reserves remain inviolate,
but that their number should be increased, so that a large
portion, if not the whole, of the Native population may be
able to live in a state of semi-segregation from the Europeans.

Section 2. — ^The Increase in the Native Population

A situation unique in the history of race relationship is
found in South Africa in the rapid increase of the Natives

^ " In consequence of the exterminating wars of Chaka, late King
of the Zuloos, and other causes, the whole country included between
Umzincoola and Togala Rivers is now unoccupied by its original posses-
sors, and, with a very few exceptions, is totally uniiihabited. Numbers
of natives from time to time have entered this settlement for protection,
the amount of whom at this present moment cannot be less than 3000.
These all acknowledge us as their chiefs, and look to us for protection,
notwithstanding which we are living in the neighbourhood of powerful
native States without the shadow of a law or a recognised authority
among us." (From the Petition of the Householders of the Town of
D'Urban. Port Natal, 1835.)

* Address before the University of the Cape of Good Hope, p. 16.

4 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

since they came into contact with the Europeans. The
splendid physique of the Bantu people, the fewness of their
needs, the comparative ease with which a living can be obtained,
and the fact that sons and daughters are desirable, not only
to speak with the enemy in the gate, but as sources of revenue
for their parents and as supports in their old age, have all
tended to an increase in the population. The inroads made
into the number of males by the constant intertribal wars
and faction fights, which were universal before the white man
gave the country a settled government, and by wholesale
murders on the score of sorcery, were made good by a custom
which provided that every adult female should be married.^

If the conditions favouring prolificness were great in the
past, they have increased very considerably since the coming
of the white man. Not only have the old customs tending
to productiveness continued, but by suppressing intertribal
wars, by preventing murders for witchcraft, by spreading
information regarding hygiene and sanitation, and by check-
ing the losses due to infant mortality, the white man's govern-
ment has tended to increase the prolificness of the Native
people. Official returns show that the Native population
has doubled itself in the Cape in a little less than twenty-
eight years, and in Basutoland in less than twenty years.^

How far this phenomenal increase will be checked in the
future by economic pressure, by the adoption of the white
man's habits and vices, and by the ravages of diseases such
as syphiHs and tuberculosis, which appear to be spreading
rapidly among the Native people,^ cannot be estimated with

^ " Provision was even made by custom for widows to add to the
families of their dead husbands. In some parts the brothers of the
deceased took them, in others male companions were selected for
them by their late husband's friends ; in each case the children born
thereafter being regarded as those of the dead man." (Theal, Yellow-
and Dark-Skinned People of South Africa.)

* Evans, Black and White in South Africa, p. 64.

* In his monograph on Tuberculosis among the South African
Natives (Townshend, Taylor & Snashall, Cape Town, 1908), Dr. Neil
Macvicar, of Lovedale, gives some interesting and alarming statements
regarding the spread of tuberculosis among the Natives. In the
thirty-five cities and chief towns of the Cape Province the average
death-rate from tuberculosis per 1000 of the population for the three
years 1903-5 was 1*48 in the case of the European population, and

RACE CONTACT AND ITS LARGER EFFECTS 5

any degree of exactness ; but in view of the tenacity with
which the " raw " Natives chng to their customs, and the efforts
which are being made to safeguard them from the diseases
mentioned, it may be assumed that the population will still
tend to increase rapidly. Even now signs are not wanting
that the black population will soon be greater than the
amount of land available for Natives can carry, at any rate
under the present system of Native land tenure and cultiva-
tion. The South African Native question will not be solved
by the extinction of the Blacks ; for the Bantus, unlike the
aboriginals of North America, Australia, and New Zealand,
show no sign of decreasing in numbers, but rather appear
to increase when brought into contact with the ruhng white
race.

Section 3. — ^The Enclosure of the Lands

The most far-reaching effect of the European colonisation
of South Africa has been the change it has wrought upon the
Native's mode of life. The Native was originally a pastoral-
ist. Before the days of the white man, when the Natives
were fewer, the black man grazed his flocks and herds on the
unoccupied countryside. Around his kraal would be found
the small, ill-cultivated patches of maize, Kafir com, and
pumpkin, which provided his daily sustenance ; but this was
only a minor and toilsome concern to be looked after by the
women-folk. The wealth of the Bantu consisted in the ^^
cattle, sheep, goats, and (later) horses, which grazed on the^
natural pastures. The coming of the white man served at
first to improve the lot of the black, in so far as it gave him
some measure of protection from his enemies. Freed from
the dread of tribal raids and massacres, he was able to live
his hfe of ease and gaiety. His women-folk cultivated the
gardens, his sons herded his flocks and herds, and he, the lord
of creation, could spend his time in hunting, feasting, and sleep-
ing. To be sure, he sometimes owed certain services, such

7-20 in the case of the Coloured and Bantu population. Exact returns
for the other provinces and for the rural districts were not obtainable,
but from the reports of the district surgeons it can be seen that the
mortality is very great. It is noticeable that the mortality is greater
among Natives who have adopted European dress.

6 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

as ploughing and reaping, to the white man on whose farm he
lived ; but these were generally light, and in any case, if they
became burdensome, he could move on to the unoccupied
Government or Crown lands, where he could live rent free.
This idyllic state of affairs was destroyed for ever by the new
settlers from Europe, who, fired with zeal for more improved
methods of farming, demanded that the farms be cultivated
more intensively, and that the Crown lands be opened up for
European settlement. While the Governments agreed to
this, they wisely set aside tracts of land as locations or
reserves exclusively for Native occupation.^

Three lines of action were now open to the Native. He
could either remain on the white man's farm as a rent-paying
or service-giving tenant ; or continue to dwell on the less
fertile and unalienated Crown lands in return for a small
rental paid to the Government ; or go into one of the loca-
tions where until quite recently he was allowed to live rent
free, subject to occasional compulsory service on the roads
(Isibalo). In any case the area of land now at the service of
the Native was but a small fraction of what it had been before.
This fact, together with the ravages of animal diseases, which
became more potent in the congested areas, tended to change
his mode of life. If he remained on the Crown land or entered
a location his opportunities for pastoral farming decreased,
and, unwilling to take up the women's work of agriculture,
.he would generally prefer to leave home and enter the service
woi the white man in the city, leaving his wife and children
to fend for themselves on the location, with what little financial
assistance he was able to send from time to time.^

1 The extent of land available per head in the reserves is as
follows : —

Province.
Cape
Natal
Transvaal
Orange Free State 4* 8

• The extent to which the Natives go to service in the cities can
be seen by referring to the table on p. 14. Thirty-four per cent, of
the inhabitants of the cities and towns of Africa are Natives who are
residing there while working, but who return periodically to their
homes in the country.

Acres.

Province,

Acres.

12-8

Basutoland .

190

8-8

Bechuanaland

. 8192

4-8

Zululand

120

RACE CONTACT AND ITS LARGER EFFECTS 7

Section 4. — Breaking up of Communal Tenure

Concomitant with the enclosure of the lands and the more
intimate relationship between white and black have come
marked changes in the social organisation of the Bantu people,
the passing of the system of communal tenure of land, and the
rapid growth of individualism. In the old days tribalism was
the universal system of social organisation among the Bantu,
as it is, indeed, the prevaihng system to-day. Each member
of the tribe recognised and gave willing allegiance to the chief
as the hereditary representative of the tribal spirit. The
individual was nothing, the tribe everything. Apart from the
tribe the individual had no rights. This almost superstitious
reverence for the chief was accompanied by strong family
discipline and a close attachment to one another of members
of the same tribe. While not a communist in any organised
way, the Bantu was always ready to assist his fellow-tribesman
in time of need. The cattle of the tribe roamed the hills at
will ; fences were unknown. No special provision was made
for bad seasons, for it would always be possible to borrow from
a more fortunate neighbour. So long as he had enough to eat
and drink and a hut to sleep in, the Bantu was happy. There
was an entire absence of the spirit of competition which seems
to be inextricably bound up with European individualism.

Failure to comprehend the Native's social views has led to
much misunderstanding. The white individuaUst, striving to
increase the wealth and happiness of himself and of his family^
and working hard to improve his social condition, is amazed
at the want of attention given to these things by the black
tribalist. It is a very common experience in South Africa
for the Native, while working on the white man's farm, to
become famiUar with all his superior way of agriculture and
stock-farming, or from the white man's homestead to learn
how to make his own home clean, healthy, and comfortable ;
then to go back to his kraal, take off his European garb, and
return to the manner of living of his fathers. When you
remonstrate with the Native, as the writer has often done, he
will admit the superiority of your methods, but with a shrug
of his shoulders will declare that he is but a Native, and that
those are the white man's ways.

8 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

The difference of view-point between the European indi-
vidualist and the Native socialist needs to be emphasised, for
many of our criticisms of the Native as lazy, stupid, un-
teachable are due to a failure to comprehend his outlook on
life. We have failed to realise that the Native does not feel
the need for such virtues as punctuality, application, and
thoroughness, which are essential to success in our European
sense of the word.

While tribaUsm remains the social sjrstem in the remoter
and less enlightened parts of the country, there are abundant
signs that it is breaking down among the more intelligent and
better informed Natives as a result of the conscious or un-
conscious influence of the white man. Basutoland, the Trans-
vaal, and Zululand remain on the whole true to the old tribal
system, whereas the Natives in the Transkei and in Natal are
rapidly tending towards individuahsm. Chiefs deplore the
limitation of their influence and the disappearance of tribal
loyalty, while parents admit their lack of control over their
sons and daughters.^

The decline of the communal land system is seen in the
Transkei, where the Natives are exercising their option and in
increasing numbers are voluntarily coming under a system of
individual tenure.

This matter is of importance in any consideration of Native
education ; for if our system is controlled by conscious ends,
what are these ends to be in the case of the social future of the
^^P^lack ? The writer is convinced that individualism must ulti-
mately prevail. The influence of the white man's example and
the work of the missionaries both lead in that direction. It
is unreasonable to expect a trained and educated Christian
Native to subject himself willingly to the capricious rule of
a heathen and barbarian hereditary chief, nor is it possible
to expect any gieat interest in education unless such education
will bring material as well as spiritual advantages. Under the
tribal system there is no inducement for the Native to advance.
Any attempt at improved methods of agriculture is apt to be
resented by the conservative chief as an undesirable innovation,^

^ Report Natal Native Commission, section 50.

' " It should be borne in mind that the individual Native cannot
be indiscriminately blamed for this [lack of progress in agriculture].

RACE CONTACT AND ITS LARGER EFFECTS 9

As will be demonstrated later, the social adjustment of the
two races demands that a large portion of the Blacks remain
on the land. For this to be carried into effect with the limited
amount of land available, better methods of agriculture must
be taught in the schools. Along with the primitive methods
of agriculture the primitive method of tribalism must die, if
we are to expect our educated Native youth to return to the
land. The successful working in the Cape province of the
Glen Grey Act, which gives the individual Native lease in
perpetuity of land, and the system of modified local self-
government given by the District Native Councils of the
Transkei and Pondoland, seem to the writer to point the way
to a settlement of the Native question through education.^

Section 5. — ^The Native in tlie Towns

Forced by economic pressure to go to the towns, the Native
has adapted himself in his own way to this new environment.
While little affected by the finer side of the life of a nineteenth-
century European city, he has not been slow to assimilate its
more primitive and less worthy features. As labourer in the
mine, or domestic servant in the house, he has been under
influences for evil too potent for his powers of resistance. The
South African Native Affairs Commission of 1903-5 reports
gloomily on this point : "It must apparently be accepted as
an axiom that contact with what we are accustomed to regard
as civilisation has a demoralising tendency as its first effect
upon primitive races. It is clear that the Native year by year
is becoming familiar with new forms of sexual immorality,
intemperance, and dishonesty, and that his naturally imitative
disposition, his virility, and escape from home and tribal

Instances have come to light from time to time of a Native who has
planted trees or otherwise taken a step in advance being penalised
by the Chief even to the extent of the land being allotted to someone
else ; and even a few such cases or the threat of such action will
efEectively discourage enterprise. . . . Tribal tenure is, no doubt, the
root cause of much of the backwardness complained of, but it was
one of the conditions of annexation that the Glen Grey Act should
not be introduced without the authority of an Act of Parhament."
{Report British Bechuanaland : Bluehook on Native Affairs, 1910, p. 8.)

1 In 19 10, seventeen out of the twenty-six districts where it may
be apphed have voluntarily adopted the system {Union Bluebook on
Native Affairs, 1910). Since then other districts have done bkewise.

10 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

influences provide a too congenial soil for the cultivation of
acquired vices." ^ So bad, indeed, can the moral effect of a
large mining centre be, that a prominent South African states-
man, the Honourable John X. Merriman, in speaking of the
responsibility of the white race for the Native, referred to
Johannesburg as a " Criminal University." ^

As a rule the Native returns to his kraal after his term of
service has expired, and too often disseminates disease and
inculcates evil habits among his fellow-tribesmen. There is,
however, an increasing number of Natives who live more or
less permanently in the city, and this number is hkely to
increase as the demand for labour increases and as provision
is made for married men in the urban locations. At present
the life of these town Natives is thus characterised by the
Commission on Assaults on Women : "A large number of
Natives of both sexes, especially of those who live in towns,
have practically forsaken their own people, cast off all tribal
restraints, and do not return to their kraals. They as a rule
become demoralised, and form a very undesirable part of the
population. In the absence of recognised authority, equivalent
to the Chief's influence, the Native on arrival at labour centres

^ Report, section 284. Mr P. A. Bamett, late Superintendent of
Education in Natal, remarks in this connection : " But when their
[the missionaries'] pupil goes into the town, or any^vhere comes in
contact with the baser whites, he finds that the virtues which he has
learnt to regard as the peculiar marks of the white man are at least
not so conspicuous as some mean and base things to which his own
primitive instincts and immemorial customs are more akin. And if
the pupil is a girl, the dangers that assail her multiply a thousand
times, and they are directed against her not entirely by her own people."
{Report of the Superintendent of Education, Natal, 1904.)

* Abundant evidence of the demoralising effect of hfe on the mines
could be adduced ; e.g. : —

" From Johannesburg, on the other hand, they (the Natives) go
back impoverished in wealth and health, and usually moral degener-
ates, and from their influence flow the physical degeneration as well
as the growing uneasiness among raw Natives who have not left their
kraal. It is responsible for the growing criminaUty, and the systematic
undermining of the best traditions not only of the Native kraals, but
also of respect for the white man's authority and loss of faith in his
good intentions." (From an interview in the Cape Argus with Mr C. J.
Levey, I.S.O., senior member for Tembuland in the old Cape ParUa-
ment, at one time C.C. and R.M. for Wodehouse, and magistrate in
Tembuland and the Transkei.)

RACE CONTACT AND ITS LARGER EFFECTS II

loses his social and tribal unity, and, imitation being one of his
chief characteristics, he soon conforms to his environment." ^

In some European homes, on the other hand, the employers
take thought for the physical, moral, and spiritual welfare of
the Natives ; but these are the exception, and indifference is
the rule.2

We see, then, that the Native's mode of life has been largely
affected by his contact with the European. Originally a
pastoralist, he has been compelled by the enclosure of lands
to occupy localities where pastoral farming is difficult. Eco-
nomic pressure has forced him into the white man's service,
where his character and mode of life have been affected for
the worse by an environment for which he was not ready.

Section 6. — ^The Effect on the Whites

In the preceding section we spoke of the unconscious in
fiuence which the white man was having upon the Native,
and cited evidence to prove that this influence was, on the
whole, harmful. What of the reverse process, the influence of
the Native upon the European ? Visitors to South Africa are
struck by our complete dependence upon cheap Native labour.
No one is too poor to have a Zulu " boy " to do the housework
which is done by mother and daughters in the European
countries ; the " boy " carries the school-girl's satchel of books
and the workman's bag of tools.^ Everywhere there is the

^ Report, section 103. For futher evidence of demoralisation see
sections 46-70, 87-121 et passim.

* The unsuitable housing provision for female Native domestic
servants, the lack of supervision on the part of most employers, and
the consequent danger of demoralisation of the girls, are the chief
obstacles towards securing a supply of trained female domestic servants
in European homes. As things are, the parents are afraid to allow
their daughters to enter domestic service, and thus the chief avenue
of useful and suitable employment is closed to the products of the
Mission Industrial Schools for Girls.

' As early as 1804 this tendency to rely on Black assistance Wcis
deplored. In that year De Mist, the vigorous Commissioner- General
of the Batavian Republic, founded a boarding and day school for girls,
" to teach them female handiwork and domestic housekeeping ; above
all, to discontinue the needless and uncivilising custom of being at-
tended by female slaves from their earliest infancy, and on the contrary
to accustom them to help and clothe themselves, to provide for their

12 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

Native servant to save the white man physical exertion. The
evil effect of this upon the European is seen in his dislike of
manual work, his readiness to regard so many tasks as " Kafir's
work," the general attitude of " It's too much trouble" so
noticeable among the younger people, and a loosening of the
moral fibres, which seem to need to be braced by hard and
even severe physical exertions.

The further we progress from the centres of civilisation the
greater the amount of physical and moral degeneration, until
we come to the helpless and hopeless "poor white " of the
Dutch and the "white Kafir" of the British. It was not
without reason that a storekeeper in Zululand told the writer
that he would rather his son broke stones on the roadside than
followed his father's lucrative but demoralising occupation.

The moral and social dangers to the Europeans of contact
with uneducated Natives are dealt with later.^ Here it is
enough to point out how it is possible for a large group, weak
in its standard of social life, to drag down a stronger group
through its very weakness. The backwardness of the
Southern States in the United States of America is partly
attributable to the presence of masses of uneducated Negroes,
who are dragging down the Whites to a lower level, socially,
politically, and economically .^

Signs of a similar degeneration on the part of the Whites
in South Africa are not wanting.^ That they will become more
common if the Native remains uneducated is inevitable ; and
that the Whites will ultimately have to educate the Blacks,
if only in self-defence, is certain.

own necessities, etc." (Quoted by Mmr in Special Report on Educa-
tional Subjects, vol. V. p. 8.)
^ See p. 34 et seq.

* " Low standards in the services rendered by the Negro to the
community are not so serious as the low standard of the service he
exacts." (Murphy, The Basis of Ascendancy, p. 124.)

" The only real peril of our situation is, not in any aspect of the
Negro's wise and legitimate progress, but rather in the danger that
the Negro will know so little, will do so little, and will increasingly
care so little about knowing and doing, that the great black mass
of his numbers, his ignorance, his idleness, and his lethargy, will drag
for ever like a cancerous and suffocating burden at the heart of our
Southern life." (Murphy, The Present South, p. 61.)

• Several instances are given by Mr Maurice Evans in his Black
and White in South-East Africa, chap. viii.

CHAPTER II

THE NATIVE PROBLEM AND THE SOLUTIONS
PROPOSED

The question of the relationship of Black and White in
British South Africa is probably the most difficult current
problem in racial sociology. In other parts of the globe — in
India, in Egypt, and in many of the European colonies in
Africa — we find a handful of white men ruhng vast masses of
blacks, but in these countries there is no thought of white
settlement. The white man is there as an official to rule the
country for the black man, to maintain peace and order so
that the black may enjoy the benefits of settled government
and the white man may carry on his trade. It is only in
the United States of America, where the two races exist side
by side as co-inhabitants and citizens, that we have in the
South a problem at all comparable with that of British South
Africa, and there the presence of a vastly preponderating
white population in the Central and Northern States and in
Canada precludes any possibihty of a struggle for race
supremacy. How difficult it has been to find a basis for
race adjustment even in a country where the whites out-
number the blacks in the proportion of nine to one, the history
of the Southern States since 1863 can tell. How much more
difficult must that question be in British South Africa, where
there are five Natives to each European !

According to the last census (191 1) the numbers of Euro-
peans, Natives or Bantu, and Mixed and other Coloured in
the Union and in each province were as in the following table.
For convenience of reference the figures for Basutoland are
added : —

THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

TABLE No. I

Showing for the Union and for each Province the Number
OF Persons Classed according to the Three Main Races
AND THE Proportion per cent, of each to the Respective
Total Population, according to the Census taken May 7, 19 11.

Urban
and
rural.

Total-
all races.
Persons.

European or
White.

Bantu.

Mixed and

other
Coloured.

8d|

o<o 0
^ a.

21-37
44-54
13-70
55-32

Persons.

Sdg
6-2 "

^"1

Persons.

The
Union
of

South
Africa.

Total .
Urban .
Rural .
Travel-
lers.

5,973,394
1,477,868

4,490,233
5,293

1,276,242

658,286

615,028

2,918

67-28
34-38
78-14
36-97

4,019,006

508,142

3,508,907

1,957

11-35

2I-08

8-i6
7-71

678,146

311,440

366,298

408

Cape of
Good
Hope.

Total .
Urban .
Rural .
Travel-
lers.

2,564,063

619,577

1,942,949

2,439

22-71
46-66
15-01
65-85

582,377

289,107

291,664

1,606

59-26
18-26
73-38
22-79

1,519,939

113,143

1,406,240

556

18-03
35-08

12-6l

11-36

462,649

217,327

245,045

277

Natal.

Total .
Urban .
Rural .
Travel-
lers.

1,194,043

152,988

1,040,302

753

8-22
41-00

3-38
35-.59

98,114

62,732

35,114

268

79-84
23-51
88-15
55-78

953,389

35,967

917,011

420

11-94

35-49

8-47

8-63

142,531

54,289

88,177

Trans-
vaal.

Total .
Urban .
Rural .
Travel-
lers.

1,686,212

599,509

1,085,526

1,177

24-94
41-95
X5-5I
58-45

420,562

251,468

168,406

688

72-34
52-82
83-16
37-39

1,219,845

316,686

902,719

440

2-72
5-23
1-33
4-16

45,805
31,355
14,401

Orange
Free
State.

Total .
Urban.
Rural .
Travel-
lers.

528,174

195,794

421,456

924

33-19
5i'97
28-46
39-61

175,189

54,979

119,844

366

61-67
40-03
67-11
37-29

325,824
42,346

282,937
541

5-14
8-00

4-43
1-84

27,161

8,469

18,675

Basuto-
land.

Total .

405,903

•3

1,396

99-7

404,507

THE NATIVE PROBLEM AND THE SOLUTIONS PROPOSED I5

The following points axe worthy of comment : —

I. Although the mass of the Native people are living in the
country, a considerable migration to the towns has taken
place, 34-38 per cent, of the town-dwellers being Natives.

100%

ORANGE UNION OF

TRANS-. FREE BASUTO- SOUTH

NATAL. I -VAAL. STATE. -LAND AFRICA

European, Mixed, Banfu,

or I or^ or I

Whihe. Coloured. Native.

Fig. I . — Showing in percentages the distribution among races
of the population of South Africa.

These, of course, are only temporary dwellers in the towns ;
their famihes and permanent homes are in the country.

2. The comparatively large percentage of Coloured people
in the Cape and Natal is due to the presence of large numbers
of half-castes in the former and of some one hundred and
fifty thousand Indians in the latter province.

3. The smallness of the mixed and other Coloured popu-
lation of the Transvaal and Orange Free State is due to the
anti-Asiatic laws of these provinces.

l6 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

The problem of race adjustment resolves itself into social,
economic, and political problems of great magnitude.

On the social side there is the question of the effect each
race is having, and will continue to have, upon the other.
We have seen that in the past the social contact of the two
races has been harmful. We must attempt to provide a
development for each race so that contact, when it takes place
at all, should take place at a liigh level.

On the economic side our problem is two-sided : how to
secure the supply of constant unskilled labour which South
Africa needs, and how to employ the remainder of the Natives
to the advantage of themselves and of the country at large.
For the uplift of the Native race it is necessary that they
should make progress along manual and industrial lines, and
part of our problem is to enable them to do this without enter-
ing into " unfair " competition with the Europeans.

The pohtical problem is one which is already causing
anxiety, and which will cause more as the years go on. The
patriarchal system of governing the Natives is breaking
down, and the question of how to allow the Native some share
in his own government has arisen. In the Cape Province some
six thousand Natives possess the parliamentary franchise, and
until recently a Coloured man has been a member of the
Provincial Parhament. No further parhamentary franchise
is to be given, but the success of local self-government in
Basutoland and in the Transkei suggests a way out of the
difficulty in areas where Natives can be segregated.

THE NATIVE PROBLEM AND THE SOLUTIONS PROPOSED I7

Section i.— The Attitude of White South Africa

The general attitude of the people of South Africa towards
this gigantic problem has been one of indifference. It is only
when the farmer feels the scarcity of labour or the city work-
ing man finds the Native competing with him, or when there
is a rebeUion among the Natives, as occurred in Natal in
1906, that the average South African realises the existence
of this problem. Even then the magnitude of the problem
appals him, and he is content to return to his attitude of
laissez faire.

Since 1905, however, there has been a revival of interest in
the problem. The famous Report of the Native Affairs Com-
mission of 1903-5, the Natal Native RebeUion of 1906, the
outspoken Report of the Natal Native Affairs Commission
of 1906, the public utterances of high officials like Lord
Selborne and Sir Matthew Nathan, the publication of Mr
M. S. Evans's book. Black and White in South-East Africa,
and the institution of Native Affairs Reform Associations,
and, above all, the Government's Natives' Land Act of 1913
and the Native Affairs Administration Bill of 1917, have
all served to bring the question before the attention of the
pubhc.

Three schools of thought on the problem can be distin-
guished, which we may call the Repressionists, the Equalists,
and the Segregationists. Similar schools of thought exist in
the Southern States of America.

Section 2. — ^The Repressionists

Under this name must be classed the majority of the Whites
in the Southern States of America and in South Africa.
Their view is that the black man is an inferior creature, and
that he cannot escape from that inferiority. With naive
omniscience they say, " God meant the black man to be a hewer
of wood and a drawer of water for the white man. If you
attempt to raise him from that position you interfere with
God's plan, and bring trouble on yourself and him." ^ The

^ They contrast the old " raw " or " kraal " Native with the half-
fledged product of our schools, much to the discredit of the latter.
The illogicality of this frequently-made comparison needs to be pointed

1 8 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

Repressionists axe not necessarily harsh in their treatment
of the Native, In both America and South Africa some of
the kindest masters, to whom their black servants are devoted,
hold this view. The South African Repressionist regards the
Native as a troublesome child. So long as he " behaves him-
self " {i.e. keeps quiet) he is to be left to lead his simple life
of semi-barbarism in the Native Reserves, or on some remote
corner of the white man's farm, provided always that he
comes out at regular intervals to provide the wliite man
with the cheap unskilled labour which is needed for the mines,
the railways, the stores, and the kitchens. So long as he
does this, he is to be treated with fairness and indeed kind-
ness ; but the moment he wishes to " assert his rights," to
attempt to raise himself in the social scale, to profit by the
white man's example, and to turn to his own use the latent
powers within him, then he is to be sternly repressed as im-
perilling the supremacy of the white man.

As regsirds education for the Natives, the only education
he needs is to be taught to work. The " dignity of labour "
is the lesson he needs to learn — labour, by the way, which
the white man cannot or will not do himself. Native schools
are a mistake,^ but, if they must be estabhshed, let them teach
nothing but the three R's.^

out. To ninety per cent, of the people who make it, the so-called
"raw" Kafir is the old trained Native servant — unable to read or
write or even speak EngUsh, to be sure, but trained by good masters
and mistresses for practical Ufe in the house, the shop, or the farm.
In so far as he received that training, the Native was educated in a
way impossible, alas ! in our own day. The illogicality also of com-
paring the best products of the old system with the worst of the present
should be noticed.

^ " So that by educating the Native you have been guilty of an
injustice to the white man by taxing him to provide funds for the
purpose of raising a competition against himself and so ousting him
from the country, and you have been guilty of an injustice to the
Native by forcing upon his race a civilisation which has involved misery
and death to him." (F. S. Tatham, The Race Conflict in South Africa,
p. 27.)

• " Voor gekleurden is lesen en rekenen genoeg, en verder moeten ziy
leeren werken." (PhiUpstown School Board, Cape Education Commis-
sion, Appendix, clxx.)

" We are of opinion that State-aided education for Natives should
be of a purely elementary character, and that in coimection with it.

THE NATIVE PROBLEM AND THE SOLUTIONS PROPOSED I9

Industrial education finds favour with this school of
thought, but the Native must not learn to do more than
the heavier manual work. Anything more would bring him
into unfair competition with the white man.^

If the Repressionist would hsten it might be possible to
convince him that his poUcy cannot be carried out to-day,
even if it were ever desirable. Contact with the White has
educated the Native, and to attempt to prevent him from
getting a better education is as wise as screwing down the
safety-valve of an engine.

The following extracts from Sir Bernard Mandeville's essay
on Charity and Charity Schools, written in 1714, when the
ancestors of the Repressionists themselves were asking for
education, represent the present views of that party so well
that space must be found for them. After stating that
"it is impossible that a society can long subsist and suffer
many of its members to live in idleness, and enjoy all the
ease and pleasure they can invent, without having at the
same time great multitudes of people that to make good this
defect will condescend to be quite the reverse, and by use of
patience inure their bodies to work for others and themselves
besides," Mandeville proves the necessity for a body of men
never used to ease and idleness and easily contented as to
the necessities of life, " such as are glad to take up with

agricultural labour should be fostered and encouraged in every way
possible. It also seems to us that coloured children are frequently
allowed to remain too long at school, certainly it is not desirable that
they should remain after they have passed the third standard, or
attained the age of fourteen years." {Report of a Select Committee
of the Cape Legislative Council on Education, 1896, quoted in The
Natives of South Africa, p. 332.)

^ A similar illogical attitude is taken up by the Repressionists
in the Southern States of America. " He [the Southern Repressionist]
tells the Negro he must make shoes, but that he mustn't make shoes
which people can wear ; that he may be a wheelwright, but that he
must make neither good wheels nor saleable wagons ; that he must
be a farmer, but that he mustn't farm well. According to this fatuous
philosophy of our situation, we are to find the true ground of inter-racial
harmony when we have proved to the Negro that it is useless for him
to be useful, and only after we have consistently sought the Negro's
industrial contentment on the basis of his industrial despair." (From
a speech by E. G. Murphy reported in the Southern Workman, March
1903)

20 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

the coarsest manufacture in everything they wear, and in
their diet have no other aim than to feed their bodies when
their stomachs prompt them to eat, and with httle regard
to taste or rehsh, refuse no wholesome nourishment that can
be swallowed when men are hungry or ask anything for
their thirst but to quench it."

If, then, says Mandeville, there must be such people, it is
the part of a wise legislature to cultivate the breed, for " in
a free nation where slaves are not allowed of, the surest wealth
consists in a multitude of labourous poor ; for besides that
they are the never-failing nursery of fleets and armies, with-
out them there could be no enjoyment, and no product of
any country could be valuable. To make the society happy,
and people easy under the meanest circiimstances, it requires
that great numbers of them should be ignorant as well as
poor. Knowledge both enlarges and multiplies our desires,
and the fewer things a man wishes for, the more easily his
necessities may be supplied."

Every hour which children of the poor people spend at
their books is so much time lost to society. " Going to school
in comparison to working is idleness ; and the longer boys
continue in this easy sort of hfe the more unfit they will be
when grown up for downright labour, both as to strength
and inclination." We should bring these people up to a
hard and painful life, for if we do otherwise it will be the
greatest cruelty to submit them to it later.

The danger of teaching people a little reading and writing
is that they will think themselves above their fellows, " as
if they were of another species," and will look with contempt
upon downright labour, i.e. " labour performed in the
service of others in the lowest station of life and for the mean-
est consideration."

Section 3. — ^The Equallsts

With views diametrically opposed to those of the Repres-
sionists we have a second school of thought, who, basing their
arguments on a common humanity, plead for equaUty of
treatment for White and Black. Two distinct parties are
found holding this view. On the one hand there are the
well-meaning philanthropists living for the most part over-

THE NATIVE PROBLEM AND THE SOLUTIONS PROPOSED 21

seas,* or in those parts of South Africa where the absence
or paucity of the Native population makes it difficult to
imagine the existence, far less the consequence, of race con-
flict .^ This party is paralleled in the United States by the
Northerners, who subscribe so handsomely to Negro univer-
sities and institutions in the South, and blame the Southern
white man for the race feeling which exists. On the other
hand, we have a section of the European missionaries, whose
adherence to the doctrine of the equality and brotherhood
of men makes it difficult for them to understand, and of
course impossible for them to sympathise with, the repugnance
of the Whites, and their determination to " keep the Native
in his place."

To this school of thought the physical, mental, and moral
qualities of the Natives are potentially equal to those of the
Europeans, and, given the same educational advantages, the
Natives will rapidly prove themselves the equal of the Whites.^

^ The Aborigines Protection Society, known from the place of its
meetings as " Exeter Hall," has frequently opposed vigorously the
pohcy of the British and Colonial Governments regarding the Natives.

* It is the Cape Province which has been most Uberal in its treat-
ment of the Natives, and has extended the franchise to some of them.

' That the Natives are physically the equals of the Europeans
would be generally conceded ; morally their standards are so different
that comparison is difficult (see p. 27). With regard to their mental
abihties, the view of Rev. P. Blessing Dahle, an experienced missionary
and training institution principal, would find much support among
a section of the South African missionaries : " On the average, Native
children are just as well gifted as European, but circumstances affect
them generally in such a way that their mental development is checked
from a certain age. Still, we may say that in most educational subjects
Native children are not inferior to European, and in some few —
singing, writing, needlework, etc. — they seem to hold a better average
endowment than white children. In any case, it is evident that the
Native is far more capable of learning foreign languages than most
Europeans." {The Zulu's Future, p. 3.)

In this connection the following extract from an appeal for funds
for the training of preachers and teachers within the United States
and elsewhere, published by the Synod of New York and New Jersey
in 1 8 16, is interesting : " In those days which are yet to come . . . the
descendants of Ham . . . will attain to an elevation and dignity which
will give them a rank among the pohshed nations of Europe and
America. Africa will yet boast of her poets and orators. Eloquence
will play on the tumid hps of her sons, and sable hands will strike
the lyre and weave the silken web."

22 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

The Equalists would encourage education. The training
given should be the same as that given to the Whites.
Indeed, any attempt at differentiation is construed by this
party (or at least the Coloured section) as an attempt to keep
down the Natives, A similar situation is found in the United
States. The Negro has been receiving the same education
as the White, and when men like Dr Frissell of Hampton and
Booker Washington of Tuskegee admit that the Negro is at
present " backward " in his development as compared with
the Whites, and stands in need of a different kind of educa-
tion, they are opposed by Negro Equalists like Du Bois and
Kelly MiUer on the ground that the backwardness, if present at
all, is only due to lack of education, and that an acceptance of
industrial training as the staple of education would be a confes-
sion of inferiority. One of the reasons why the Cape Province
adheres to its policy of identity of curriculum for European
and Native, is that past attempts at differentiation have been
opposed by the Natives themselves, or at least their leaders.^

The believers in race equality need to be reminded that
there can be no real equality between a people with many
centuries of civilisation behind them, and a race which is just
emerging from barbarism. The question, however, is of
academic interest only. The governing class in South Africa
has decided that for the present, at any rate, there can be no
talk of equality between the two races.^

^ The absurd lengths to which this opinion is sometimes carried
was well illustrated at the Native Convention held at Lovedale in 1908
to decide on the educational poUcy of the proposed Inter-State Native
College. The sound proposition, " that the College should from the
commencement adapt itself to the existing educational needs of the
country, and, proceeding where necessary upon tentative hnes, be
developed into a College of recognised University standing," was
strongly opposed by certain educated Natives, who felt that this was
an insidious attempt to repress their people. One of these Natives
said that this proposition meant that they were to get a stone instead
of bread. They were anxious to get higher education. Where did
they see it ? Among the white people. They wanted that same
education, not a bastard education, not to begin with new experiments.
Even if this curriculum was bad, it was not their place to patch it up
and correct it. They wanted the same higher education as the white
people. (See The Christian Express, Aug. i, 1908.)

• " Society, indeed, puts a marked line of demarcation between
the two great groups : European and African aborigines. No legis-

THE NATIVE PROBLEM AND THE SOLUTIONS PROPOSED 23

Section 4. — ^The Segregationists

Midway between the Repressionists and the Equalists
stands a third party, which, while recognising the tremendous
difficulty of the problem, beheves that a solution may be
found in recognising the right of the Native to develop, but
believes that any such development must be a slow progress,
and that it is not necessary that the development should taJce
place entirely upon European lines. This school of thought
would attack the problem in a scientific fashion. It would
have exhaustive inquiries made into the social, political, and
economic progress of the race in the past. It would seek the
advice of anthropologists, ethnologists, and psychologists in its
endeavour to obtain a thorough knowledge of the people.
With this knowledge, and the facts culled from investigations
into race problems, it would endeavour to give the Bantu
race every assistance to develop on the hnes of its racial
genius.

The present views of this school, which is gaining ground
rapidly in South Africa since the establishment of the Union
of South Africa in 1910, may best be expressed in the words of
its ablest exponent, Mr Maurice S. Evans, who in his book
Black and White in South-East Africa formulates its funda-
mental principles as follows : — ^

1. The white man must govern.

2. The Parliament elected by the white man must realise
that, while it is their duty to decide upon the Une of poUcy
to be adopted, they must delegate a large measure of power
to those specially qualified, and must refrain from undue
interference.

lation, no opinions about identity of origin, no religious sentiment
about the eflfacement of the distinctions of white and black, can delete
the line. It is drawn in bold, ineffaceable lines, and the demarcation
will last because it is in accord with the natural instincts of the two
groups of people." (Sir Langham Dale, Report to Cape House of
Assembly, 1890.)

The late Transvaal Republic, indeed, declared in its Grondwet
or Constitution that " the people will suffer no equahty of white and
blacks in either Church or State." This law died with the Republic,
but its spirit is still potent in South Africa.

* Pp. 310 et seq.

24 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

3. The main line of policy must be the separation of the
races as far as possible, our aim being to prevent race de-
terioration, to preserve race integrity, and to give to both
opportunity to build up and develop their race life.

The Segregationists have been much encouraged by the
success of their pohcy in the Transkei and in Basutoland,
and believe that if this policy could be extended it might be
possible for the Natives to evolve a civilisation of their own,
more suited to the character and needs of the people than
the European civilisation which they are receiving at present.
Apart from the difficulties of carrying out an5^hing Uke a
strict segregation in a country whose very existence is said
to depend on a supply of cheap black labour ,1 it is too late
in the day to expect the Natives to build up a civilisation
of their own, now that the European Government and the
European missionaries have to a great extent destroyed their
primitive customs and beliefs. In the old days the individual
Native had his small share in the making of tribal custom
and law ; to-day his law is handed to him ready-made by
the European Government. Then his energies were taken
up by the absorbing pastimes of war, faction fighting, and
hunting ; now war and faction fighting have been put down,
and hunting has been reduced to the destruction of rabbits,
porcupine, and other " vermin." In times past they could
show their disapproval of tyrannical government by open
revolt ; now the fear of the white man's armed forces will
lead them to submit to any laws. In the old days much
care and skiU were devoted to the manufacture of weapons
and utensils of all kinds ; now these are " made in Germany "
and sold to the Natives by traders. The arts of govern-
ment, of war, and of peace are quickly being forgotten, and
nothing but a passive reliance on the white man has taken
their place.

If segregated, would these people evolve a civihsation of
their own ? It is more than doubtful. The breakdown of
the tribal S5^tem, the disappearance of parental discipline,

^ In referring to the practicability of the policy of segregation,
Booker T. Washington is reported to have said : " If your segregating
wall be high enough to keep the black man in, will it be high enough
to keep the white man out ? "

THE NATIVE PROBLEM AND THE SOLUTIONS PROPOSED 25

the desire for the excitement, gaiety, and less worthy parts
of the white man's hfe, the tasting of which has made the
kraal life a monotonous existence, would unite to prevent
any return to the old practices, which would need to function
strongly if they were to form the bases of an independent
civilisation. It seems inevitable that any degree of civilisa-
tion which the Native people in South Africa attain must he
the product of conscious or unconscious European example
and guidance.

CHAPTER III
WHY EDUCATE THE NATIVE?

" Why educate the Native ? " is the question asked repeatedly
by the Whites in South Africa. In his " raw " state, they say,
the Native leads an Arcadian existence. His simple wants —
food, cattle, women — are easily satisfied. He is more moral
than his educated brother. His few savage virtues — courtesy,
charity — shine in use, and above aU he is no trouble to the white
man. As soon as he goes to school, he puts on unhealthy
European clothes, he despises his " raw " parents, he becomes
dissatisfied with his position without knowing how to improve
it ; his thin veneer of European civilisation makes him wish to
consort with low-class white men, from whom he learns many
vices; he refuses to be subservient to the European, and
becomes the swaggering, impudent, and universally detested
"school Kafir."!

If it were necessary to controvert this argument at length,
it could be shown that the Ufe of a people living in mental and
spiritual darkness and in constant fear of the spirit world,
terrorised by cruel chiefs and cunning witch-doctors, and

^ Mr Robert Plant accounts for the conceit of the " school Kafir "
in these words : " True, the transition state from barbarism to civiUsa-
tion in which these people are found to-day is not altogether satis-
factory. There is much that appears forward, conceited, and insolent,
but it is not fair to expect to jump in a single generation from barbarism
to refinement, and the objectionable features referred to are not infre-
quently the natural exuberance arising from a consciousness of new
power or an outward attempt to ' do the correct thing ' and not un-
frequently the direct result of evil example set by Europeans. It
is a noticeable fact that the farther removed from the larger centres
of European civiUsation the more respectful, industrious, and obedient
the partially civilised Natives are." {Report of Inspector of Native
Education. Natal, 1889.)

WHY EDUCATE THE NATIVE ? 27

subjected to periodical famines, can hardly be termed
Arcadian.

It does seem necessary, however, to refer to the alleged
superior morality of the " raw " Natives. This common
generalisation is based on insufficient evidence. What more
natural than that the European city-dweller, who mistakes
the " town Kafir " with his European clothes and his broken
EngHsh for an educated Native, and who sees signs of his
degeneration in the illicit drinking which takes place in the
suburbs of cities, and of demoralisation in the presence of
Native prostitutes, should contrast this objectionable upstart
with the respectful " raw " Native, with whom he is acquainted
chiefly through the superficial accounts of travellers. If he
could study the " raw " Native at first hand, he would find
that, judged by our European standards, the morahty of the
uncivihsed Natives is low. In their relations with people
outside their tribe, lying, thieving, and deceit of all kinds axe
very common. On the question of sexual morality let the
unbiassed Commission on Assaults on Women speak : "As
regards sexual matters, however, the code of morality is low
in the extreme, viewed from a European standpoint. It is
stated by witnesses that the ' raw ' Native is born and brought
up in an atmosphere of immorality and lust ; his thoughts
and speech are lewd ; the topics of his ordinary conversation
from an early age are sexual matters ; even in the presence
of the other sex his talk in this respect is unrestrained ; his
jokes with his female friends and acquaintances have reference
to these matters. Persons who do not understand the Native
language, it is said, can hardly realise how low, according to
European standard, the state of morality is cimongst them.
Several missionaries and others have declared that whilst their
work lay amongst a Native population they would not on any
account allow their children to acquire a knowledge of the
language spoken by the Natives, for fear of the pollution of
their minds." ^

As we have seen, much of the objection to the education of
^ Report, section 39. Mr Dudley Kidd deals with the question
at length, and asserts : ' ' The man who poses as an authority on the
Kafirs, and repeats the statement that the Natives are moral and
right enough if only missionaries would leave them alone, is either
a knave or a fool." (The Essential Kafir, pp. 228 et seq.)

28 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

the Native is due to a mixture of ignorance, indifference, and
fear. There are, however, some honest sceptics who raise the
question. To these we would reply: We must educate the
Native because : —

(i.) We cannot help educating him, if not intentionally then

unintentionally,
(ii.) The dictates of humanity and Christianity demand that

we educate him.
(iii.) He means to be educated, and we have no right to refuse

him this boon,
(iv.) It is the educated Native who will help most to solve

the " Native Problem."
(v.) It is to the moral, social, and economic interest of the

Europeans to educate him, and we dare not face the

consequence of faiUng to do so.
(vi.) Wherever we have given him an3rthing in the way of real

education the results have been satisfactory.

Section i. — Can we help Educating the Native ?

We cannot help educating the Native, Among the most potent
forces operating on the life of human beings are the imitative
tendencies. These tendencies are often inhibited among ad-
vanced races by a more fully developed reasoning ability which
enables its possessor to judge of the intrinsic value of actions ;
but among more primitive people they are extraordinarily
strong. It is mainly through imitation that the primitive man
adjusts himself to his environment, which is but another way
of saying that it is through imitation that he receives his
education.

Before the coming of the white man the education of the
South African Native consisted in his adjustment to the
narrow environment of his tribe through direct imitation of his
elders. With the coming of the white man an entirely new
environment was created, and the Native's response to this
new situation has been a gradual absorption through imitation
of as much of the new as he could comprehend. Unfortunately
for him, those aspects of the new environment to which he
could most easily adjust himself were not usually the best.
Hence the common charge against the Natives that they have

WHY EDUCATE THE NATIVE ? 2^

absorbed most of the white man's vices and none of his virtues.
While this statement, hke most epigrammatic remarks, is not
wholly true, few would deny that contact with the white man,
as it takes place in the country store, on the fcirm, at the mines,
in the towns, has not tended to improve the Native's habits,
morals, or outlook on life.

The kind of " education " which the Native is " picking up "
from the white man is certainly bad.^ Shall we not then cease
to give him this education ? Yes, if we can ; but seeing that
our daily contact with the Native is the school in which this
harmful education is being given, and that we ourselves are
the teachers, we can only cease to give this education by retiring
from the country or by segregating ourselves entirely from the
Natives. Are we prepared to do either of these things ? I
think not. We have made our homes in South Africa, and we
need the Natives for work in the house, the shop, the mine,
and on the farm. In so far, then, as we bring the Native into
contact with us we are educating him.^ The late Superin-
tendent of Education for Natal, Mr P. A. Barnett, puts the
illogicality of our attitude very forcibly but truly when he
says : " We ought not to refuse to teach him to speak to us
and to understand us, and then denounce him for stupidity ;
deny him the means of being clean, and then gird at him for
filthiness ; lodge him in a pig-stye, and then complain that he

^ " The very moment that a Native comes into contact with the
white man his education has begun, if it is only with the storekeeper
in the Government location ; much more when he lives on a farm ;
and still more when he comes into domestic service, say, on the Wit-
watersrand. There his education goes on with a vengeance ; and if
that is the only education he receives, who in his senses will beUeve
that the Native, uninstructed and unguided, will pick up anything
from the white man but what is bad?" (ixjrd Selborne, Address
before the Congregation of the University of the Cape of Good Hope, p. ii.)

* " The many thousands of Natives constantly employed on farms,
railways, and public work, and in mines and workshops, are inevitably
being brought under what is, in the wider sense of the word, an edu-
cational influence, and are thereby becoming more useful and pro-
ductive members of the community. These occupations involve
considerable travel, removal for longer or shorter periods from their
home environment, and contact with civilised conditions, all of which
have the eflEect of stimulating mental activity and widening their
intellectual outlook." {Report of South African Native Affairs Commis-
sion, 1903-5, section 326.)

30 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

lives like a pig and disseminates disease ; plant him in the centre
of temptation and atrocious white example, and marvel that
he fcills into vicious courses." ^

If then we cannot help educating the Native by our contact
with him ; if this casual and indirect education is doing harm,
not only to the Native, but to us ; and if we are not prepared
to segregate ourselves from him — how can this vicious education
be stopped ? The answer is clear : only by a counteracting,
purposeful, good education, such as can be given in good homes,
and principally in schools, which are the institutions estabhshed
by society for conserving and handing on that part of its
tradition which has been proved to be worth keeping.

Section 2.— The Calls of Humanity and Christianity

The dictates of humanity and Christianity demand thai we
educate the Native. To Christian peoples the work of convert-
ing the heathen has always been a solemn task imposed upon
them by the Founder of their religion. Missionary zeal has
always been one of the chief objects of exploration and colonisa-
tion, and the Christianising of the Hottentots was one of the
avowed objects of van Riebeek's settlement.

It is impossible that the Europeans in South Africa, mindful
of the blessings which have fallen to them through education
and the Christian religion, would wish to exclude those blessings
from their less fortunate fellows. So we are not surprised to
find that several of the missionary societies at work in South
Africa are manned and supported by South Africans.

It has often been suggested that the Natives be converted
to Christianity without being educated. This, however, is
impossible with the younger people. Conversion means so
complete a change from the former manner of life that it
must be accompanied by the discipline and ability to stand
the change ; in other words, by education.^

^ Report of Superintendent of Education, Natal, 1904, p. 8.

* " To teach a mass of barbarians the great moral and ethical
truths of the most enUghtened religion of the most civilised part of
the world, without, at the same time, training their intellectual powers
to grasp the truths taught them, means that they must inevitably
degrade our religion to their own low state of mind." (A. F. Caldecott,
The Government and Civilisation of the Native Races of South Africa, p. 10).

WHY EDUCATE THE NATIVE ? 31

One of the greatest blessings which education could bring
to the Native would be to free him from the dominance and
deadening influence of the spirit world. The " raw " South
African Native has a profound belief in the potency of spirits.
All the calamities which befall him or his tribe are due to
malignant spirits. Any Native whose hfe is out of the ordinary
runs the risk of being suspected of witchcraft. This is one of
the reasons why Natives are unwiUing to practise at home
the arts they have learnt in the service of the white man.
To remove this blighting influence is one of the tasks of
education.^

A further reason why we Europeans should educate the
Natives is because it is through our coming to South Africa
that formal education has become necessary. We have intro-
duced a new European environment to which the Native must
adjust himself. For example, we have introduced an economic
system in which the uneducated Native is at a serious dis-
advantage. The danger of the exploitation of the ignorant
Native by the unscrupulous educated European or Native is
very great.

On the whole our duty seems clear. God made the Native
a man. We cannot and we dare not make him less.

^ "At present the vast majority of Native children when they go
to school are already superstitious. . . . Much of the education . . .
fails even to disturb the underlying superstition. It ought surely to be
possible so to contrive that even the elementary education should
do something to loosen the hold that superstition has over the children's
minds. ... At the present time in the Cape Colony there are young
men holding teachers' certificates, and others who have passed the
School Higher Examination, who yet remain quite unconvinced of the
fallacy of their ancestral beUef in witchcraft. . . . The superstitions
of the Natives constitute the dangerous feature of Native life. Under
the influence of superstition sane men lose their judgment, and any
leader who is clever enough to appeal to some deeply rooted superstition
can move his hearers to acts which they would never otherwise com-
mit. . . . Every Kafir war had its false prophet who professed to be
able to bewitch the enemy and to impart strength to the Kafirs to
overcome the Europeans. . . . The only way of getting rid of that
dreadful theory, which can be really called the curse of the Natives,
is to replace in their minds the primitive and dangerous animism by
the spiritual, highly moral, philosophical theism of Christianity."
(Dr Neil Macvicar, Medical Officer to the Lovedale Mission, in The
State, June 1909.)

THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

Section 3. — ^The Natives' Demand for Education

The Native demands education, and we have no satisfactory
reason for denying him this boon. From the estimate on p. 76
it will be seen that in 1907 there were over 160,000 Natives
at school. The number has probably increased to 200,000 by
now. In other words, one Native school child out of five is
receiving some kind of education. The figures in the following
chapter show how marked has been the rate of increase in the
number of schools, and the demand for schools and still more
schools goes up from all parts of the country .^ The inspector in
charge of Native schools in Natal recently informed the writer
that he could open sixty new schools in a week if he had the
teachers and the money.

The efforts made by the Natives themselves to secure an
education are extraordinary. No matter how old the Christian
convert may be, he is desirous of learning to read and write.
Masters and mistresses in towns are often astonished at the
requests of their old retainers, who ask to be allowed to attend
school in the evenings. One of the difficulties in the adminis-
tration of Native schools is to exclude grown-up men and
women from the infant classes.

^ The education of the Negroes in the United States shows a
wonderful advance. The dechne in ilUteracy can best be seen from
a comparison of age groups.

Percentage of Illiteracy in the United States, 1910

Age period.

years and ovei

„ to 14 years

, 19 ..

. 24

. 34

35
4.5

. 44
. 64

,. i

ind ovei

All classes.

77
41
4-9
6-9
7-2
8-1
10-7
14-5

Whites.

3-0
1-7
1-9
2-3

2-4

30
50

7-3

Negroes.

30-4
i8-9
20-3

23-9
24-6

323

52-7
74-5

[A bstract. Thirteenth Census,
in Fifty Years.)

191 o, quoted in The Negro's Progress

WHY EDUCATE THE NATIVE ? 33

Surely we, who affect to prize education so highly, have no
right to deny it to the Native. Should we not, rather, encourage
this laudable ambition by every means in our power ? The
answer is not altogether in our hands, for the Native means to
receive education, if not in his own country, then abroad. All
recent Commissions on Native Affairs refer to the increasing
number of Native students who proceed to the United States
for their further education. This tendency is deprecated, in
that it is felt that the Natives get out of touch with their own
people, and imbibe ideas of social organisation unsuitable for
South Africa. The Commission for 1903-5 is emphatic in
its condemnation of this practice. " Asserting, as they do,
that they are denied in South Africa opportunities for higher
education, the independent Native (rehgious) bodies have sent
or have encouraged the parents to send youths to America for
a course of instruction in the Negro colleges. The character
of the education at these colleges, with the accompanying grant
of ' degrees ' on low quahfications, and the atmosphere of
racial animosity in which the education is acquired, render an
extension of this practice undesirable." *

Section 4.— The Native Solving His Own Problem

We must help the Native to help himself. Common sense as
well as experience from America would advise us to make use
of the Native himself in any attempts to solve the Native
problem. In America it is a Negro, Booker T. Washington,
who has done more to solve the Negro question than any dozen
white men. However sympathetic he may be, the European
cannot see the question from the same point of view as the
Native, and we shall be wise if we educate the Natives so that
they may attempt a solution themselves. A race is what it is,
largely through the efforts of its great men. As has well been
said : " The ability of a hundred of its most gifted repre-
sentatives often counts more for a nation's or a race's ♦^
welfare than the abihty of a million of its mediocrities." ^
Our present European civilisation is not the result of the

* Report of the South African Native Affairs Commission, section 329.
See also Report of the Natal Native Affairs Commission, 1906, section 83.
' Thomdike, Educational Psychology, vol. iii. p. 210.

34 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

mass of the people, but of the few bright geniuses who have
enabled us to advance in their steps by leaps and bounds. So
will it be with the Native people of South Africa. They \vill
be raised by their own fellows, and it is but the part of prudence
to educate the people, and so enlist in our difficult problem the
assistance of those most concerned.

Section 5. — Advantage to Europeans in the Education
of the Natives

It is to the moral, social, and economic advantage of the Euro-
peans to educate the Natives.

(A) Moral. — In an earlier part of this chapter we have shown
that, judged from our European standpoint, the standard of
moraUty of the uneducated Native is very low. The European
in South Africa comes into contact with this low standard of
morality every day of his hfe — if not the intimate contact of
the farm or the house, then the more remote contact of the
street. We have seen that this contact is not without its ill
effects on adult Europeans ; on young children the evil effects
are still greater. The greatest hardship wliich missionaries face
is the necessity of bringing up their children among " raw"
Natives, Some, as we have seen, refuse to allow their children
to learn to speak the Native language, for fear of contamination.
On the farms the position is much the same, and in the towns
it is not much better. Comparatively few families are able to
afford a European nursemaid. Native boys, and to a lesser
extent Native girls, are the nursemaids of the majority of our
children. A common sight, even in such a comparatively
wealthy town as Durban, is a dozen Native nurse boys and girls
sprawling on the grass while their charges run about and over
them. In many cases the conversation of these Natives is
indescribably filthy. The strongest argument which has been
used in urging the lowering of the age of admission to the
European infant schools has been the baneful effects of the
" Kafir Kindergarten."

The South African Commission of Inquiry into Assaults on
Women is frank in its condemnation of this practice :

" When the disgusting sexual practices in which a large
number of natives indulge from early youth cU^e borne in

WHY EDUCATE THE NATIVE ? 35

mind, the danger of entrusting girl children to male
Natives is obvious. The existence of these practices is
unfortunately not so widely known among white people
as it should be ; and it would be well if all mothers, in
areas where Natives are employed, made themselves fully
informed in regard to them. Boys, too, may be easily
contaminated by the conversation and practices of many
of these young Natives." ^

If, as seems commonly accepted in South Africa, the employ-
ment of Native servants in our houses, schools, and shops
as well as on our farms and mines, is unavoidable, we should
certainly take steps so that their contact with us is as little
harmful as possible. Since the mental, social, and moral
development of ourselves and of our children is inextricably
bound up with that of the Natives, we must, if only in self-
preservation, see to it that the " essential Kafir " is educated.

The ravages of disease among the Natives have already been
referred to. The dirty and ignorant Native is a danger to the
health of the Europeans. The Native quarters in our towns
can only be kept from becoming centres of contagion by the
activity of our sanitary authorities. It will be more effective
and more economical to educate the Native to be clean.
What can be accomplished in this direction can be seen by
anyone who compares the clean and healthy homes of the
educated Natives with the stuffy, dirty, and insanitary Kafir
huts.2

(B) Social. — Not a few South Africans otherwise well dis-
posed towards the Natives oppose their education because they
fear that with the advance of the Native will come race mixture
with the Europeans. The prospect of a mixed race or a " half-
caste " South Africa is a very real nightmare to them. Into
the argument for and against race admixture it is unnecessary

^ Report, section 121.

* " An ignorant and untrained Negro is very much more apt to
be filthy and unhygienic than is the one who has had at least an ele-
mentary training. The prevalence of typhoid, tuberculosis, hookworm,
and other diseases which are such a present menace to the entire South,
can never be greatly lessened until the Negro is taught the meaning
of sanitation and cleanhness." (Dr W. D. Weatherford, in an address
delivered at the Conference of Education in the South, Nashville, April
1912, published in the Southern Workman, October 1912.)

36 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

to enter. South Africa has decided with no uncertain voice
that she will have none of it.* Our purpose is rather to show
that education, instead of increasing race mixture, will cause
its decrease.

In the early days in South Africa marriages or unions be-
tween white men and Native women were not uncommon.
The men were of the rougher type of European professional
hunter, Kafir trader, or pioneer farmer, and the women were,
of course, utterly ignorant. Sometimes the marriage was by
Native custom, and the man settled down to lead the Ufe
of a Native. As the country became more settled, and as
civihsing influences began to work, these unions became less
common. They still exist in some of the remoter parts of
the country, but it is found that wherever there is any body
of pubhc opinion the man who marries or cohabits with a
Native woman is ostracised, and the example serves to deter
others from following his example.^

The impression that education leads the Native to the
perpetration of " black peril " outrages is totally unfounded.
On the contrary, as the Commission on Assaults on Women
suggests, the chief predisposing causes are the barbarism
and superstition of the Native people.'

In the United States assaults upon women is not a common
Negro crime. Monroe N. Work, in his elucidating article on
" Negro Criminality in the South," says : " Of those committed

1 Not only the Europeans, but the Natives themselves, despise the
Eurafrican. Their attitude is exempUfied by a dramatic incident
reported by the Natal Native Affairs Commission : " One old Native,
in vehement and passionate language, suiting gesture to words with
dramatic effect, asked, ' What are these white things, which their
girls were bringing home on their backs in such numbers ? What
did the Government mean by allowing their girls to bear so many
white children ? Did they want to breed mule-drivers 'a ' — in allusion
to the fact that men of mixed race invariably drive Government con-
veyances." (Report, section 70.)

* A decrease in mixed marriages is reported from the United States.
Ray Stannard Baker, in his book Following the Color Line, reports
that in Boston, a city singularly free from race antagonism, the total
of mixed marriages as recorded in the Registry Department was 35
in 1900 ; 29 in 1903 ; 19 in 1905 — ^and this in a city of more than half
a million inhabitants. (Reported by Murphy, The Basis of Ascend-
ancy, p. 75.)

» Report, sections 38, 39, 40.

WHY EDUCATE THE NATIVE ? 37

to prison for major offences in 1904, the per cent, committed
for rape was — for coloured {i.e. Negro) i-g, all whites 2-3,
foreign whites 2-6, Irish 1-3, Germans i-8, Italians 4-4,
Hungarians 47. The commitments for assaults upon women
are low in the Southern States. In the South Atlantic
divasion the rate per 100,000 of the population in 1904 was
0-5, in the South Central division it was 07. Some would
suppose that the low rate of commitments for rape in the
South is due to the fact that the most of the perpetrators
of these crimes are summarily lynched ; but if, however, all
the Negroes who were lynched for rape in the South were
included, the rate for coloured would be changed less than
one-fourth of i per cent." ^

The seduction and debauchment of Native girls by white
men of a certain class was one of the principal grievances
laid before the Natal Native Affairs Commission of 1906-7.^
Here again the men are generally of a low class, and the
women almost entirely uneducated.

While settled marriage and concubinage between the races
are diminishing, there seems to be an increase in illicit and
promiscuous intercourse between white men and black women,
and in a few cEises (confined almost entirely to Johannesburg)
between European women and Natives.

Illicit and promiscuous intercourse between men and women
of different races takes place at its lowest level, and becomes
rare as the people rise in the social scale.' It is not claimed
that education will stop this intercourse entirely, but in
South Africa, just as in the United States, it seems clear that

* The Negro's Progress in Fifty Years, p. 76. In this connection
it is interesting to learn that no graduate of Hampton or Tuskegee
(the famous industrial schools for Negroes in the United States) has
ever been charged with assault upon a woman.

* Sections 69 and 70. The Commission on Assaults on Women
admits that there is ample cause for this grievance (Report, section 18).

" Outbreaks of immorality among Amakolwa girls and near mission
stations have occurred in South Africa (for a bad case see Izindaba
Zabantu, June i, 1914), but these are almost alwaj's due to the fact
that no employment has been found for the semi-educated Native
girls, whose veneer of education makes them refuse to work in the
fields as their " raw " sisters do. An adequate scheme of education
will see that its participants are trained for some occupation in which
there is opportunity for honourable employment.

38 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

education will develop pride of race among the black people ;
and just as the Jew from racial motives segregates himself from
the Gentile, so pride of race will increase the present dis-
incUnation of the Natives for marriage with the Whites.'-

(C) Economic. — In a previous section it has been pointed
out that much of the apparent laziness and lack of enterprise
of the Native is due to the fewness of his wants. A man's
wants determine his progress. Through wants the arts and
sciences arise. The more we can increase the Native's legiti-
mate and satisfiable wants, the happier and better we shall
make him. To effect this no agency is more powerful than
education. The educated Native's wants are considerably
more than those of his " raw " brother. To meet these wants
he must work. If he 'works for the white man, we have a
better and more permanent servant .^ If he works for him-
self, we have a more efhcient tradesman or farmer. Not only
do the Natives and the individual white man benefit from
the increase in the Native's wants, but the State through the
Native's improved producing and purchasing power receives
a greater share of revenue. Magistrates' reports abound vnih
references to the improved spending power of the educated
Native throughout South Africa,^ but the reports from the
Transkei are particularly elucidating in this connection because
of the advanced state of education in that district.

In the twenty-seven reports from magistrates in the
Transkei published in the Union Bluebook on Native Affairs,
1 910, marked improvement in trade is reported by fifteen of

1 " The impression that the development of the Negro race, its
enlarging efficiency and intelligence, will in itself add to the frequency
of intermarriage, or will itself increase the impulses of racial fusion,
is, so far as one can now determine, totally unfounded." (Murphy,
Basis of Ascendancy, p. 76.)

• The irregularity and inefficiency of Negro labour in the South
of the United States is attributed to the fewness of the Negro's wants.
" These wants can be supplied by half-time labour, and consequently
it is impossible to get many of the Negroes to work full time. In order
to meet the situation the standards of living for the Negro must be
raised. He must be made to want better homes, more comforts,
some reading material, better clothes, better food. To this end there
must be a raising of standards through better training of the masses
of Negroes." (Dr W. D. Weatherford, op. cit.)

^ See Bluebook on Native Affairs, 1910, pp. 179-192.

WHY EDUCATE THE NATIVE ? 39

the eighteen reports which deal with this question. The
magistrates regard the improved purchases of the Natives as
the result of education.

" The people are more civilised in this part, conse-
quently their requirements extend to a much wider
range of articles than in districts where the people are
mostly heathen." (R.M., Xalanga.)

" Evidence of progress is clearly manifest and proved
by comparison of the class of goods now stocked in local
stores with the old order of twenty years ago." (R.M.,
Kentani.)

" Trade ... is a very remunerative business. The
wants of Natives have increased very greatly in the past
twenty years, and become more and more expensive."
(R.M., Engcobo.)

" The progress of the people is amply evident in trade.
Twenty years ago the hoe was the only agricultural
implement used ; now every kraal possesses its plough.
In those days trade was entirely by barter, which is now
extinct. Astonishing increases in the sale and con-
sumption of tea, coffee, sugar, matches, soap, paraffin,
and other groceries, as well as in the purchase of clothing
and saddles of much higher value, and of such commo-
dities as jugs, basins, and bedsteads (single and double),
point to the steady progress going on. The sale of wool
in the time referred to has increased tenfold." (R.M.,
Tabankulu.)

In the absence of statistics it is impossible to give the
amount contributed by the Natives in indirect taxation, i.e.
through customs dues ; but it is generally admitted to be
considerable.!

The following statement of expenditure by the General

^ " The imports of this small community [Basutoland] approximate
annually to a quarter of a million sterling, almost entirely for clothing
and goods manufactured in the United Kingdom ; the exports to a
similar value of agricultural produce for consumption in South Africa.
No white population could produce as much in the space available."
(Sir Godfrey Lagden, quoted by Evans, Black and White in South-East
Africa, p. 447.)

THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

Council shows the improved earning and spending power of
the Natives in the Transkei: — ^

Transkeian Territories General Council Expenditure

Educa-
tion.

Agricul-
ture and
industry.

Forests.

Public
works.

Roads.

Hospitals.

I9I0

15.193

9,354

1921

18,111

11.495

800

I9II

18,001

13,861

2229

21,270

12,085

800

I9I2

19,579

24,090

1498

17,055

13.021

1000

I9I3

20,425

33,555

1708

19,506

15,829

1050

I9I4

21,872

59,500

I9I7

19,093

16,000

950

(estimated)

As producer the Native has in the past done httle, because
he needed httle, but it is clear that as his wants increase he
will be driven to greater productiveness. It is estimated
that there are 5,000,000 acres of land under regular cultiva-
tion in South Africa — an acre for each head of population,
white and black. Many times that amount of land could
be put under cultivation, but the Native will not be wilUng,
nor indeed able, to do more, without education.

Section 6. — ^The Success o{ Real Native Education

Wherever we have given the Native anything in the way of
real education the results have been satisfactory. At the out-
set we must distinguish between the really educated Native
and the one who is often classed as educated because he wears
European clothes and has learnt a few English words and
phrases from a European employer. The latter type is very
common in our South African towns. He is very much in
evidence on Sunday afternoons, when he swaggers up the
street in his squeaky boots, jostling passers-by, and carrying
on a conversation with his friends in broken Enghsh. To

^ Reproduced from Kingdon's " The Emergence of a Nation," a paper
read before the South African Association for the Advancement of
Science, 191 4.

WHY EDUCATE THE NATIVE ? 4I

regard such a Native as educated is to do the Native schools
a rank injustice.^

If, however, we regard as an " educated " Native one who
has passed such a comparatively easy educational test as
the fourth standard in our schools, we have direct evidence
to prove that, so far from spoiUng the Native, education has
done him positive good.

On the general question of the success of the Native educa-
tion we have much weighty and impartial opinion.

" The consensus of opinion expressed before the Com-
mission is to the effect that education, while in a certain
number of cases it has had the effect of creating in the
Natives an aggressive spirit — arising, no doubt, from an
exaggerated sense of individual self-importance, which
renders them less docile and less disposed to be con-
tent with the position for which nature or circumstances
have fitted them — has had generally a beneficial influence
on the Natives themselves, and by raising the level of their
intelligence, and by increasing their capacity as workers
and their earning power, has been an advantage to the
community." {South African Native Affairs Commission,
1903-5 '• Report, section 328,)

" The witnesses are generally agreed that education
has the effect of making the Native more intelligent, more
civilised, and more loyal, and of increasing his wants. It
is also widely, though less generally, admitted that
education makes the Native more moral and more in-
dustrious. Your Committee can, however, find no
evidence in support of the theory that education has
a tendency to induce crime. Your Committee submit
that the primary objects of Native education must be
the development of inteUigence, the training of character,
and in particular the promotion of industry, and that if
these objects are duly kept in view throughout, and

* The same misconception exists in the United States. " The
typical educated Negro in the eyes of the white man is a Negro
with a high hat, imitation gold eye-glasses, a showy walking-stick,
kid gloves, fancy boots and what not — in a word, a man who has
determined to hve by his wits." (Booker T. Washington, Up from
Slavery, p. 151.)

42 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

nothing is done to force development unnaturally, Native
education cannot fail to be to the advantage of the whole
country." {Cape Select Committee on Native Education,
1908 : Report, section 4.)

The belief that the educated Native tends to become
criminal is very widespread in South Africa, because of the
prominence given in the press to criminal cases in which
literate Natives are concerned, and because of the unfortunate
fallacy of classing the overdressed, swaggering, insolent street
Native as educated. To argue from a particular instance to
a general law is easy, when the thought is fathered by the
wish; and because one or two educated Natives have been
guilty of criminal offences, generahsation such as " eighty
per cent, of the pupils turned out as educated on mission
stations have turned criminals " are made.

In 1906 the Rev. A. E, Le Roy, principal of Amanzim-
toti Seminary, the largest educational institution for Natives
in Natal, investigated the charge and proved its falsity.^
Three methods were used : —

(fl) Inquiry at six of the largest prisons in Natal and Zulu-
land produced the following statistics regarding the number
of literate Native prisoners : —

Prison.

Date of report.

Total

No. of

prisoners.

No.
literate.*

Durban

Pietermaritzburg

Eshowe

Three smaller prisons .

Admitted April 7

to May 6.
Confined May 19.
Confined May 19.

260 j 2

507 31
214 13

43 0

1024

* Literate here means able to read and write English or Zulu. The
number of educated Native criminals is much less. Of almost 2000
Native criminals received at Durban Jail during the two years ended
December 31, 1905, only 5, or -25 per cent., were sufficiently educated
to be able to read in the fourth reader.

* Rev, A. E. Le Roy, " The Educated Zulu," a paper read before
the South African General Missionary Conference, Johannesburg, 1906.

WHY EDUCATE THE NATIVE ? 43

(b) According to the Census Report, there were confined in
the prison of Natal, on the day the census was taken, 1862
Natives, of whom 82 were able to read and write. This
percentage of 4*4 corresponds almost exactly with the figures
under (a) above.

(c) Of the 800 ex-pupils of Amanzimtoti Seminary (Mr Le
Roy's school), only 11, or 1-4 per cent., have ever been
convicted of crime.^

The further charge that the educated Native was lazy,
disrespectful, and unfitted for work was also refuted by
Mr Le Roy. The employers of the 91 ex-students
from Amanzimtoti Seminary working in Durban and
Johannesburg were questioned as to the worth of the boys.
Were they good workers ? Were they respectful ? Were
they trustworthy ? How did they compaie with the " raw "
Kafir ? Unqualified approval was given of 82 of the
bo}^, 5 were satisfactory in spite of minor weaknesses,
while 4 were unsatisfactory. Some of the comments of
the employers, all of which are given by Mr Le Roy, are
interesting: — "Good and trustworthy." "The best boy I
have." " All ratthng good boys, never had any trouble ;
hard workers." " Good boys, but exceptions. Mission
Natives worthless." " Was here a year, but knew too much."
" A credit to missionaries." " Not a word of complaint."
" Very good boy, respectful and willing," " Absolutely the
best boy I've had; gets drunk occasionally just Hke a

* The argument that to educate a Negro is to make a criminal of
him is frequently used in the Southern States. It has been refuted
again and again. Thus Dr Weatherford says : " The facts do not
bear out this statement. It is estimated that 67 per cent, of the
Negro criminals to-day have had no training. If the South wishes to be
free from its fearful harvest of crime, it is none too soon to deliberately
start on a more definite plan for Negro training." (Op. cit.)

" Not a single graduate of the Hampton Institute or of the Tuskegee
Institute can be found to-day in any jail or State penitentiary. After
making careful inquiry I cannot find a half-dozen cases of a man or a
woman who has completed a full course of education in any of our
reputable institutions like Hampton, Tuskegee, Fisk, and Atlanta who
are in prisons. The records of the South show that go per cent, of
the coloured people in prisons are without knowledge of trades, and
61 per cent, are ilUterate." (Booker T. Washington, Working with
the Hands, p. 235.)

44 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

white man, but good worker and respectful," Mr Le Roy
estimates that of the 800 ex-students of his institution 10 per
cent, are worthless, " both from a Christian and industrial
viewpoint " ; 20 per cent, are good workers but are not lead-
ing Christian lives ; while 70 per cent, are to-day reliable men,
a credit to the school and to the Church.

Although it is almost certain that similar satisfactory results
could be obtained from other missions, it is a pity that they have
not been collected, as the contrary impression still prevails to
a considerable extent.^

The experience of the United States shows that even the
inadequate education provided for Negroes in the Southern
States has produced good results. Dr Weatherford, after
quoting statistics to prove his points, sums up the results as
follows : —

" It has never been found in all the world that a sane
and thorough intellectual equipment has been detrimental
to morals or to industrial efficiency. The Negro is no
exception to this rule. It is not the educated Negro
that fills our penitentiaries and jails, works in our chain
gangs, and fills our poor houses. These places are given
over to the ignorant and depraved. It is not the educated
Negro that makes up our idle and vagrant class, that
commits our murders and despoils our women. Here,
again, it is the iUiterate and degraded Negro. The
trained Negro Uves in a better home, wears better clothes,
eats better food, does more efficient work, creates more
wealth, rears his children more decently, makes a
more decent citizen, and in times of race friction is
always to be found on the side of law and order. These
things seem to be worthy fruits, and whatever system
produces them should have our approval. If we are to
be fair to ourselves, fair to the section in which we hve,
and fair to the Negro race, we must see that a common
school education is provided for all, that industrial

* The calendar of Lovedale Institute contains the names of thousands
of educated Natives who are a credit to their school training and
education. Many similar proofs could be adduced from American
reports.

WHY EDUCATE THE NATIVE ? 45

training is given to the majority, and that a more thorough
and complete training shall be given to the capable few
who are to become the leaders of this race." ^

Our own experience in South Africa has been the same, so
that the proper reply to the question, " Can we afford to
educate the Native ? " would seem to be, " Can we afford
not to educate him ? "

*■ Negro Life in the South, p. 113.

CHAPTER IV

MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE AND THE HISTORY
OF NATIVE EDUCATION

The history of Native education in South Africa is the history
of South African missions, for it is due entirely to the efforts
of the missionaries that the Natives of South Africa have
received any education at all, and to this day all but three
of the several thousand Native schools are conducted by
missionary agencies.

The authoritative history of South African missions has been
written,^ and all that we propose in the present chapter is to
examine the state of Native education at different stages in its
development, and where possible to show the attitude of the
several Colonial Governments to the question. Statistics show-
ing the growth of Native education and its present position are
given, and finally the work of the missionaries is considered.

Section i.— The History of Native Education in the Cape^

One of the avowed objects of the first settlement of the
Cape in 1652 was to bring the benefits of Christianity and
civilisation to the heathen. The Dutch lost no time in
carrying out their intentions, and in 1656 a school, the
first to be established in South Africa, was set up in Cape
Town for the instruction of slave children from the West
Coast. At first white and coloured were taught together,
for we hear of a school being opened in 1663 with 17

^ Du Plessis, History of South African Missions, Longmans, Green
& Co.

* Based on the account by Messrs G. B. Muir and M. E. Sadler
in vol. V. of Special Reports on Educational Subjects, Board of Education,
London.

MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE AND NATIVE EDUCATION 47

children, of whom 4 were slave children, i a Hottentot,
and 12 Europeans. In 1676 a movement towards separa-
tion took place, but pending the establishment of the Coloured
school the brighter Coloured children were allowed to attend
the school for Europeans. At the end of the seventeenth
century there were, according to Mr Muir's estimate, three
school centres at Cape Town, Stellenbosch, and Drakenstein,
where small groups of children received a semi-secular educa-
tion under the care of the Church. These schools were prob-
ably attended by the European children and the best of the
Coloured pupils. Progress in the provision of educational
facilities must have been slow, for a century later, in 1779, the
School Commission reported the existence of only eight public
elementary schools, containing 696 children. Slave children
were in attendance at these schools, and there were also a
special " Slave Lodge " school of 84 children, and a few
private schools.

The educational efforts of the Dutch and English Govern-
ments were directed towards the establishment of Govern-
ment " Latin and Dutch Schools " in Cape Town, and the
Government-aided but locally controlled " Church Clerk
Schools " of the country districts.^ The Churches everywhere,
however, gradually began to establish " mission schools " for
those who could not afford to pay school fees. These schools
were attended by a few poor Whites, but principally by slave
children and Hottentots, In 1824 a Commissioner speaks of
having inspected four mission schools, two for slave and two
for Hottentot children ; and the historian Theal speaks of a
" considerable number " of mission schools as existing in 1825.

We see that the mission schools were intended for the
Coloured children in the Colony proper, but towards the be-
ginning of the nineteenth century an entirely different set of
" Native " schools came into existence. The strong missionary
movement of that time resulted in the rapid establishment
of schools for Coloured and particularly for Bantu children.
Mr Muir, writing of the position about the year 1837, says : —

" It is almost certain that by this time the number of
mission schools for Coloured children considerably ex-

^ Muir and Sadler, op. cit., p. 18.

48 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

ceeded the number of all kinds of schools for White
children. The missionary movement begun by the
Moravians in 1792 had been taken up by the London
Missionary Society in 1799, the South African Society
about the same time, the Wesleyan Church in 1816, the
Glasgow Society in 1821, the Rhenish Society in 1829,
the Paris Society in 1829, and the Berhn Society in 1834.
It had thus gradually assumed large proportions, and we
are consequently not surprised to learn that at the time
now reached there were over fifty European missionaries
at work in the Colony, All of these, with their numerous
helpers, interested themselves in the education of the
Coloured races, no fees being charged, and the training
being in most cases similar to that given in the schools
attached to churches in England. In almost every
village, we are told, a branch of one or other society
existed, by means of which the education of Coloured
people, both children and adults, was fostered. Stations
also had been founded, such as Lovedale in 1824, which
afterwards came to be almost exclusively educational in
character. Theal is therefore probably correct in say-
ing that at the close of the period now under considera-
tion much better provision was made for the Coloured
people than for the White." ^

In the year 1854 Sir George Grey came out to the Cape as
Governor. One of his first tasks was to attempt to settle
Native affairs, so as to prevent the recurrence of the Kafir
wars on the Eastern frontier.

" After visiting the frontier and making himself
thoroughly famiUar with the facts, he resolved upon a
plan of ' peaceful subjugation ' in which education was to
play an important part. His idea was ' to gain an influence
over all the tribes inhabiting the borders of the Colony,
from British Kaffraria eastward to Natal, by employ-
ing them on public works opening up their country, by
estabhshing institutions for the education of their children
and the relief of their sick, and by introducing amongst
them laws and regulations suited to their condition.'
1 Muir and Sadler, op. cii., p. 18.

MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE AND NATIVE EDUCATION 49

He therefore sought and obtained from the Imperial
Government a large annual sum for the furtherance of
his scheme, and of this sum a goodly portion was devoted
by him year after year to education. One or two Church
institutions for the training of Natives had, as we have
already seen, been for some time in operation in Kaffraria,
and these he utilised ; but his view was that the kind of
instruction given in them was too bookish, and that what
was most needed was instruction in manual work. Grants
were consequently given to develop industrial education
at Lovedale, Healdtown, Lesseyton, Salem, and a number
of other places, the total expenditure varying from year
to year, but in the year 1857 reaching almost £10,000.
As the Imperial Government gradually withdrew its
support, these grants-in-aid from ' the sum reserved under
Schedule D ' of course fell off ; but while the support
lasted it set agoing a movement in the industrial educa-
tion of the Natives which has never since come to a stop.
It must be noted carefully, however, that the institu-
tions thus aided were as yet in no way connected with
the educational system of the Colony, but were directly
under the care of the High Commissioner himself." ^

In 1854 the Cape Colony received representative govern-
ment,' and in 1861 a Commission was appointed to inquire
into the system of education and to suggest a revision of the
scale of grants. The result of this Commission's report formed
the basis of the system of education in the Cape Province
which has continued down to the present day. The points
affecting Native education are the recommendations which
resulted in the continuance of grants-in-aid of Mission Schools
and the official recognition of a new type of schools for the
Natives in the eastern parts of the colony, namely, " Native
Institutions and Schools (Aborigines Border Department)."
Both Mission Schools and Aborigines' Schools were classified
into three grades on the basis of staff and enrolment. The
annual grants-in-aid, which were to be expended on teachers'

* Muir and Sadler, op. cit., pp. 28-29.

* A special provision required that the sum of ;^r4,ooo annually
be reserved for " Border Department (Aborigines)."

50 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

salaries only, were: for Mission Schools, £75, £30, £15 for
Classes I., II., and III. respectively; and for Aborigines' Schools,
£140, £40, and £20. All were to be under the management
of Church or missionary bodies, and subject to Government
inspection. The subjects of instruction were reading, writing,
and arithmetic for the Mission Schools, and " suitable elemen-
tary education in English or the native language, or in both "
and " suitable industrial training " for the Aborigines Schools.
A maintenance grant of £15 per annum was made to each of
a Umited number of male Natives who apprenticed them-
selves to the authorities of the institution for a period of not
more than four and not less than two years, in the wagon-
making, blacksmith's, tailoring, shoemaking, and printing
trades, and a grant of £10 per annum for girl apprentices
to " household work." An allowance of from £10 to £12
per annum was offered towards the maintenance of boarders,
other than apprentices, who had " besides the ordinary school
work some industrial occupation such as field or garden
labour, or special training for pupil teachers."

This favourable treatment in the way of financial assist-
ance, and the inclusion under the operation of the Act of the
districts of King WiUiam's Town and East London in 1867,
districts thickly populated by Natives, led to a rapid increase
in the number of schools. Whereas the number of Public
Schools for Europeans increased from 147 in 1865 to 169 in
1873 (an increase of 22), the corresponding increase for Mission
and Aborigines' Schools was from 206 to 346 (an increase
of 140). The syllabus of instruction, which was binding in
the Mission Schools, and which was followed by the Aborigines'
Schools, sets out the requirements in reading, writing, and
arithmetic for the four standards. In Standard IV., for
example, the pupils were required to be able to read any ordi-
nary narrative fluently and correctly, to write freely to dicta-
tion, and to do sums in practice, proportion, and vulgar
fractions.

In 1877 the liberal policy of the Cape Government towards
Native education was again exemplified in the establishment
of a grant of £120 per annum in aid of the salary of a com-
petent trade teacher, and a special grant of £30 for the
purchase of tools, fittings, and materials for industrial work.

MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE AND NATIVE EDUCATION 5 1

Mr Muir draws attention to the fact that better provision
was made for the manual training of Natives than for
Europeans. In the schools for European children " the
industrial education given amounted to little more than a
weekly lesson or two from the village carpenter, whereas the
class in an Aborigines' Institution consisted of apprentices
who, with their teacher, devoted practically the whole work-
ing day to their trade." ^ The principle underlying this
encouragement of industrial training among Natives is con-
tained in Sir Langham Dale's special report to the Cape House
Assembly in 1889 : —

" The only way to enable the groups {i.e. Europeans
and Natives) to do their parts respectively in the social
world is to provide instruction adapted to the needs of
each : for the Native races ordinary school instruction and
training in the workshop and in domestic industries.
You may thus send forth into the labour market from
year to year a fair supply of ordinary artisans and domestic
servants, while the mass of the Coloured races must fulfil
the humbler tasks of agricultural labourers and shep-
herds ; and cUmatic considerations point to the necessity
of securing Coloured labour for outdoor occupations under
a semi-tropical sun. If the European race is to hold its
supremacy, the school instruction of its children must
not only be the best and most advanced, but must be
followed by a systematic training of the young colonists
in directive intelligence to be brought to bear on all the
industrial arts. As the future employers of labour,
they need themselves to have practical experience in the
productive interests as well as in the mechanical arts,
which if supplemented by a good commercial education
will enable them to take their places as superintendents,
foremen, and ultimately as masters in trade, agriculture,
manufactures, and the constructive branches of the arts.

" The majority of the natives may be, at the best,
qualified to do the rough work of artisans ; but even this
work must be under the direction of the guiding eye and
hand of the skilled European, and it is the paramount

^ Muir and Sadler, op. ciL, p. 53.

52 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

duty to see that the colonist is as well fitted for the
exercise of this directive intelligence as the stranger who
comes hither with the cultivation and energy and de-
veloped in the populous beehives of European industry." ^

It would be difficult to find a better expression of the
present-day attitude toward Native education of the more
liberally-minded section of the European inhabitants of South
Africa.

The cautious poUcy of the Government with regard to the
extension of faciUties for Native education is shown in one of
the terms of reference to the Education Commission of 1891,
which states that the Government does not wish to encourage
among the Aborigines any expectation of large additional
subsidies for their institutions and schools, and therefore in-
structs the Commission to restrict its inquiry to the present
status of industrial training among Aborigines. In its report
the Commission pointed out that only a very small percentage
of the Native population (viz. those in Native institutions)
were receiving manual training. " Probably in none of the
269 schools has any serious effort been put forth to provide
' manual training ' for the boys. In their case the whole of
the four hours of daily attendance required by the bye-laws
of the Department is devoted to ' literary ' work." The
reasons for this neglect were (a) the lack of equipment and
facilities for industrial training; (b) the disinclination of
Natives for " bodily toil " ; (c) the fact that many missionaries
thought that it was no part of their " high vocation " to under-
take such elementary and menial forms of industrial work as
were possible ; and {d) because the Government had not made
manual training a condition precedent to the payment of the
Government grant-in-aid. It recommends that one-half of
the school time should be devoted " to such manual training
as can best be followed in the locality," and also that the
Natives should be required to contribute towards their educa-
tion in the form of a school tax.

The former recommendation was not acted upon, partly
because of the lack of suitable forms of industrial training
possible for the Natives, partly because of the opposition of

* Quoted by Muir and Sadler, op. cit., p. 72.

MISSIONARY ENTF.RPRISE AND NATIVE EDUCATION

certain influential educated Natives who wished to have the
" white man's education " for their children, but chiefly
because of the laissez faire poHcy which has characterised the
attitude of the South African Governments towards Native
education. The recommendation that Natives should be
taxed for school purposes was partially put into effect by the
passing of the Glen Grey Act in 1894, which provided local
self-government with local taxation for school and other
purposes in certain specified areas. It is in these areas that
Native education is most flourishing to-day. This sketch
brings us down to present-day regulations and practice in
Native schools, to which reference is made in different parts
of this study. In estimating the number of Native children
attending school in the Cape Province a serious difficulty arises
from the fact that both Coloured children and Natives attend
the Mission (or " B ") Schools, and that these are not separated
in the pubUshed returns. In the Aborigines' (or " C ") Schools
all but a negligible proportion are Native pupils. The recent
growth of Native education is shown in the following table : —

Year.

B schools.

C schools.

No. of

Enrol-

Attend-

No. of

Enrol-

Attend-

schools.

ment.

ance.

schools.

ment.

ance.

1890

442

39.859

28,388

256

14,718

11,381

1895

536

46,582

31.764

337

19.483

13.590

1900

590

50,856

36,633

547

39.028

29,615

1905

697

54.771

43.829

701

44.843

35.855

1910

716

51.701

42.313

846

51.850

42,826

1915

825

64.794

53.518

990

68,169

57.954

Section 2. — ^The History of Native Education in Natal ^

Up till the year 1848 there is little to record regarding
Native education in Natal. Politically Natal was part of

^ This sketch of the history of Native education has been compiled
by the present writer from the official records in the library of the
Provincial Council of Natal.

54 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

the Cape, but the constant intertribal wars and the frequent
raids by Zulu kings prevented anything like a general system
of education.^ The few missionaries who were at work
among the Natives of Natal maintained small and struggling
schools, but these were few in number and unimportant in
result. At the outset we must notice a difference between
the treatment of Natives in Natal and their treatment in
the Cape. In the Cape, as we have already seen, it was a
definite part of Sir George Grey's policy to break up the
tribal organisation. In Natal, on the other hand, no such
attempts have been made. In the Letters Patent of 1848
by which Natal became a separate colony it was laid down
that there should be no interference with Native law and
custom except in so far as these were repugnant to the prin-
ciples of humanity. In the Cape the restricting clause was
that Native law and custom should not be repugnant to the
law of England. The difference is important. The policy
in Natal has always been to preserve as far as possible the
racial and tribal characteristics of the Native. Hence we
have the authority of the Native chiefs maintained (at least
in theory), a separate code of Native law, separate schools
for Natives, and the retention in the schools of the Native
language.

In the Letters Patent of 1848 it was expressly enacted that
the sum of not less than ^^5000 raised from the general revenue
of the Colony was to be expended for the beneht of the
Natives.^ A portion of this money was spent in grants to
the Mission Schools at work among the Natives, but there was
no Government control of the teaching in these schools. In
1852 a Commission was appointed " to inquire into the past
and present state of the Kafirs in the District of Natal " and
" to report as to their future government." The report of
the Commission advocates a measure of Native education

* Indeed, the country was so troubled that in 1846 the British
Government seriously considered whether or not Natal should be
retained as a British Colony. The determining factor was the obliga-
tion of the British not to abandon the Native population, which had
taken refuge in Natal from the fierce Zulu tribes (see Sir Bulwer Lytton's
despatch, dated August 19, 1858).

• As Sir Bulwer Lytton pointed out in his despatch, the tax col-
lected from the Natives averaged annually from ;{io,ooo to ;{i2,ooo.

MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE AND NATIVE EDUCATION 55

which we have not achieved even to-day. Industrial schools
were to be established in every village ; the attendance at
school for three years of Nat'/es between seven and twelve
years of age was to be compulsory in the Native locations
and later " on private occupied farms or elsewhere " ; the
English and Dutch languages were to be taught ; infant
schools were to be encouraged ; reUgious education was im-
perative, but should be left in the hands of the Christian
Churches. The Commission's report was fruitless as far as
Native education was concerned.

In 1854 Sir George Grey was appointed Governor of the
Cape of Good Hope. During his tenure of office he came
into contact with Bishop Colenso, who had been made first
Bishop of Natal in 1853, and was already upholding the cause
of the Natives against what he held to be European aggres-
sion.i The<;e two powerful men influenced the Natal Legis-
lature, which, as we have already seen, was thinking in the
same direction, and in 1856 the first legislation regarding
Native education was passed by the Legislative Council and
approved by the Secretary for the Colonies, This " ordinance
for promoting the education of Coloured youth in the District
of Natal " made it permissible for the Government of Natal
both to estabUsh and maintain schools for the education of
Natives (a scheme which, with the exception of the ill-starred
Industrial School at Zwartkop, to which further reference will
be made, has not yet been put into operation), and to con-
tribute to the support of Native schools otherwise established.
The schools were to be placed under the superintendence and
management of the missionaries, but were to be inspected and
reported upon by a Government inspector of schools. The
whole amount of the money contributed was not to exceed
one-fifteenth part of the estimated revenue of the District for
the year. The subjects of instruction were to be (a) reUgious
education, {b) industrial training, and (c) instruction in the
English language.

Although this ordinance passed the Legislative Council and
received the confirmation of the BritishGovernment,it remained
inoperative, partly because of the opposition of a certain

* It is estimated that the population of Natal at this time con-
sisted of 10,000 Europeans and 150,000 Natives.

56 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

section of the colonists,^ and partly because it was not man-
datory on the Lieutenant-Governor to put it into operation.

Although the number of Native schools steadily increased
and the Government expenditure in grants in aid of schools
established and conducted by missionary agencies grew con-
siderably greater, no further legislative action appears to have
been taken until 1884, when the Council of Education, which
since 1877 had been entrusted with the administration of educa-
tion,* was given the following powers and duties : — ^

{a) Its membership was increased from ten to twelve by the
addition of two persons acquainted with the Zulu
language and Native habits and customs and taking
an interest in Native education.*

(b) It was empowered to appoint teachers in the Govern-

ment Native schools which were contemplated, and to
pay grants to the existing Mission Schools provided
they conformed to the syllabus, rules, and regulations
of the Council.

grants of land to the Council for the purposes of Native

education.
{d) The Council was authorised to appoint an Inspector of

Native Schools to carry out its instructions regarding

Native education.
(e) The Council was required to present to the Legislative

Council an annual report, which was to include the

report of the Inspector of Native Schools and a financial

statement.
(/) The financial provision for Native education was to be

made from the £5000 reserved annually under the

charter for Native purposes, and from such further

sums as might be voted from time to time by the

Legislature,

* A strong protest was sent forward by a section of the community
in Durban who, while sympathising with the purpose of the bill, objected
to the absence of Government control.

* Law No. 15 of 1877. • Law No. i of 1884.

* The clause requiring an acquaintance with the Native language
was withdrawn by Law No. 17 of 1884.

MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE AND NATIVE EDUCATION 57

(g) The syllabus of instruction was to consist of :
(i.) Reading and writing in the English language,
(ii.) Reading and writing in the Zulu language,
(iii.) Arithmetic, up to and including the " rule of three."
(iv.) The elements of industrial training.^
(v.) Sewing and plain needlework in girls' schools,
(vi.) Instructions in the principles of morahty " in a manner
adapted to their capabilities."
(A) The age limit for pupils was fixed at from six to fifteen.

The passing of this Act and the subsequent appointment in
April 1885 of Mr Fred B. Fynney as Inspector of Native Educa-
tion gave a strong impetus to Native education. A block of
land fifty-two acres in extent was set aside in the Zwartkop
Native location near Pietermaritzburg for the purpose of
establishing a Government Native Industrial School. A short
account of this ill-fated school will be given later.

In 1885, according to Mr Fynney's report, there were seventy
Native schools in receipt of Government grants-in-aid. The
total enrolment of these schools was 3817 pupils,^ of whom
the following particulars are given : —

Number of pupils receiving instruction in English . 2341
Do. do. receiving instruction in Zulu only . 1454
Do. do. able to read English words of two or

more syllables .... 791
Do. do. able to write a fair small hand . 857
Do. do. able to work sums up to simple sub-
traction only .... 537
Do. do. able to work sums up to simple

division only . . . . 354
Do. do. able to work sums up to compound

(money) rules only . . .231
Do. do. able to work sums in the higher rules 142
Do. do. doing plain sewing .... 1016

* In 1885 the clause requiring instruction in the elements of
industrial training was relaxed to suit schools where this instruction
could not be given, but at the same time the age limit was extended
from fifteen to seventeen in the case of pupils attending schools where
such instruction was given (Law No. 13 of 1885).

* Boys, 978 under twelve years of age : 1 159 over twelve years of age.
Girls, 987 under twelve years of age : 693 over twelve years of age.

58 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

Details are also given of the number of pupils receiving
instruction in other subjects, which include singing, drill,
drawing, gymnastics, Bible history, English history,
geography, grammar, translation, physics, physiology,
chemistry, elementary Latin, and French. The industrial
subjects taught include farming, housework, carpentry, garden-
ing. An interesting feature in this and subsequent reports
details the " means taken to encourage conformity with
European habits," These range from such profound measures
as " constant reflection upon the infallible truth that Europe,
though the smallest of the four quarters of the globe, is the
greatest in spiritual, scientific, and miUtary power " ^ to such
matter-of-fact methods as " a daily bath and a weekly washing
of clothes." 2 The subjects prescribed are reading, writing, arith-
metic, geography, and grammar. Mr Fynney bears testimony to
the desire of the Natives for education, and refers in eulogistic
terms to the civilising influence of missions. He deplores the
lack of properly trained teachers, and doubts the advisabihty
of placing Native teachers in sole charge of schools. " When
under direct supervision these teachers appear to do very well,
and the scholars have shown remarkable progress ; but when
left entirely to themselves, there has appeared to be a want of
energy, system, and disci pUne," He is emphatic on the need
for industrial training, and adds : " No training can be regarded
as industrial which does not provide for the teaching of trades
or agriculture or some productive labour that would enable the
student to earn a Uving."

In 1886, teachers' examinations of the first, second, and
third class were established. The syllabus consisted oif the
subjects of the Native school syllabus, and in addition manual
work, and an ambitious course in science.*

The steady advance in the standards of education is indicated
by the following table of passes in the inspector's examina-
tions : —

^ St John's School, Ladysmith.

* Adams' Training College, Amanzimtoti.

» The Science syllabus for the second class certificate required
" some knowledge of one or more of the following subjects — Chemistry,
geology (elementary), physiology, agriculture"; and for the first
class, " Astronomy, more advanced physiology, political economy,
chemistry, geology " (one or more of the above subjects).

MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE AND NATIVE EDUCATION

1886.

1887.

1891.

1892.

Standard VII.

VI.

IV.

146

184

III.

121

241

283

II.

158

192

431

446

„ I. . •

377

332

470

443

In 1887, on the representation of those in charge of Native
schools, the Council of Education amended the standards in
Native schools, " in order to assimilate them more closely with
those in use in European schools," and the syllabuses of the
two types of schools became identical.^ The formal nature of
the work from which our Native schools still suffer is indicated
by the following excerpts from the syllabus in English : —

Standard I. : Read from Standard I. Reading Book, English
and Zulu. Translate words and know their meaning.

Standard IV. : Read from Standard IV. Reading Book or
History of England, and explain words and allusions. Parse
simple sentences and illustrate the use of the parts of speech.
Detailed, physical, and political geography.

Standard VI. : Read from Standard VI. Reading Book or some
standard author. Recite fifty lines from some standard author
approved by the inspector, and explain words and allusions.
Prefixes, affixes, and Latin roots. More detailed, physical, and
poUtical geography. Manufacture and commerce. Circum-
stances which determine chmate.

In 1888 the Council of Education was authorised to classify
all schools receiving Government grants-in-aid into three
classes, as follows : —

Class I schools, which were to receive the highest rates of
grant, were industrial schools at which regular instruction was
given in trades or industries.

Class 2 schools were those in which manual or field labour
was regularly performed by the scholars.

* Except that the recitation of EngUsh poetry is not required
in Standards I. to V. of the Native schools.

60 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

Class 3 schools were those which offered no instruction in
industrial or manual work.

This evidence of the Government's behef in industrial educa-
tion is also shown in the establishment in 1887 of a Government
Industrial School in the Zwartkop location. This school,
which was erected at a cost of ;^6i2, 17s. 3d., was opened with
a staff of three teachers, viz. a superintendent, an industrial
teacher, and a Native teacher. The initial enrolment was 13,
which increased to 19 before the end of the year. Mr Fynney
speaks well of the academic performances of the pupils at the
annual examination. On the industrial side he reports the
making of 40,000 bricks, the erection of a new workshop by
the pupils, the cultivation of between 9 and 12 acres of land,
and the planting of over 1000 trees. Mr Fynney states that
the young Natives living in the neighbourhood do not take
advantage of the school, but he is very optimistic as to the
future. Soon doubts began to appear as to the success of the
institution. At one time the whole of the boarders absconded
owing to some disagreement with the management ; the cost of
the institution (£22, i8s. 6d. per pupil per annum) began to
alarm the Government, and the absence of local support from
the Native people continued. Finally, in 1892 the institution
was closed. Mr Robert Plant, who on the death of Mr Fynney
had become Inspector of Native Education, commenting on the
failure, says : " From the first it was seriously handicapped by
its unfortunate position, and that it has died so soon will
astonish no one who is acquainted with the facts of the case.
It has cost a considerable amount as an experiment, but may
have a distinct value as a lesson." ^ The lessons to be learnt
from this costly failure would appear to be : {a) the necessity
for close co-operation with the Mission Societies in all educa-
tional work connected with Natives ; {b) the importance of
inducing the support of the powerful Native chiefs in such
enterprises ; 2 (c) the need to work up gradually to such a

* Report of Inspector of Native Education, June 1892.

* " When I urged them (the Natives) to send their children, the
reply I got was, ' Our chiefs are the mouthpiece of the Government
to us ; we have not been told by them to send the children, and until
we are told we shall not send them.' " (Extract from the Report of the
Inspector of Native Education, 1889.)

MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE AND NATIVE EDUCATION 6l

comparatively advanced scheme as an industrial school for
Natives ; and {d) the economy and efficiency of making use
of the voluntary efforts of missionaries. Since the failure of
this undertaking no further attempts have been made in Natal
to conduct a Government-managed institution, but a Govern-
ment school for Natives will be opened in Durban in 1917, the
progress of which will be watched with interest. The praise-
worthy, but not altogether judicious, attempts of the Council
of Education to foster industrial education were checked in
1894, when a popular agitation against the industrial education
of the Natives, coinciding with a general election, led to a
modification of the regulations regarding grants in aid of in-
dustrial work. The decision of the Government is stated in
the Report of the Superintendent of Education for 1895 : " No
Native school now receives Government aid if the products of
the industrial work done in that school are allowed to be sold
or disposed of in such a manner as to compete with general
trade, or if the school be in any way responsible for or asso-
ciated with the printing and publishing of any Native news-
paper. The object of the Government in making grants to the
Native Mission Schools is to assist the advancement of simple
rudimentary education among the Native population, and to
accustom the Natives to such regular habits of industry as
may be best calculated to promote their contentment and
happiness for the future." This represents the position with
regard to trade work in the Natal Native schools to-day.

In June 1894, on the establishment of responsible govern-
ment, the Council of Education ceased to exist, and the control
of education passed to the Minister of Education. This
brought about a change in the administration of Native educa-
tion. The Inspector of Native Education, who had hitherto
reported to the Council, now became a subordinate officer under
the Superintendent of Education, although he was allowed
wide discretion in his work.

An important change in the method of payment of grants-in-
aid was made at the same time. The system of an annual
fixed grant to the schools, irrespective of their size, was
abandoned in favour of a -per capita grant on the quarterly
average attendance. This altered the amounts which the
several schools were receiving, and adjusted many inequalities.

THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

The unsuitable syllabus of 1887 continued in operation until
1893, with sUght and unimportant modifications in 1889.
When the three higher standards, VI. to VIII., were eUminated,
a further modification took place in 1904, and in 1910 the
syllabus assumed its present form.

The growth of Native education in Natal is shown by the
following table, which refers to Government-aided schools only.

Average

Government

Native

Year.

No. of

Average

attendance

grant to

contribu-

schools.

enrolment.

in per

nearest

tion in

cents.

pound.

fees, etc.

1877

2,390*

63 1

1.938

174

1887

2,943*

67t

2,286

489

1897

157

8,542*

75t

4.853

711

1907

170

12,246*

67t

7.319

2248

1908

168

14,056*

66t

7.594

2885

1909

178

12,484

8,914

2774

1910

175

13.452

10,431

3293

19H

198

15,186

".773

3505

1912

231

17.852

14,170

5308

1913

267

20,098

17.304

4729

1914

296

21,595

21,574

6138

1915

302

21,700

21.587

6941

* Total enrolment.

t Calculated on total enrolment.

Section 3.— The History of Native Education
in the Transvaal

Educational work among Natives in the Transvaal dates
from 1857, when the first mission, the Hermannsburg Evan-
gehcal Lutheran Society, began work. No financial support or
official recognition was given to the schools by the Repubhcan
Government. After the Boer War the Government made a
survey of the schools conducted by the various religious bodies,
and instituted a scheme for the payment of grants-in-aid. A
great number of schools were unable to meet the conditions
and continued to operate as unaided institutions. Thus in
1906 there were 177 unaided schools with an enrolment of

MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE AND NATIVE EDUCATION 63

8492 pupils, in addition to the 197 aided schools with their
enrolment of 11,730 pupils. Of the work of these schools it
has been said: " The official reports and the evidence given
before the Native Affairs Commission show that most of the
Native schools are in a state of deplorable inefficiency. They
are generally held in church buildings ill adapted for educa-
tional purposes. In many cases seats and desks have not
been provided, ' squatting room ' for the children having been
thought sufficient. The education given is often of an ex-
tremely rudimentary kind. In 114 schools inspected during
1904 no less than 85-5 per cent, of the children in attendance
were in the sub-standards, and only 1-5 per cent, had passed
or reached Standard III. In 1905-1906 only 65 out of the
305 Native teachers held certificates ; and the unsatisfactory
condition of these schools is largely due to the inefficiency of
the teaching staffs. Many teachers are incapable of giving
instruction beyond Standard I., and comparatively few are
competent to bring the pupils up to Standard III." ^

The highest standard to which pupils could proceed was
Standard III., and the syllabus of instruction was but an
abbreviation of the syllabus in use in European schools. A
special officer to inspect and supervise Native schools was
appointed ; but in 1909 this post was abolished, as it was found
that no one man could adequately supervise the numerous
Native schools in so large an area as the Transvaal, and the
inspection of the schools was transferred to the officers who
inspect the European schools.

The Education Law of the Transvaal empowers the Depart-
ment to establish as well as to aid Native schools, but up to
the present there is only one Government school for Natives,
that in the Khpspruit location.

The whole of the regulations governing Native education
have recently been revised by the Council of Education, and
new syllabuses drawn up. This new code is to come into
operation in 1916, provided that the Legislature grants the
necessary funds. * The chief features of the new code are : —

*■ The South African Natives, 1906, pp. 169, 170.

- Up to the present (Feb. 191 7) the legislature has not given the
financial assistance recommended, but many of the schools and institu-
tions are making an effort to carry out the syllabus.

64 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

(i) A very liberal system of grants-in-aid to missionary-
conducted schools and institutions.

(2) The division of school work into " training " and " in-

struction," the latter to comprise the usual subjects
taught in primary schools, and the former to include
" religious, moral, physical, and industrial training
through appropriate exercises and activities." At
least one-half of the school time is to be devoted to
this side of education. The object of the distinction is
obviously to emphasise the permanent habit-forming
side of education, but it is nevertheless unfortunate,
as it will tend to set up a distinction, which should not
exist, since all subjects of instruction should possess
a definite and discernible training value if properly
taught. No subject of instruction which does not
show itself in action is worth inclusion in a syllabus.

(3) The non-requirement of school fees as a condition of

Government support.

(4) The institution of a two-years' preparatory course, and

of a seventh-year or teacher preparatory course.

The educational reforms proposed are thus summarised in
the report : " The Native is to have an extra year's schooling
where the conditions warrant it ; his own language is to be
recognised as the original vehicle of instruction ; such of the
elements of hterary subjects as he can assimilate and take
profit from are to be taught, while the whole fabric is to rest
on a liberal scheme of training aimed at developing a healthy,
moral, and industrious member of the community. To achieve
these aims, a liberal measure of assistance must be forthcoming
from the Government, and.fwhat is equally if not more necessary,
a liberal readjustment of views on the part of teachers and
superintendents responsible for Native education, so that the
relation between training and instruction as conceived in the
revised curricula may be a living reaUty in the schools."
The whole report represents a Uberal attitude towards Native
education expressed in sound educational theory, and if put
into operation will do much to set Native education on the
right lines.

The following table indicates the enrolment and attendance

MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE AND NATIVE EDUCATION 65

in Government-aided schools, and expenditure on Native
education for the past ten j^ears : —

No of

Average

Govern-

Year.

schools.

enrol-
ment.

attend-
ance.

grant
a only).

1906-7

197

11.730

9,896

7.942

1907-8

221

12,091

10,332

9,152

1908-9

243

11,664

9,922

10,408

1909-10

230

11.703

9.795

10,979

June 1910-Dec. 191 1

236

12,839

10.738

19,107 *

1912

251

14.743

12,109

13.961

1913

253

15.179

12,670

17.074

1914

260

15.138

12,677 t

14,099 t

1915

267

15.428

12,748

16,168

* Expenditure for eighteen months.

t Exceptionally severe malaria in northern districts.

X Grants curtailed owing to financial conditions.

Section 4. — History of Native Education in the
Orange Free State

Although missionary societies have been at work in the
Orange Free State since 1835, it was not until 1878 that the
Government of the RepubUc recognised their educational efforts
by giving a grant of £45 per annum to the schools conducted
by the Dutch Reformed Church at Witzie's Hoek. This grant
was increased to £1^$ in 1893. In 1890, grants of ^50 and £yi
per annum were made to the school at Moroko and Bethany
respectively, and these aided schools were placed under the
supervision of the Education Department. No syllabus or
course of study appears to have been drawn up by the Depart-
ment of Education.

Since the late war a considerable advance in Native educa-
tion has been made. A Government Industrial School for
Native girls has been established at Moroko, and grants in aid
of school work have been paid to the various mission societies
operating in the Orange Free State. These grants have been
paid in lump sums on a capitation basis on the returns sent in

THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

by the missionaries. The schools are not inspected, and no
syllabus is prescribed, although, as a matter of fact, most of the
Native schools work on the excellent permissive code drawn
up by the Department in 1912, which, however, failed to
receive the endorsement of the Orange Free State Provincial
Government.

The following figures will indicate the growth of Native
education in the Orange Free State :— ^

Year.

Fjirolment.

Government
expenditure.

1903

;^2000

1904

1500

1905

1500

1906

1700

1907

2000

1908

2000

1909

2000

1910

9,281

2000

1911

9,945

4000

1912

10,444

4000

1913

10,898

4000

1914

11,864

4000

1915

12,056

4000

Section 5. — History of Native Education in
Basutoland ^

The history of Native education in Basutoland is largely the
history of the Paris Evangelical Mission Society, although
valuable educational work has also been done by the Roman
Catholic and English Church Missions. From the time of the
first settlement of the Paris missionaries at Morija in 1833 until
the present day, the missionaries of this society have exercised a
great influence on the political and social history of the Basutos.
Moshesh, the able and far-sighted chief of the Basutos,

^ Owing to the records of the Department having been destroyed by
fire, no infonaaation regarding the enrolment prior to 191 1 is available.

^ This short sketch of education in Basutoland has been compiled
form the Livre d'or de la Mission de Lessouto, the official histor}'- of the
Paris Evangelical Missionary Society, and from Mr Sargant's reports.

MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE AND NATIVE EDUCATION 67

welcomed the missionaries as a force who would not only
instruct his people, but would increase his own power in the
troubled and rebellious districts around Morija. He made use
of them as counsellors and as intermediaries in his discussions
and disputes with the Colonial Governments. In return for
these services he gave them his protection and encouraged
them in their work, although he himself never embraced the
Christian faith. A Native school was opened at Morija shortly
after the coming of the missionaries, but in the troubled times
of tribal warfaie little progress was made. By 1838 three other
stations had been established at which elementary schools were
doubtless conducted. At one of these, Beersheba, there were
over 300 pupils by 1842.

In 1846 the need for catechists and Native preachers became
pressing, and a secondary school or seminary for the training
of Native ministers was founded.

In the troublesome years from 1848 to 1868 the work of the
Mission was curtailed by panic withdrawals of support from
Paris, and by the quarrels of Moshesh with the British and
the Boers. In 1865 a " central school " was established at
Morija for the training of catechists. In 1871 Basutoland came
under British control, and was placed for administrative pur-
poses under the Cape of Good Hope. In that year the number
of pupils enrolled in the several schools was 1876, as against
726 in 1864.

In 1868 the Mission established a secondary school for boys
at Morija, which in 1875 became a training school for teachers
to supply the new requirements of the Cape Education Depart-
ment. This school has become the chief training centre for
Basutoland. In 1873 a preparatory school for the training
school was established, but by reason of the progress made
by the ordinary primary schools this institution became un-
necessary, and was converted into the Bible school in 1880.

In 1878 an industrial school was established by the Mission
at Leloaleng, where a site and buildings were given by the
Government. In spite of its unsuitable location, this school has
done good work in turning out a number of fairly competent
carpenters and masons.

By 1880 the Mission had already eighty schools. A printing
press was set up at Morija, and school-books in Sesuto, as well

THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

as religious books, were published. In 1882 a theological school
was established.

In 1884 Basutoland came under the direct administration of
the English Government. The grants in aid of Native educa-
tion which had been paid by the Cape Government were with-
drawn, but in 1885, when the new Government was settled
and the taxes were paid, the grants were resumed. The
number of pupils steadily increased from 2180 in 1884 to 4560
in 1888, and 7869 in 1892.

In 1904 Mr E. B. Sargant was sent by the High Commissioner,
Lord Selborne, to report on education in Basutoland. As a
result of Mr Sargant 's report, reforms and changes were intro-
duced into the system, the chief of which were : —

(a) The establishment of an Education Department with the

necessary staff to administer education through the
three missionary societies.

(b) The constitution of a Central Advisory Board, consisting of

officials and representatives from the mission societies.

the medium of the vernacular, and a strong (but not
entirely successful) attempt to foster Native arts and
crafts.

(d) A regrading of schools, and the delimitation of the nature

of the work to be attempted in each type of school.

The present system of education is obtained in other parts
of this study. In the following table the growth of Native
education in Basutoland is indicated : —

Year.

Average

Amount

attendance.

expended.

1908

9.279

1909

9,498

1910

11,651

1911

13.417

£9,804
(9 months only).

1912

15.271

14.657

1913

17,070

16,771

1914

17.643

18.544

MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE AND NATIVE EDUCATION 69

Section 6. — ^The General Situation of Native Education
at the Present Time

In the table on the following page a conspectus of the general
position of Native education in the year 1912 is given. The
year 1912 is chosen because that is the latest year for which
complete figures are available. The fact that in the Cape
Province Native children are not separated from other Coloured
children makes a satisfactory comparison of the situation in
the several provinces very difficult, but it has been possible
to obtain separate figures for the Transkeian Territories, where
the " Coloured " children are almost entirely Natives. The
way in which the table was derived is as follows : —

(i.) Column 1 gives the four provinces of the Union and
Basutoland. It was felt that the Basutoland figures
should be included, as reference is frequently made
in this study to educational affairs in that country.
The figures for Basutoland are for the year 1913-
1914.
(ii.) Column 2 gives the Native population as determined by
the last census.

(iii.) In column 3 the estimated number of Natives between
the ages of seven and eighteen is given.

(iv.) Column 4 shows the number of children in average

attendance in 1912.
(v.) The figures in column 5 were obtained by finding what
percentage of the children who might be expected,
by reason of their age, to be at school, were actually
enrolled.^

(vi.) Column 6 shows the anount of money expended on Native
education in each province.

* In response to an inquiry as to the best method of calculating
the number of Native children of school age, Mr Joseph A. Hill, in
charge of the Division of Revision and Results of the United States
Bureau of the Census, writes: " I know of no way in which any very
exact or reUable computation can be made, but I should think that
the percentage of children from seven to eighteen years of age in the
total Negro population of the United States would furnish a fairly good
basis for an estimate. This percentage is 25'9, representing a little
over one-fourth of the total Negro population."

70 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

TABLE No. 2

Conspectus of the Present State of Native Education in
THE Union of South Africa and Basutoland, showing the
Number of Native Children, the Amount of the Govern-
ment Grants-in-Aid, and the Amounts contributed by the
Natives in Direct Taxation for the Year 191 2

(I)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(9)

(10)

Province.

•L-

0 m

ii d

Niunber of persons of

school age, i.e.

25 per cent, of (2).

<U H

Percentage of children

of school age

actually at school.

0 H

•■35
^^

■?^,

Public revenue derived

from Native sources,

1912.

Percentage of revenue

derived from Native

sources expended on

Native education.

Expenditure per caput

on number of persons

of school age.

Cape, in-
cluding .
Terri- j
tones j

£only.

s. d.

£ only.

s. d.

1,982,588*

495,647*

I20,219t

24-9

83,320

13 10

304,073

27-4

3 4

Cape
Trans-
keian
Terri-
tories.

889,946

222,261

59,oo8J

26-5

••

213,467

Natal

953,389

238,347

17,852

7-5

14,170

15 10

274,447

5-2

I 2

Trans- ]

vaal ]■

1,219.845

304,961

14,743

4-8

13,961

18 II

453,880

3-0

0 II

Orange -»
Free V
State J

325.824

81,456

io,444§

12-8

4,000

7 8

100,205

3-9

1 0

Basuto- 1
land I

404.507

101,127

i7,o7oil

l6-8

16,771

19 8

161,41711

10-4

3 4

* Including Coloured.

t On roll ist September, including Coloured.

X On roll ist September.

§ On roll second half-year.

II Average attendance.

il The total revenue, including that from European sources.

MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE AND NATIVE EDUCATION 7I

(vii.) The per caput expenditure in column 7 is obtained by

dividing the figures in column 6 by the figures in

column 4.
(viii.) The estimated amount of public revenue derived from

Native sources {column 8) was obtained from the

Report of the Department of Native Affairs for 1912.
(ix.) In column 9 is shown that percentage of the revenue

derived from Native sources which is expended on

the education of Native children,
(x.) In column 10 is shown the amount of money which each

province is allotting to the education of each Native

child of school age, whether attending school or not.

The figures are obtained by dividing the figures in

column 6 by the figures in column 3.

In connection with this table the following facts are worthy
of special attention : —

1. The comparatively liberal attitude of the Cape Province
towards Native education.

2. That part of South Africa in which there is the highest
percentage of children of school age actually attending school
is the Transkei, where a form of self-government with local
taxation for education obtains.

3. The highest per caput expenditure on education is in
Basutoland, where the Native people tax themselves for
education.

Section 7. — Statistics of Native Education, 1912

In the following table are shown the nature and number
of educational institutions for Natives, their enrolment, and
the number and percentage of pupils in each standard of the
elementary schools. The figures are for 1912, the latest year
for which such details are available. The most important
developments since that date have been the establishment
of the South African Native College in the Cape Province,
and the increase to six of the number of training institutions
in Natal.

THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

TABLE No. 3

Showing Number of Educational Institutions for Natives in
1912, THEIR Average Enrolment, and the Percentage of
Pupils in each Standard of the Elementary Schools.*

Cape.

Natal.

Trans-
vaal.

Orange
Free
State.

Basuto-
land.

Colleges

Training institutions .

1 ,

Industrial schools and

r ^

departments

High schools

Elementary schools .

i,68ot

232

251

121

236

Pupils in training in-

stitutions

1,203

237

Pupils in industrial

k3i

schools .

1,034

Pupils in high schools

Pupils in elementary

schools .

97,652?

18,172

14,954

10,444

20,211

No.

Per

cent.

No.

Per
cent.

Number and percent-
age below Standard I.

62-8

61,396

11,391

6i'0

Number and percent-

age in Standard I. .

11,928

12-3

2,376

13-0

Number and percent-

age in Standard II.

9,950

10-3

1,619

8-8

Number and percent-

age in Standard III.

6,705

6-8

1,089

5-9

Number and percent-

age in Standard IV.

3,769

3-7

1,047

5-9

Number and percent-

age in Standard V. .

1,844

1-9

378

2-0

Number and percent-

age in Standard VI.

785

•8

240

I'l

Number and percent-

age in Standard VII.

•I

♦ Compiled from the 1913 Report of the Under Secretary of Education
for the Union and the British Government's Report on Basutoland
{Colonial Reports, No. 313).

t Including " Coloured " schools.

% The number of pupils, including " Coloured," present at inspectors'
examinations, 1912.

MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE AND NATIVE EDUCATION 73

Section 8. — ^The Missionaries and Their Work

It is said that a certain wise old Native chief divided
Europeans into two classes, viz., white men and missionaries.
The distinction is significant. To the thoughtful Native the
white man is the disintegrating force which has broken down
his tribal customs and sanctions, and has replaced them with
nothing but innumerable and vexatious governmental restric-
tions introduced for the benefit of the white man. On the
other hand, he knows the missionary to be his friend. It is the
missionary who educates his children, who writes his letters,
who cares for him in sickness and sorrow, who acts as a buffer
between him and the local storekeeper or Government official,
and whose motives are always altruistic.

It would be difficult to find a nobler record of heroism than
the history of missionary enterprise in South Africa. One
needs to know the life of the missionary from the inside, as the
writer has seen it, to appreciate the sacrifices made by these
devoted men and women. The isolation from society, the
absence of the amenities of hfe, the inevitable deprivation of
educational advantages for their children, the want of
sympathy often shown by Government officials and their
fellow-colonists, are but part of the price they pay for their
self-imposed devotion to the task of regenerating the Bantu.
That they have made mistakes the missionaries would be the
first to admit. No restrictions have been placed upon the
work of a missionary, with the result that a number of men,
unfitted by nature and training, or lack of training, have taken
up mission work.^

In the early days the missionaiies did not realise the necessity
for the stern measures which the colonists took to protect
themselves from Native aggression, and accused them (unjustly
in many cases) of inhumanity.^ Some, in their zeal to preach
the gospel of liberty and the brotherhood of man, have failed

* In the writer's opinion missionaries and teachers should be
required to take out a Hcence before being allowed to practise among
the Natives. It is highly desirable that the Government should know
who are educating the Native people.

* The rash charges made by such men as Vanderkemp and Philip
did much to create ill feeling between the colonists on the one hand
and the missionaries and Natives on the other.

74 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

to realise the difference between a Native just emerging from
barbarism and a European with two thousand years of civilisa-
tion behind him. Many have prepared their charges for the
narrow life of the mission station rather than for that of the
larger world outside. They have branded as " sins " such
practices as smoking and snuff-taking, and the Native is per-
plexed when he finds decent white men — ay, and sometimes
even clergymen — indulging in these " sins." Many again have
thought that all that was necessary in the way of education
for the Native was an ability to read the Bible, and that a
Christian life would follow as a matter of course. Their
greatest mistake, however, was in breaking down all the
organisations and customs of the Native people without waiting
to discriminate between the good and the bad. Had they
studied Native life they would have found some good qualities
which would have served as a basis for the superstructure of
Christianity and European civihsation.^ As it was, they often
destroyed what they were not able to rebuild, and left many of
the Natives in a worse state than they were before.^

Reference should here be made to the harm done to mission
work by denominationalism. The jealousy and unedifying
quarrels of missionaries of different denominations have
brought their work into disrepute in many parts. Attempts
at proselytising are not unknown, and sometimes material
advantages are offered to Natives to induce them to join a
particular church. The overlapping of mission stations also
betrays the jealousy of the denominations. The writer knows
of a place where one Protestant denomination stepped over a
hundred miles of untouched country in order to establish a
station at a place where another Protestant denomination had

^ At the third Missionary Conference held at Bloemfontein in 1909
Dr W. C. Willoughby, then Principal of Tiger Kloof Native Institute,
made a strong plea for the retention of those Native behefs and customs
which were not inimical to Christianity. From the discussion it would
appear that missionary opinion to-day is divided on the question.

* " Through the relaxation of one set of moral restraints before
the other set has been brought sufficiently into play there is a very
real danger that the Native boy will evade every sort of responsibility.
In this way, indeed, the name of Christian Native has too often become
a by-word with employers." (Sargant, address at South African
Society for the Advancement of Science, Johannesburg.)

MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE AND NATIVE EDUCATION 75

been conducting a flourishing station for many years. When
remonstrated with by the writer, the missionary repHed, " Yes,
but some of our people have gone to hve up there." The
question has been brought up at Missionary Conferences, but
the evil still continues.^ In connection with school work the
same evil exists. Complaints of poaching and even of touting
are often made to the Education Department in Natal. In
Basutoland Mr Sargant found three competing schools, all of
them unsatisfactory, at a single Government camp. Similar
trouble occurs in the private Negro schools in the United States.
Mr W. T. B. Williams, the field agent of the John F, Slater
Fund, cites fifty cases of duplication, illustrating the over-
lapping with a diagram ; ^ and Dr James H, Dillard, in com-
menting, says :

" The bare sight of the facts contained in this publica-
tion should be sufficient to lead to some action. What
stands in the way ? The main answer must be, denomi-
nationalism. Denominations in religion wiU probably
continue to exist as long as the thoughts and tastes of

* The following spirited protest by Rev. E. Jacottet deserves
reproduction : " How can a Native Christian understand the real
differences of the various denominations ? How can he be even supposed
to understand them ? Instead of one Church, he is confronted by a
score of them. It means as many different organisations, all of them
generally modelled according to the most approved European or
American pattern. The Episcopalian regime, which is perhaps so
well suited to England, is to be saddled upon the poor Native, who
does not know who are Cranmer, Laud, or Pusey. The Presbyterian
system, which is said to have worked so great wonders in Scotland
and elsewhere, is imported wholesale. What do the Kafirs or Basutos
know about Knox or Chalmers ? Why should they be obliged to accept
a system which, for all we know, may be unsuited to their own minds
and ways of Ufe, only because the course of history has made it prevalent
in Edinburgh or Geneva ? Because in the sixteenth century there
has arisen in Germany a great man of God called Luther, and in France
another great Christian called Calvin, who did not agree on some
minor theological points and thought a little differently about the
Lord's Supper, the Basutos and the Kafirs are to belong to different
Churches and to be kept for ever in separate ecclesiastical bodies,
foreign and perhaps hostile to each other. Why force upon the simple-
minded Native the consequences of a historical past which weighs
only too heavily upon the home Christian ? " (Quoted by Sargant,
Report on Native Education in South Africa, part iii. p. 53.)

' Duplication of Schools for Negro Youth.

THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

men differ ; but when denominationalism leads to such
waste of money and effort as is shown in the efforts to
aid in providing education for the Coloured people of the
Southern States, it is the part of wisdom and true religion
to seek some basis of co-operation rather than to continue
in wasteful competition,"

The following statistical summary will indicate the extent
of missionary activity in South Africa (the Union of South
Africa with Basutoland and Swaziland) : — ^

Protestant.

Catholic.

Missionary Work.

Missionary societies operating

European missionaries ....

1,589

2,463

Ordained Natives

401

Native workers (ordained and un-

ordained)

8,680

Principal mission stations

610 "»

4.790 /

258

Sub-stations ......

Communicants

322,673

Baptised Christians ....

622,098

Native Christian adherents (all ages)

1,145,326

62,478

Amount of Native contributions .

;^I37.689

Educational Work.

Societies

Theological and normal schools and

training classes .....

Boarding and high schools

43 \
16 /

299

Industrial schools and classes

Elementary schools ....

3.029

Enrolment, theological and normal

schools and training classes

964

Enrolment, boarding and high schools

5,433 ]

Enrolment, industrial schools and

[

17.893

classes ......

1,137 J

Enrolment, elementary schools

168,213

^ Compiled from the statistical tables in the World's Atlas of
Christian Missions, 191 1, the figures representing the position in the
years 1907, 1908, or 1909. The compiler of the statistics informs
the writer that the figures are now (1916) being brought up to date.

MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE AND NATIVE EDUCATION 77

The work of the missionaries has received ample, if some-
what tardy, recognition. The Report of the South African
Native Commission contains the foUowing restrained but none
the less sincere remarks :

" To the Churches engaged in mission work must be
given the gieater measure of credit for placing system-
atically before the Natives those higher standards of
beUef and conduct. ... It does not seem practicable
to propose any measure of material support or aid to the
purely spiritual side of missionary enterprise, but the
Commission recommend full recognition of the utihty
of the work of the Churches which have undertaken the
duty of evangelising the heathens." ^

Mr P. A. Barnett, after criticising the attitude of the
Europeans towards Native education in general and mission-
aries in particular, says :

" In the meantime, while there are certain missionaries
who are not missionaries, and missionaries whose theology
is a two-edged and dangerous weapon, the country is
deeply in debt to many devoted men and lonely women
who hve a hard life on poor rations in the wilderness,
trying to train the blacks to contribute their share to
civilisation. To help on the work so far as it is ' secular '
is the privilege and duty of the Education Department," ^

Mr Maurice Evans, who regards the missionaries as one of
the three main forces acting upon the lives of the Native
people (the others being custom and unconscious white
influence), thus speaks of them and their work :

" Their work has gone far beyond the preaching of the
Gospel and such hterary instruction as would enable their
disciples to read the Bible. They have entered into the
hfe of the people, have taught trades, encouraged thrift
and industry, made efforts to teach better methods of
agriculture, induced them to build better houses and use
furniture, and among the women have given instruction

* Report, sections 288, 289.

* Report of Superintendent of Education, Natal, 1904, p. 9.

7^8 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

in house and laundry work and taught them some simple
industries. . . . The missionary stands to the Native for
religion, education ; for all help he may get to make his
life cleaner, more moral, and more in keeping with the
ideals of the white man at his best." ^

Lord Selborne takes up the cudgels on their behalf :

" Missionaries, like other people, make mistakes.
Natives have often been educated on unsound lines. But,
instead of the missionaries and the teachers being the
subjects of reprobation by their South African fellow-
whites, they, in fact, should be regarded as the people
who have saved the situation, because they are the
people who have taken far the most trouble, and who
alone have sacrificed themselves in order to ensure that
the education of the Native, inevitable from the moment
that he came into contact with the white man, should
contain something good." ^

Further evidence in support of missionary enterprise could
be adduced from studies of the Native question and from
official bluebooks.3 The missionaries of South Africa are
working strenuously, and for the most part wisely, for the
uplift of the Native people. Ideals of efficiency and economy,*
if not of gratitude for work nobly done, should compel us to
make use of this force in any efforts we may make to extend
or modify the system of Native education.

1 Black and White in South-East Africa, p. 97.

* Address before the University of the Cape of Good Hope, p. 11.

' South African Native Affairs Commission Reports, section 339 ;
Natal Native Affairs Commission, igo6, section 85 ; Report of Select
Committee on Native Education, Cape, 1908; Report of Superintendent
of Education, Natal, 1914. Without exception the South African
Commissions on Native Affairs and on Native Education recommended
the use of missionary agencies in the upHfting of the Native people.

* " What the value of the missionary is to our work from a financial
point of view may be seen in the fact that while the average cost per
child inspected of the 2676 connected with mission work is^i, 3s. 2d.,
the average cost of the children at the Zwartkop [Government Indus-
trial] School is £22, iSs. 6d." [Minute on Native Education, Natal, 1889.)

CHAPTER V

THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION OF NATIVE
EDUCATION

In the preceding chapter it has been shown that the present
system of Native education is almost entirely the product
of missionary enterprise. The different Governments have
supported the efl[orts of the missionaries by financial grants-
in-aid ; but these, although they have been steadily increased
of late years, are still insufficient for the needs of the schools,
and have been and are still supplemented by donations from
mission societies in South Africa and abroad. The erection
and equipment of buildings, the securing and payment of
teachers — in a word, the responsibility for the maintenance of
the schools — still devolves upon the missionary superinten-
dents. It might be expected, then, that the missionaries
would have a large share in the administration of Native
education, but as a matter of fact the control and administra-
tion of the system is almost entirely in the hands of the several
Departments of Education.

In Natal an attempt has been made to secure the co-opera-
tion of the missionaries by the formation of a Missionary Board
of Advice. In recommending the establishment of this Board,
the Natal Native Affairs Commission of 1906-7 said :

" Not being financially able to erect even a fair number
of central schools, the aid of the various missionary
societies is indispensable for the continuance of the work
of education, and, having regard to the work already
done and to their close and abiding connection with the
cause, the formation of a small Board of Advice, upon
which all the denominations might be directly or in-
directly represented, is strongly recommended. This
79

80 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

would be a graceful act of recognition of the services
rendered by these societies in the cause of education for
so many years, and be helpful in the settlement of general
principles and broad rules for the guidance of the Educa-
tion Department."

The Board of Advice meets with the inspectors of Native
schools and a representative of the Native Affairs Department
in a two- or three-day session every year. Criticisms of the
work of the Department are made, and present and future
policies discussed. The results of the dehberations are sub-
mitted to the Superintendent of Education.

The scheme has commended itself to the missionaries in
Natal, and the Missionary Boards in the other provinces are
urging the estabhshment of similar Boards.^

There is a growing opinion in South Africa that such an
important undertaking as Native education, which is so vital
to the interests of the ruling class, should be a national under-
taking under Government control, and the missionaries
frequently complain that the amount of Government assistance
given at present is not proportionate to the extent of the control
exercised.

Government control over Native education is exercised
through the following agencies : —

1. Financial grants-in-aid.

2. The certification of teachers.

3. Courses of study.

4. Inspection of schools and examination of pupils.

Section i. — Government Grants-in-Aid

This sj^tem of financial grants-in-aid is a relic of the earlier
system of England, when education, at least so far as the
masses were concerned, was the work of philanthropic religious
agencies. In that country the two great educational societies,
the Nonconformist British and Foreign School Society and
the Church of England National School Society, which since
the beginning of the century had been educating the masses
by means of voluntary contributions, were in the year 1833,
after a long and bitter agitation, financially assisted by
* For a criticism of the scheme see footnotes on pp. 83 and 264.

THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION OF NATIVE EDUCATION 8l

Government grants-in-aid. This was the beginning in England
of the recognition of education as the function of the State,
This system, Church control with increasing financial assistance
and oversight from the State, continued until 1870, when the
first elementary schools, the so-called " board schools,"
organised, supported, and supervised by the State, were
estabUshed.

The Native schools in South Africa are very much in the
position in which the EngUsh elementary schools were prior
to 1870. The general indifference of the nihng Europeans to
the question of Native education, the expense which would be
involved in undertaking the work as entirely a State function,
the difficulty of inducing European lay teachers to undertake
so difficult a task, and the fear of possible poUtical complica-
tions, will account for the fact that they have not yet become
State institutions.

It is clear that for some time to come the State must continue
to make use of missionary enterprise, and it is to be hoped that
a close and friendly relationship between Native educatioucil
institutions and the various religious bodies will always exist ;
but it is certain that it will ultimately be necessary for the
Government to take up the question of Native education as
a definite State function .^ As evidence of the impending and
inevitable change we may refer to :

{a) The increasing demand for Native pubhc and un-
denominational schools,'' or schools controlled by
committees on which representative Natives have
a place, such as have already been established in
the Transkei.3

(b) The active opposition by certain Natives to the pro-
posed South African Native College as a missionary-
controlled enterprise.*

^ As far back as 1891 the Cape Education Commission, in recom-
mending that the State should assert its authority by making industrial
education compulsory, urged a greater measure of State control over
Native education : ' ' Existing rights and agencies are to be interfered
with as httle as possible, but we think it scarcely right that the Govern-
ment should leave the whole of this gigantic work to volunteers."

* Cape Select Committee on Native Education, Evidence, sections 1390
et seq. See also Report of Native Affairs Department, 191 1, p. 18.

^ Ibid., Report, sect. 7. * Ibid., Evidence, sect, 1691 et seq.

82 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

{d) The fact that the Churches, especially in the towns,
are wear5dng of the burden of Coloured education
because of the financial burden involved.^

(e) The multiplying of Native schools of different denomina-
tions in the same town or place, where one public
school would serve the needs of all.^

(/) The fact that the present system is breaking down in
the towns and that some measure of compulsion is
necessary to induce the Coloured people to send their
children to school.*

Section 2. — Government Certification of Teachers ^

The importance attached to the certification of teachers
is seen in the grant regulation, whereby a considerably higher
grant is paid for certificated than for uncertificated teachers.
While all the provinces are still compelled to employ uncertifi-
cated teachers, the tendency is to require all head teachers to
be certificated, and gradually to impose this requirement upon
assistants. The training institutions for Native teachers are
accordingly compelled to follow very closely the syllabus
prescribed by the various Education Departments, and the
methods advocated by the Departments' inspectors, if they
wish to secure their tale of passes at the end of the year.
While the officials who frame the regulations are no doubt
sometimes influenced by the opinions of the teachers in the
training institutions, no Government-recognised method
exists whereby the teachers and instructors in the training
institutions, the men and women who are primarily concerned
with the working of the syllabus, and who should know the

^ Natal Native Affairs Commission, 1906-7, Report, section 83.

* Cape Education Commission, 191 1, Evidence, section 7742, and
Report, section 56 (b).

' Cape Select Committee on Native Education, 191 1, Report, section
56 (b). " Ibid.

* No teachers' certificates are issued in the Orange Free State.
In Basutoland the examinations for the Cape Pupil Teacher Certificates
are taken.

THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION OF NATIVE EDUCATION 83

special needs and limitations of the pupils, are consulted in
the preparation of the syllabus, or in the examination of the
can(fidates.

Some of the unfortunate results of this method of procedure
are pointed out later.^ Here it is sufficient to say that in a
subject so new as Native education, where we all are feeling our
way, to neglect to avail ourselves of the experience of those who
come into such close contact with the problem is a peculiar
mark of ineptitude.^

The principle of Government certification is sound, and
indeed necessary in South Africa. All that is pleaded for is
teacher-participation in the preparation of syllabuses, and in
the examination of candidates.

Section 3. — Government Syllabuses

All the provinces and Basutoland issue syllabuses of instruc-
tion, which must be followed in the Native schools .^ In the
Cape Province the syllabus is the same for Natives as for
Europeans, but all the other provinces and Basutoland issue
a special syllabus more or less suited to the Natives' needs.
These special syllabuses also emphasise the attitude taken by
the authorities towards education. The insistence on manual
training in the Transvaal, the provision made for instruction
in the vernacular in Natal, and the identity of the European
and Native syllabus in the Cape, reflect pretty clearly the
• official attitude of the different provinces.

These syllabuses have been prepared by the officials of the
Departments without any direct representation of the views of
those who have to teach them.* In view of the fact that many
of the Native teachers are not competent to assist in the fram-
ing of a syllabus, there is not the same chance of co-operation

^ See p. 137 et seq.

• Such a body as the Missionary Board of Advice in Natal is not
sufficient. What is wanted is a meeting of the teachers, or of their
representatives, with the officials of the Department to discuss the
syllabus. The members of the Board of Advice are not necessarily
the teachers, and it is the teachers' co-operation which is needed.

^ The syllabus issued by the Orange Free State is not compulsory,
but its use is general throughout the province.

* The new (19 16) Transvaal regulations were referred to the repre-
sentatives of certain mission societies.

84 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

as in the case of the Teachers' Training Courses ; but had it
been thought necessary or desirable, competent committees
of advice could have been formed.^

The Government also as a rule recommends or prescribes
the text-books to be used.

Section 4. — Goveniment Inspection and Examination

The system of the annual individual examination of pupils
by a Government inspector which obtains in the Cape, in Natal,
and in Basutoland is a relic of the English system of payment
by results.''

When the elementary schools in England were managed by
the philanthropic societies, the grants paid by the Government
depended on the number of pupils who " passed " the examina-
tion of His Majesty's inspector. At the end of each year the
inspector came round to see if the conditions of grant had been
fulfilled, and to examine the children individually in the three
R's, The teacher's reputation and salary depended almost
entirely on his percentage of passes, so that he availed himself
of every artifice to secure a good result. The children were

^ E.g., each of the principal mission societies could have nominated
a competent man.

* In the Orange Free State a better system is contemplated. The
Draft Regulations state that promotions are in the hands of the
principals, who are also required to " make provision for advancing
as rapidly as possible scholars of more mature age who are backward
in their work," by reducing the curriculum to the more essential
subjects.

The duty of the inspector is "to test the efficiency of the school
by an inquiry into the organisation, the classification, and the methods
of instruction pursued, and also into the progress made by the pupils
as evinced by their exercise and examination books and by the results
of a general class examination. He will, however, if he deems it neces-
sary, hold in greater detail an individual examination, in order to
ascertain the condition of any of the classes. He will be asked to report
as to the thoroughness of the teaching, and as to the abiUty of the
pupils to apply to practical purposes the knowledge acquired. He shall
also satisfy himself that in the ordinary management of the school all
reasonable care is taken to bring up the children in habits of punctu-
ahty, of good manners and language, of cleanliness and neatness, and
to impress upon them the importance of cheerful obedience to duty,
of consideration and respect for others, and of honour and truthfulness
in word and act." (Draft Regulations, 11, 12, 13.) The italics are ours.

THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION OF NATIVE EDUCATION 85

coached and crammed in the type of question asked by the
particular inspector ; teachers and children were impressed
with the importance of the occasion, and in many cases the
teaching was directed solely towards the passing of the
inspector's examination.

This is the system which exists in the majority of the South
African schools to-day. Its inherent wrongness is that it
puts teacher and inspector in a wrong relation to one another.
There is a suspicion of espionage — especially when the so-
called " surprise " visits are paid — which is hurtful to education.
The objective of both teacher and inspector should be the same,
and the inspector, from his superior training, experience, and
knowledge, should take the attitude of friend and adviser,
and not that of detective.

The school conditions at an inspector's examination are not
normal. Teachers and pupils are in an unnatural state of
excitement ; the inspector is hurried, and perhaps out of sorts.
The Native, being more emotional than the European, suffers
greatly from the tense atmosphere. The time at the inspector's
disposal is all too short for anything hke a thorough examina-
tion. The result is that the teacher's work for a year is often
inadequately estimated in a few minutes. To save time the
inspectors have printed test cards in arithmetic, and in some
cases in history, geography, and grammar.^ The procedure at
a typical inspection in iN atal is as follows : — Notice has been
given. The children are in their best clothes. The schoolroom
has been washed out, perhaps for the first time that year. As
the inspector rides up he is saluted on all sides. After prayers
the inspector looks at the registers, and sits down at the table
with his schedules before him. " Standards I. and II., do
these arithmetic cards ; Standard III., do this composition ;
and Standard IV., this grammar." " Infants, draw me a hut
on your slates." " Primers, bring up your reading books and
read." The whole day is spent in this kind of work, the
inspector assiduously filhng up his schedules, and the trembling
teacher standing idly by. At three o'clock the children are
dismissed to play, while the inspector adds up the marks and
decides on the passes and failures. Sometimes the inspector
consults the teacher about the pupils, generally not. At half-
1 Specimens of these cards are reproduced on p. 318 c/ s«j.

86 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

past foui the children are reassembled. The inspector mounts
the platform, and in a voice of much solemnity reads the names
of those who have passed. " Hallelujah, praise God,"
ejaculate some of the pupils who are among the passes. A sigh,
a chck, sometimes a sob, from those who fail. At five o'clock
the inspector, thoroughly tired out, mounts his horse and
hurries on to the next mission station, where he will repeat the
performance next day. Of the advice or encouragement of
which the teacher stands in such need there is very little.
There is not time for that.

The system is wrong in principle and practice. It is wrong
to the inspector to require him to do such work ; it is wrong
to the teacher, who is reUeved of a responsibility which should
be his, and who loses respect in the eyes of his pupils ; it is
wrong to the pupil, whose work is often misjudged.^

While inspection is much the more profitable way of be-
coming acquainted with the work of a teacher or of a school,
examination should not be abolished altogether. To examine
a class is sometimes the only means of finding out its points
of strength and of weakness, the necessary bases for praise,
criticism, and advice; but this examination should be of the
cIeiss as a whole, and not of the individual members. The
teacher knows best which pupils should pass and which
should fail. Any mistakes he makes will become apparent in
the class examination, and will be properly censured. Pro-
motion is the teacher's privilege and his responsibihty.

It may be argued that the teacher is not competent to make
promotions. To this it may be replied that there are hundreds
of Native teachers who are competent, and that many of the
others can be made competent by being required to shoulder
this responsibility. The inspector will be there to advise in
doubtful cases, and to prevent external pressure from being
brought to bear upon the teachers.

The present inviolability of the " standards " must be broken

1 It is not only the Native teachers and pupils who dread the visits

of the inspector. The following is the opinion of Miss , principal

of Training School: " This session we have had one inspector

after another, and, as we cannot get away from them after school, the strain
is great. Sometimes there have been two in one week " {Report of
Mission, 1913, p. 14).

THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION OF NATIVE EDUCATION 87

into, if education is going to progress. They do not deserve
the respect with which they are treated, since they are nothing
more than a convenient device to enable us to carry on mass
teaching. A standard represents the amount of work which
the framers of the curriculum (in the case of Native schools,
men not actually engaged in teaching) think can be accom-
plished by the average child within a certain period, generally
a year. In each standard there will then be a number of
children for whom the work is too much, or too difficult, and
a number for whom it is too little or too easy. If all remain
in the same standard for a year, the former will be overworked,
the latter will waste valuable time. How the standards over-
lap can be seen from the tables and diagrams in Chapter IX.

The object of all classification is to arrange that each pupil
is doing the work which best accords with his maturity, his
ability, and his needs. An exact accordance is impossible with
mass teaching, but the nearer we can get to it the better.
Nowadays the best schools in Europe and America are break-
ing away from the lockstep standard system, and are re-
grouping the children in accordance with their ability in
each subject.

This system, known as the " set " system, has long been in
use in England in the case of mathematics, and is now being
applied to other subjects, with the result that more and more
often the pupil is doing the best work of which he and she is
capable. To be sure, this S5^tem makes individual examina-
tion difficult, because the same pupil may be in three different
standards at the same time, and perhaps that is why it is
experiencing some difficulty in making an entrance into State
systems of education. Such a system in its entirety is frankly
impossible in our Native schools, and the nearest we can get at
present to a more suitable adjustment of the pupil to his work
is to allow the teacher to promote or demote as he thinks
necessary.

An immediate and complete break away from the present
system is not advised. After being brought up and trained in
a restrictive system, many of the teachers must be taught to
bear the responsibility, and the change must be gradual. Let
the inspectors furnish a list of those head teachers who, in their
opinion, are competent to make promotions. Let this list be

08 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

published in the official Gazette, and let it be added to as more
teachers demonstrate their competence. Let the inspector
restrict himself more and more to class examination. If, after
careful inquiry, he finds cases of wrong classifications, the
teacher's right to promote might be withdrawn.

So far we have spoken of the inspector as examiner. While
examination is necessary, the inspector's main function should
be that of supervisor.

The chief function of supervision is to continue the training
of teachers. The need for adequate supervision in any system
of schools, if the system is not to stagnate, is generally con-
ceded, but the following special reasons make it imperative in
Native schools : —

1. As will be pointed out later,^ the training of Native
teachers, especially as regards practical school management,
has necessarily been defective. The work of the method-
master needs to be supplemented by the inspector or supervisor.

2. The isolation of teachers in Native schools renders
friendly intercourse and discussion with fellow-teachers and
recourse to libraries impossible. Too often the teacher is the
only educated person in the district. The inevitable tendency
towards mental and sometimes moral retrogression could be
checked by a sympathetic and understanding supervisor.^

3. The newness of the subject of Native education, and our
inadequate knowledge concerning the needs and capacities of
the Native, make it very desirable that the opinions of super-
visors, the trained and experienced teachers who come into
daily contact with the actual teachers' problems of Native
schools, should be available in developing Native-school poUcy.

From what has been said before it is clear that the inspectors
have no time to undertake the work of supervision. As a

» See pp. 139-145.

* " The relative efficiency of these (Native) schools is proportional
to the amount of personal supervision the superintendents find it
possible to give them." (Inspector Mr White, Report of Transvaal
Education Department, 1912, p. 247.)

" These (trained teachers) leave the different training institutions
full of zeal and quite competent to give the necessary instruction,
but after one or two years' life in a Native stad there is a distinct
danger of deterioration, more especially as regards knowledge of
EngUsh.' (Inspector Mr Mills, ibid., p. 226.)

THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION OF NATIVE EDUCATION 89

practical solution of the question it is recommended that the
inspector continue to be the administrative and general super-
visory officer ; that he be required to visit and inspect his
schools at least once a year ; and that he confine his activities
to a general inspection, or (if need be) to class examinations.
The work of supervising the instruction or continuing the
training of the teacher, of introducing better methods, should
be relegated to a special corps of Native supervisors, chosen
from among the most successful teachers in the schools, each
of whom would be responsible to the inspector for the oversight
of a limited number of schools. ^ The reasons for suggesting
that the supervisor be a Native are that a chance for further
promotion is thereby afforded to Native teachers ; the relation-
ship between teacher and supervisor will be more cordial and
helpful when both are of the same race ; the practical difficulties
of lodgment for the Native supervisor will be less than for the
European inspector ; and the development of suitable forms of
industrial training in ordinary day schools can best be carried
out by Natives.

Section 5. — Supervision In American Rural Negro Scliools

In connection with the proposal to appoint supervisors in
the Native schools of South Africa, the success of a similar
movement in the Southern States of America is useful and
encouraging.

In 1908 a philanthropic lady, Miss T. Jeanes, left the sum
of ;f 200,000 for the improvement of Negro Rural Schools.
These schools were for the most part taught by untrained
teachers, without any kind of supervision. The buildings were
generally one-roomed shacks, the equipment was very meagre,
the teachers were untrained and ill paid, and the school year
not more than six months. The trustees of the Jeanes Fund
thought that the best way of improving the conditions was
to appoint supervising teachers of industrial work. These
teachers are Negroes from the Negro universities, institutions,
and training colleges, such as Fisk, Atlanta, Hampton, and
Tuskegee. These teachers, although paid wholly, or in part,

* The training of a selected group of teachers as supervisors might be
undertaken at the South African Native College (see infra, Chap. XV.).

90 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

by the Jeanes Fund, are selected by the county superinten-
dents, and work under their direction. Their duties are to
visit the schools, introduce suitable forms of industrial work,
advise the teacher with regard to her daily work, organise
parents' clubs, interest the Negro community in the schools,
and induce them to take steps for the improvement of educa-
tional facihties. The average annual salary paid to a Negro
supervisor was, in 1913, £'^2 for men and £65 for women, for
seven months' work a year.

The success of the plan was immediate and continuing. The
number of supervisors rose from 65 in 1908-9 to over 130
in 1912. The salaries of 109 of these teachers, amounting
to £7000, were paid by the Jeanes Fund. The salaries of
the others came from the funds of the States, which had
begun to realise the value of the work. The contributions
of the Negro people themselves were expended mainly on
building and equipments. The following extracts give some
account of the results of the work of these supervisors : —

" Complete statistics are not at hand at the time of
writing, but the following record of work for the session
1912-13 in the State of Virginia is indicative of the
spread of the movement. Twenty-three supervising
industrial teachers were working in the Coloured schools
of 25 counties. Of the 591 Negro schools in these counties,
417 were visited regularly, and a total number of 2853
visits were paid by the 23 supervising industrial teachers.
One hundred and eighty-nine schools extended the term an
average of one month. Twenty new buildings were erected
costing £4762, and 15 buildings were enlarged at a cost
of ;f443. Forty-six buildings were painted and 81 white-
washed, and 102 sanitary outhouses were built. The 428
School-improvement Leagues raised in cash for new build-
ings, extending terms, equipment, and improvement, the
sum of ;f4532. This does not include labour or materials
given. The whole cost of the salaries and expenses of the
supervising teachers was less than £2000, so that as a result
of their efforts they have brought into the school funds of the
State more than twice the amount expended.

" These figures, however, but dimly estimate the value

THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION OF NATIVE EDUCATION 9I

of the work done. It was the privilege of the writer
recently to visit Negro rural schools in three of the counties
of Virginia in company with Mr Jackson Davis and the
county superintendents of schools. The interest and
pride of parents and pupils alike in the schools, their belief
in the form of instruction given, and the co-operation of
the Whites, who are beginning to regard the Negro as an
asset and not as a burden to the country, were everywhere
apparent." ^

" In regard to these supervising teachers, it is a sur-
prising fact how few have been found lacking in earnest-
ness, competency, and devotion to duty. They are
appointed by the county superintendent, work under his
direction and supervision, and are considered members of
his regular corps of teachers. With very few exceptions,
they have done their work with an intelligence and devo-
tion that deserve the highest admiration. It is hard for
us to realise the difficult conditions under which many of
them have to carry on their work in passing from school to
school. The mere problem of transportation is a difficult
one. In many instances they depend upon the kindness
of some patron of one school to take them on to the next.
Some counties have made an appropriation for the travel-
ling expenses. A few of the teachers own their team.
Many of them walk long distances to keep their appoint-
ments, carrying with them their bag of materials. Looking
over the whole range of noble pioneers and missionaries,
I do not find any to measure ahead of these humble
workers. When I think of their spirit I am not surprised
that their influence is being felt wherever they go, not only
in the schools, but in the churches and homes. I am not
surprised when I receive now and then a letter from some
county superintendent bearing testimony to their good
influence, and expressing appreciation of their work." 2

In the writer's opinion it is in the appointment of such
teachers that the chief hope for the betterment of our Native
schools in South Africa lies.

* From an article by the writer in the Christian Express, April 1915.

* Jeanes Fund : Report of President, 1914, p. 3.

CHAPTER VI

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

In general the term " elementary " or " primary " education
is used in contradistinction to " secondary " or " higher "
education. It then implies an instruction in the elements of
knowledge, to be supplemented later on in higher institutions.
In the framing of curricula, this narrow connotation of the
term has been generally unfortunate, since the courses of study
in elementary schools have been based on the assumption that
the pupils would proceed to higher institutions, where the
" essentials " would be extended and supplemented to fit the
pupil for the life of the world outside. As a matter of fact,
however, it is only a very small percentage indeed of pupils in
any country who proceed beyond the elementary school, and
the chief problem confronting educators to-day is to frame an
elementary-school curriculum which will serve as a preparation
for the further education of those few who are able to proceed
to secondary schools, and at the same time serve as a well-
grounded basis of education for the vast majority of pupils
whose further education can only be received in the school of
life itself. The solution of the difficulty would appear to lie
in bringing the school into intimate relationship with real fife,
in framing curricula in terms of present-day needs, and in
making school activities a replica of those of the world outside
so far as the development of the child enables him to com-
prehend and participate in them.

A glance at the table on p. 72 of this volume will show that
the number of pupils proceeding beyond the elementary-school
stage is less than 3 per cent., so that it is in the elementary
schools that all but a few of the Native children of South Africa
must be prepared for their future life. We need, then, to

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 93

examine the system of elementary education in some detail,
and to apply to each of its constituent parts — courses of study,
teaching, supervision, and results — criteria acceptable generally
to modern pedagogy, and applicable in particular to present-
day conditions in South Africa.

Section i. — Criteria for the Instruction in Native
Elementary Schools

A. The Courses of Study. — The courses of study must be
based upon the pecuUar instincts, capacities, interests, past
and present experiences, and probable future of the pupils for
whom they are intended. They must represent in epitome the
present and, as far as can be foreseen, the future Uves of the
people, and as such must be subject to change in respect
to both the exclusion of the useless old and the inclusion of
the necessary new. They must demonstrate clearly the well-
thought-out aims of the authorities, but these must be expressed
in terms sufficiently broad to allow supervisors and teachers
to adapt them to the needs of particular schools and pupils.
They must also take into account the agencies at present at
the disposal of the system; for to impose upon the poorly
equipped and ill-taught Native schools courses of study which
would be difficult of accomplishment in the infinitely superior
schools for European children, is but to court failure, or at most
shallow and superficial work.

In South Africa we find that the courses of study in Native
schools are either identical with those prescribed for the
European schools, or are abbreviated modifications of them ;
that no account has been taken of the pecuUar characteristics
of the Native people ; that no adequate provision for the prob-
able life-work of the pupils has been made ; that they include
a good deal of matter which is useless as far as the Native is
concerned, while they omit certain very necessary subjects ;
and finally, that at least three of the five courses would be
difficult of accomplishment in the best schools for Europeans.

B. The Teaching. — The primary function of teaching is to
supply stimuli which are meaningful to the child, necessary for
his growth, and based on sound moral and psychological
principles. This implies possession on the part of the teacher

94 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

of real and useful learning, knowledge of child nature, and
freedom to adapt methods to suit the needs of individual
pupils.

To expect all these qualities in the Native teachers in the
present stage of the development of Native education in South
Africa is unreasonable; but we shall find that the system of
training teachers is not even tending in the right direction, but
is producing men and women ignorant of facts significant
for Native pupils, loaded with a mass of useless academic
knowledge, and unpractised in the handling of children. We
shall see also that even the competent teachers are bound
hand and foot by regulation, course of study, inspection, and
examination.

C. Supervision. — The objects of supervision are to see that
the conduct of the school is in accordance with the governing
regulations in spirit, if not in letter ; to supplement the training
of the teachers by helpful and sympathetic criticism ; and to
bring to individual teachers the results of deeper study of
educational problems, superior training, and wider experience.

Adequate supervision is perhaps the strongest factor in the-
betterment of a school system. In the Native schools of South
Africa supervision in the full sense of the term is almost un-
known. There are no supervisors for Native schools, and the
European inspectors of schools, who might be expected to per-
form the functions of supervisors, are too busy with other
duties, even where they have the necessary sympathy and
qualifications for Native work.

D. The Results upon Pupils, Teachers, and the Public. — The
results of an adequate system of elementary education upon
the pupils are a regular progression through the school in
accordance with their mental development, absence of an
excessive retardation and elimination, and an ability to adjust
themselves easily and readily to the responsibiUties and
opportunities of the life after school.

The teachers show signs of professional growth, become more
and more capable of bearing responsibility, and remain longer
in the profession. The parents and the general public express
their approval by keeping the young people longer at school,
and by providing the necessary moral and financial support.

How far the Native schools fall short in these respects will

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 95

be shown by an elimination and retardation unique, so far as
the writer is aware, in school systems ; by an education which,
for the most part, unfits the recipients for their life-work;
and by a general mistrust of the system on the part of the
general public.

Section 2. — The Origin and Development of the
Present System

We have seen that the system of Native education originated
in the religious zeal of missionaries in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries. These devoted but unscientifically-
minded men and women could not be expected to observe
any of our fundamental principles. To them the original
make-up of the Bantu was wrong. Not only would the
missionary not make use of any of the Native's original
instincts and interests, but he would do his best to stifle these
as instigators to depravity.^ Nor would he endeavour to help
the Bantu to adjust himself to the society in which he Uved.
The Natives' Ufe after death was his chief concern, and any
education given in this world was but in preparation for the
life in the world to come. In its origin, then, the system of
Native education was diametrically opposed to what are
commonly accepted to-day as the basic principles of education.

When the missionary teacher succeeded the mere evangelist
he followed the set which Native education had received.
In so far as he introduced new methods of teaching, these
were based on European tradition. The systems of literary
education which had been evolved in Europe were transplanted
to a people differing widely in original nature, in environment,
and in future opportunities.'^

When the time came for the different Governments to
support Native education, it became a condition of financial
support that the schools observe the Government codes of
instructions. Seeing that the Native schools were being

^ See p. 74 for notice of a reactionary movement.

* " Too often in missionary and educational work among unde-
veloped races people yielded to the temptation of doing that which
was done a hundred years before, or is being done in other communities
a thousand miles away." (Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery,
p. 122.)

96 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

conducted upon European lines, what more natural than that
the regulations governing the schools for European children
in South Africa should be imposed upon Native schools also ?
Where they were not imposed in their entirety they were
curtailed, but their spirit was based upon the principles of
education as carried on in England. These were the days
when education was being given grudgingly to the lower
classes, when it was considered that anything more than the
" three R's " would " spoil " the masses and unfit them for
their station in life. It was a time, too, when pedagogical
doctrine was harsh and narrow. The " faculty " psychology
was supreme. The purpose of education was to " train the
mind " ; the harder the subjects the better the mental
discipline ; to make things interesting was to " weaken the
moral fibre " of the pupils, and so on. How persistent these
pedagogical notions have been may be seen from the Govern-
ment regulations and syllabuses at present in operation in
the Native schools of South Africa, and from the views of
officials.^

The system set in tliis narrow mould remained practically

^ To cite but two instances. In giving e\'idence before the Cape
Native Education Committee of 1908 the following exchange of views
took place between the Commissioners and one of the witnesses, an
inspector highly respected by both races for his work on behalf of
Native education.

Question. The fact is, you think any subject of that kind (English
history), although they (the Natives) may not be able to see its exact
practical bearing, has the effect that all true education should have,
of developing the mind ?

Answer. Quite so. I do not think the elementary school is the place
for beginning any special training for special walks of life. You want
in the elementary school merely to train the mind by all the means
you can employ in order to get a well-developed mind on all sides.
(Report, section 2556.)

Again, in the Report of the Inspector of Native Education, Natal, for
1889, appears the following statement : " I regard this [Enghsh grammar]
as a very important part of our school work ; not that it is important
that a boy should know that ox is a noun or that runs is a verb, but
these Natives are so wanting in powers of comparison or analysis that
the process of reasoning which has to be gone through to decide whether
' that ' is an adjective or a pronoun, or to recognise the relations
to each other of the different parts of a sentence, is of the greatest
value as developing and strengthening their mind in its weakest but
most useful parts."

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 97

unaltered until a decade ago, when, as a result of the report
of the South African Native Affairs Commission of 1903-5, a
wider and more sympathetic interest in the Native Question
was taken by the public. To this must be added the move-
ment for reform initiated by the missionary bodies themselves,
the importation from overseas of highly skilled and experienced
educators consequent on the annexation of the Dutch
Republics, and changes in the staffs of some of the Education
Departments.

As a result steps have recently been taken in all the provinces
except the Cape to adapt the European system of education
to Native requirements.^ In particular the courses of study
have been reduced in extent and complexity to suit the more
limited opportunities and capacities of the Natives. That the
result is still not satisfactory will be demonstrated in due
course. Here it is sufficient to say that all the systems,
except perhaps those of the Orange Free State and Transvaal,
are based either wholly or in psirt on European systems now
largely discredited, and have not been drawn up to meet the
special nature of the Native people.*

1 The conservatism of the Cape Province, which retains to this day
the same course of study for Native as for European children, is probably
due to the great size of the province, the unequal geographical distri-
bution of the races, the more Uberal treatment of the Native peoples
than in the other provinces, which induces the mistaken belief that
identity of curriculum is equaUty of opportunity, the mixed nature
of the children attending the Mission Schools, and the personnel of its
of&cials. The identity of curriculum has been often condemned by
Commissioners and other critics. The following excerpts are from the
Report of the Cape Education Commission, 1910-12: —

" A rigid curriculum drawn up without regard to the Coloured
people no doubt fails to meet the case of some White children, but it
is hardly too much to say that it is bound to be a misfit for all
Coloured children. . . . There is a great deal to be said for elasticity
of curriculum in regard to Mission Schools. . . . Although they only go
to Standard IV., the Coloured children . . . are so far taught according
to precisely the same curriculum as is thought necessary for the child
of a Cabinet Minister and of a high ecclesiastic. The opinion that
this is a mistake is strong and growing. . . . Altogether, we have no
hesitation in recommending that in the Mission Schools, as in others,
departure from the curriculum should be allowed subject to the consent
of the inspector." {Report, section 56 (c).)

* Since the above was written a new syllabus for Native schools
has been introduced in the Transvaal.

98 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

Section 3.— The Courses of Study

A. The Subjects of Instruction and their Place

IN the Courses of Study
On the opposite page will be found the subjects of instruc-
tion and their place in the courses of study. The divergence
of the views of the different provinces can be seen at a glance,
but the following points seem worthy of special comment : —

1. The Use of the Vernacular. — The arguments for and
against the use of the vernacular are discussed in another part
of this volume.! Here it will be sufficient to indicate the
current practice in the several provinces. In the Cape
Province the use of the vernacular as the medium of instruc-
tion in the lower classes is optional ; but as these classes are
generally not examined at all by the inspectors, or, if examined,
are examined in English, the option is not often acted upon,
particularly as a great number of Native parents do not wish
the children to " waste time," as they say, over the vernacular.
In the Transvaal it may he used " as far as practicable."
In the other provinces and in Basutoland the use of the
vernacular is obligatory.

2. Position of the English and Dutch Languages. — ks regards
the choice of the two official European languages the regula-
tions in Natal and Basutoland are silent, and it is the general
practice to learn English only. In the Transvaal the regula-
tions state that after the first three years either Dutch or
Enghsh may be used as a medium, in accordance with the
geographical situation and the particular environment of the
school. The Orange Free State regulations say that the
formal study of one of the two official languages shall be
commenced in the third year, and this language may be used
as a medium when it is so desired during the fifth and sixth
years. The second official language may be commenced in
the fifth yeai".

3. The Neglect of History. — History is not included at all
in the Transvaal and Basutoland syllabuses," and is optional
in the Orange Free State. In Natal the history taught is

* See p. 226 et seq.

' In Basutoland, "tales from Basuto history" may be given in the
Vernacular Composition Course.

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 99

entirely that of South Africa ; in the Cape it is the same as in
the European schools, i.e. English and South African. If we
are to develop a pride of race in the Natives, not only as a
preventative for miscegenation with the Whites, but as a basis

TABLE No. 4
The Subjects and their Place in the Course of Study

Subjects.

Cape.

Natal.

Tran&.
vaal.

Orange Free
State.

Basutoland.

Vernacular —

Standard.

Year.

Reading

A to VII.

I to 4

Gr. I to St. VI.

Writing

A „ VIL

I ,. 4

Gr. I „ St. IV.

Spelling

A „ VII.

1 .. 4

Gr. 2 „ St. IV.

Composition

A „ VII.

I .. 4

Gr. I „ St. VI.

Grammar

, ,

vSt.III. „ St. VI.

English-

Reading

A to VII.

B to VII.

I to 7

3 to 6

St. I. „ St. VI.

Writing

A „ VII.

B „ VII.

I „ 7

3 .. 6

St. II. „ St. VI.

SpHling

A „ VII.

B „ VII.

A „ 7

3 .. 6

St. II. „ St. VI.

Composition

II. „ VII.

A „ VII.

I „ 7

I „ 6

St. I. „ St. VI.

Grammar

III. „ VII.

6 „ 7

5 ,. 6

St. IV. „ St. VI.

Arithmetic

A „ VII

A „ VII.

I » 7

I » 4

Gr. I „ St. VI.

Algebra and

Geometry

V. „ VII.

. .

, .

Geography in

English

III. to VII.

II. „VI.

4 to 7

Optional.

St. I. to St. VI.
(Vern.)

History in

English

V. „ vn.

III. „ VII.

Optional.

. ,

Drawing .

A „ VII.

A „ VI.

1 to 7

Gr. I to St. VI.

Hygiene .

••

I. „ VI.

1 ,. 7

Prescribed but
not in detail.

Gr. I „ St. VI.

(Vern.)

Sewing

A to VII.

A „ VII.

3 ,. 7

I to 6

Gr. I to St. VI.

Manual work .

11. „ VII.

V. „ VII.

3 ., 7

No definite
scheme.

Sin^ng

A „ VII.

A „ VI.

3 .. 7

I to 6

Gr. I to St. VL

Religious inst.

A „ VII

A „ VII.

I ,, 7

I ,, 6

Gr. I „ St. VI.

Object lessons

••

I » 3

I „ 6

(i) The lowest class is Infant Class A in the Cape and Natal, Year i in
the Transvaal and Orange Free State, and Grade i in Basutoland.
(2) Vern. = vernacular, i.e. Kafir, Zulu, or Sesuto, as the case may be.

for the responsibilities of self-government, we cannot afiEord to
omit from our courses of study an account of the history and
institutions of the races of South Africa.

4. Manual Work. — In connection with the inclusion of this
subject in the Cape syllabus, it should be borne in mind that

lOO THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

the manual work prescribed is cardboaid modelling in
Standards II. to IV., and woodwork in Standards V. to VII.
Few, if any, of the Native schools can afford to do the card-
board modelling, while it is only in the larger centres that the
instruction in woodwork is actually given. The whole
question of manual and industrial training is dealt with in
Chapter VIII.

5. Overburdening. — ^The overburdening of the Natal course
of study is apparent. The inclusion of algebra and geometry
is unnecessary; and while none of the other subjects, except
perhaps English grammar in all but the last year, could be
safely excluded, a more even distribution, as in the Orange Free
State syllabus, would lighten the pupil's task. At present a
child in Standard I. is carrying fourteen, and one in Standard VI.
eighteen, subjects all the year round.

B. The Formal Nature of the Syllabuses

In addition to announcing the subjects of inspection, the
syllabuses of the Education Departments prescribe in more or
less detail what is to be taught under each subject. No
attempt is made to explain why these subjects are chosen or
the aims of the teaching, and no suggestions regarding approved
methods are offered.^ For the most part the syllabuses consist
of bald statements of the facts which the children will be
required to reproduce at the annual examinations. Space
does not permit of a reproduction of the syllabuses in full, but
the following excerpts will sufficiently explain their nature : —

I. English Reading for Second-Year Pupils
Cape. — To read with ease from an infant reader containing

sentences composed of monosyllabic words.

Natal. — To read the first six charts prepared by the American

Mission, and to translate them accurately.

Transvaal (Third Year). — Reading from an infant primer

and reader.

* In Basutoland a small booklet of instructions and suggestions is
published, and the Orange Free State syllabus contains some scattered
suggestions. These, however, do not deal adequately with any of the
questions. For an example of a useful and effective introduction to a
syllabus, see the remarks of the Director of Education for the Transvaal,
prefixed to the Transvaal Syllabus of Instruction for European Schools.

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION lOI

O.F.S. — To read clearly and intelligently a simple reading-
book.

Basutoland (Standard I.). — ^To read intelligently from a
first reader.

2. Arithmetic for Standard IV.

Cape. — Written : Addition, subtraction, multiplication,
and division of weights and measures. The principle involved
in the process known as " Practice," with easy exercises.
Easy " Proportion " exercises. Mental : The same as the
written work. Easy operations with very simple fractions
(halves, quarters, eighths, thirds, sixths, twelfths).

Natal. — [a) Factors and multiples. (6) Addition, sub-
traction, multiplication, division, and reduction of weights
and measures, as follows : Avoirdupois, lineal, square,
capacity, and time, (c) Simple bills of parcels, (i) Addi-
tion and subtraction of fractions having the same denominator.
{e) Mental : Easy exercises on the work of the standard ;
the tables of the square and capacity measures.

Transvaal (Sixth Year). — {a) Continuation of exercises
in the four rules as for the previous year. (6) Reduction :
ton, cwt. (=100 lb.), lb., oz., yd., ft., in. ; day, hour, minute,
second, (c) Making out short bills.

O.F.S. (Sixth Year). — Decimals, percentages and interest,
volumes of rectangular solids, bills of parcels, practice,
{N.B. — ^During the fifth and sixth years arithmetic should be
dropped in favour of the manual occupation.)

Basutoland. — The same as for the Cape.

3. Geography for Standard V.

Cape. — The seasons. Africa and Europe, including features
of coast-line, chief mountain ranges, chief rivers and their
basins, chief states or territorial divisions and their capitals ;
situation and chief industries of towns having over 250,000
inhabitants ; commercial relations with the Cape Province.
Map-drawing from memory.

Natal. — To draw a map of Africa, and to be able to insert
the principal countries, with the capitals, the chief rivers,
lakes, mountains, and to tell to whom each country belongs.
To tell the countries, capitals, and principal features of Europe,
Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand.

102 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

Transvaal (Seventh Year). — {a) Physical and pohtical geo-
graphy of South Africa in fuller detail, (b) Position on the
map of the world of the British Colonies and of the principal
countries of the world. The characteristic features, chmate,
and production of the larger colonies.

O.F.S. (not prescribed for any particular standard). — ^The
geography of South Africa with special reference to that of
the Orange Free State, together with a general idea of the
main geographical features of the world.

Basutoland. — Same as the Cape, omitting " commercial
relations with the Cape Province."

4. Grammar for Standard VI.

Ca'pe. — ^To analyse a complex prose sentence containing at
least two subordinate clauses, one of which may be subordinate
to the other, and to parse the words in it. To correct gram-
matical errors in a similar sentence. To tell the meanings
and use of the principal prefixes and suffixes.

Natal. — (i) To analyse, and form simple compound and
complex sentences. (2) To learn {a) the formation and use
(i.) of the comparison of adjectives and adverbs, (ii.) of nouns,
verbs, adjectives, and adverbs from other words by common
prefixes and suffixes, and (iii.) of the complete conjugation of
verbs ; and [h) the use (i.) of words as nouns, and verbs and
adjectives or adverbs, and (ii.) of the correct preposition
after verbs.

Transvaal (First-Year Training College Course) . — {a) Various
kinds of nouns, pronouns, and their inflections as far as this
is a help to correct speech and writing. (&) Conjugation of
transitive and intransitive verbs with pronouns and nouns
(indicative mood only). Exercises in the use of active and
passive forms. The whole aim to be not so much recognition
of distinctions as correct usage, (c) Analysis of the simple sen-
tence, with special reference to the correct use of prepositions.

O.F.S. (Sixth Year). — Analysis and simple parsing.

Basutoland. — As in Cape syllabus.

Section 4.— Uniformity and Inflexibility in Scliool Work

The average inadequately trained Native school teacher,
when confronted with the task of teaching his pupils on a

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION IO3

syllabus which is for the most part meaningless to them and
to himself, is generally at a loss what to do. To assist him in
the organisation of his school work, the Education Department
of the Province of Natal, which can claim the credit of having
given most thought to the administration of Native education,
issues in addition to the ordinary syllabus a " scheme of work "
and specimen time-table. The effect of this is to impose upon
the system a greater uniformity than that required by the
province-wide syllabuses of instruction. All the provinces
obtain a still further uniformity by the inspectors' examina-
tions, for in order to get through with his work the inspector
has to standardise his methods of examination. These
become known throughout his inspectorial district, and, since
the object of the year's work is to satisfy the inspector, his
practices are closely adhered to in the schools. In the Cape
and Natal, inspectors' test-cards are used.^ From this lock-
step uniformity there is little hope of escape, since the teachers
are not regarded as competent to assume such responsibility.*
To illustrate the methods by which this uniformity is
obtained, we reproduce (i) excerpts from the Natal schemes of
work for the infant classes and first four standards, and (2) time
allotments derived from the specimen time-tables in Natal.
Specimens of the test-cards used by the inspectors of Native
schools in Natal will be found in Appendix A.

I. Scheme of Work for Class A {the lowest class) for the

month of April
Zulu. — {a) Read charts 4 and 5 and review 2. (6) Each
child to make at least two sentences about each of the pictures

» For specimens of these test-cards see Appendix A.

■ The draft regulations of the Orange Free State Education De-
partment form an honourable exception to the usual inflexibility and
uniformity. Section 17 reads : " While the schedules indicate the scope
of the work in each subject, they should be looked upon as suggestions
rather than as instructions to be rigidly followed in detail, and principals
are invited to propose schemes more or less on the same lines, and
suited to the peculiar requirements and circumstances of their respective
schools. Such suggested modifications should be submitted in detail for
the approval of the Department through the Inspector of Schools for the
District." Similar instances of liberal-mindedness and sound pedagogy
may be found throughout the Orange Free State regulations, which makes
it all the more to be regretted that the scheme has not become law.

104 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

on English chart No. i. (c) Point from the blackboard and
charts the letters i and k, first separately, and then combined
with any of the vowels.

English. — Learn the pronunciation and meaning of : tooth,
arm, hand, finger-nail, leg, foot, toe, roof, man, woman, wall,
I, we, see, and, saw, a, the.

Arithmetic. — {a) Count in EngUsh and Zulu up to 5 forward
and backward. (6) Addition and subtraction, e.g. 2+1 + 1— 3.
(c) Learn and write the x and = signs, and learn and do
with objects the following multiplications : i x 2=2, 2 X2=4,
1x3=3, 1x4=4. (^) Mental: Learn coins id. and 3d. and
reduction from one to the other.

Writing. — Continue as in preceding month, and practise
making e, o, a, u, v, w, and the figures i to 4.

2. Scheme of Work for Standard II. for the First Quarter

Zulu. — {a) Read chapters 1-6. (6) Dictation, (c) Describe
orally and in writing (i) land, (2) water, (3) sun, (4) the cardinal
points, {d) Special drill on (i) the use of the punctuation
marks learnt, and (2) the breaking up of words into syllables
in the dictation and composition work.

English. — {a) Read S.A. Reader IL, lessons 1-4, 7, 8, 9,
and II, and review. (6) Translate literally and accurately
lessons i, 3, 4, and 9, and review, (c) Learn to spell the
words in the spelling lessons and to break up words of two,
three, and four syllables, {d) Make sentences orally with
new words in the translation lessons, (e) Write sentences
with the words of the first term, second year, in the infant
syllabus. (/) Special drill on the use of the " full stop "
and " interrogation mark."

Geography. — (a) Definition of, and what geography teaches.
(6) The cardinal points.

Arithmetic. — [a) To count in English up to 999, forward
and backward. (6) Addition and subtraction with figures
up to 999, and with problems. Multiplication and division
up to 12 times 12. (c) Money value up to £1. in simple mental
problems, {d) Mentally to divide numbers into halves and
quarters, {e) Multiphcation tables up to 12 times 12. Easy
mental exercises on the four simple rules with numbers up
to 60.

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION I03

3. Time Allotments in Minutes per Week^
(i) Standard IV. Natal

Opening and closing exercises and roll call

125

Religious instruction ....

150

Correcting home work ....

100

English and Zulu grammar

150

Reading and spelling and translation .

125

Enghsh composition ....

100

Conversational EngUsh

History and geography

125

Drawing

Writing

Arithmetic .

275

Drill ....

Teaching sub-standard children .

Recesses

200

1650

(2) Second Term of Second Year {i.e. Highest Class of
Infants). Natal

Opening and closing exercises and roll call

125

Religious instruction ....

150

English reading ....

250

Conversational English

Zulu reading

Oral Zulu composition

100

Printing

Writing and figuring

175

Arithmetic, mental and blackboard

200

Drawing

100

Correction of written work .

100

Drill

Recesses

200

1650

^ Taken from suggested time-table issued by the Department.
How far these time-tables are followed in single-teacher schools is
uncertain, but the writer's experience is that they are exhibited to
satisfy the inspector and not for daily use.

I06 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

Section 5. — The Teaching

In the following chapter the work of the training institu-
tions for Native teachers is discussed. It will be found that
not more than 50 per cent, of the teachers in Native schools
have received any preparation for their work, and that the
training given to these is for the most part of a narrow and
formal nature, besides being deficient on the side of practice
teaching. Above all, the students have received no training
in the handling of the single-teacher school, the kind of school
they will in all probabiUty be required to conduct. Confronted
with the real problem, the teachers take refuge in formal book-
work, the kind of work which keeps the pupil busy and is easy
of correction.

This formalism is encouraged by the nature of the curriculum
and inspectors' examinations, and the absence of helpful super-
vision. If we add to this the inadequate equipment of the
schools, and the absence of suitable text-books, we shall not
be surprised to find that the ordinary work of the Native school
is dull and formal to a degree. Indeed, els the writer has
listened to the teaching in Native schools he has realised that
it is only the Native's ignorance and his blind and almost
pathetic belief in the power of the white man's education which
induces him to send his children to the average Native school.
Parents less ignorant, pupils less docile, and a public less luke-
warm on the subject would have remonstrated long ago against
the travesty of teaching which is taking place every hour of
the day in the Native day schools of South Africa.

Section 6.— The Supervision

The primary object of supervision is to increase the efficiency
of the teacher. The supervisor or inspector can best accom-
pUsh this by watching the teacher at work and then criticising
his lesson, by examining the children to see if the necessary
knowledge has been acquired or the necessary skill obtained,
and by taking part in teachers' meetings. To be effective, the
criticism of the supervisor should be constructive. It should
not only point out good and bad work, but explain why it is
good or bad, and where necessary indicate the way for improve-
ment. When it is necessary to examine a class in order to

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION I07

form a more correct estimate of the work of the teacher, the
examination should be based on the teacher's scheme of work,
and should discover if the points emphasised by the teacher
had been acquired by the pupils, even though these points did
not commend themselves to the supervisor. After the criticism
of the lesson, or after the examination, should come the discus-
sion with the teacher. This is the really helpful part of super-
vision, where the supervisor gets to know the teacher's aims,
difficulties, and troubles, and from his superior training and
greater experience is able to offer some helpful criticism and
suggestions. The discussion must not be omitted, for if the
visit was worth making it is worth discussion. If the super-
visor can subsequently hold a teachers' meeting to discuss some
broader issues, so much the better.

Supervision of this nature is practically unknown in the
Native schools of South Africa. There are no supervisors of
instruction in the schools, and even where there are inspectors
who are competent to perform this work satisfactorily and
sympathetically they have not the time. The short-handed-
ness of the inspectorates is the occasion of annual comment in
the superintendents' reports. In 1915 the average number of
schools per inspector was : —

In the Cape Province 131 (European, Coloured, and Native)

In Natal . . 100 (Native)

In the Transvaal . 66 (European, Coloured, and Native)

In Orange Free State 88 (European)

In Basutoland , . 142 (Native)

In the Cape and Transvaal Provinces the inspection of
Native and European schools is undertaken by the same
officials, and when any schools have to be left unvisited these
are almost always the Native schools. In the Cape the work
is far too heavy for the number of inspectors employed, so
that many of the schools do not receive adequate inspections.^
In 1914 there were 818 Mission and 971 Aborigines' Schools, of

^ In his 1912 Report, p. 4, the Superintendent-General says :
" Adopting the principle that there should be one inspector for every
100 schools, we see that with its present number of 4334 schools the
Cape Province should have 43 inspectors, whereas, even with the
three new men appointed this year, it has only 31." See also Report
for 191 1 and other years.

I08 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

which only 736 and 865 respectively are recorded as having
been inspected.

In the Trajisvaal no exact figures are reported, but from the
inspectors' reports it is clear that many of the Native schools
are not inspected.

In the Orange Free State there is no systematic inspection
of the Native schools, though the inspectors have the right to
visit them.

In Natal the inspection of Native schools is undertaken by
a special staff of three inspectors, who devote all their time to
Native work. Except for the danger of narrowing and deaden-
ing subjective influence on the men themselves, this is certainly
the most effective system.

In Basutoland there are only 95 European children attend-
ing inspected schools, so that the inspectors devote all their
time to Native work.

Section 7. — ^The Results

We have now to examine the results of a system of elemen-
tary education for Natives based wholly, or in part, on the
systems for European children, administered with much uni-
formity and inflexibility, and put into execution by partially
trained and inadequately supervised teachers. We shall
attempt to estimate in turn the results on pupils, teachers,
and the European and Native public.

A. The Elimination of Pupils. — ^From the table on p. 72 it
will be seen that more than 60 per cent, of the pupils in Native
schools are in the sub-standards, and that the elimination of
pupils from the lower classes is very great. The same results
will be found in the following age-standard and time-in-school-
standard figures. Of every 100 pupils in the Native schools of
Natal, 62 are in the Infant Classes, 13 in Standard I., 9 in Stan-
dard II., 6 in Standard III., 6 in Standard IV., 2 in Standard
v., and I in Standard VI. This state of affairs represents a con-
siderable improvement on the position of former years. ^ The
reasons for this rapid elimination are : (a) the economic pressure
which causes the parents to send the young boys to work in the
towns, where there is a steady demand for the cheap Native

* Cf . Report of the Superintendent of Education, Natal, 1910.

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION lOQ

" umfaan " ; ^ and {b) the unsuitability of the present system of
education. Many Native children, who at first come eagerly to
school, are disheartened by the meaningless tasks to which they
are set, and have no great difficulty in inducing their parents to
allow them to withdraw. As Mr E. A. Sargant pointed out in
animadverting on the unsuitability of the Basutoland curri-
culum, it is not surprising that the entry " Left school : tired "
should appear so often opposite the names of former pupils.*

B. The Retardation of Pupils. — The absence of an adequate
system of recording data regarding the progress of pupils in
Native schools makes it impossible to supply figures for all
the Native schools of South Africa, but age-standard,and time-
in-school-standard data were obtained from ten elementary
schools in Natal, eight in the Transkei, six in Basutoland, and
twelve in the Transvaal. The schools were selected at random,
and the figures may be regarded as typical of conditions in
Natal, the Transkeian territories, Basutoland, and the Trans-
vaal. The following explanations of the age-standard figures
are necessary for their proper interpretation : —

(a) The ages of the pupils in many cases cannot be ascer-
tained with certainty. The educated Nati\^ record
the date of birth of their children, but when an un-
educated Native is asked when his child was born,
he can only reply by reference to some contemporary
event, such as a season of drought or a great storm.
The school authorities are thus often compelled to
estimate the approximate ages of the pupils.
(6) In the present state of Native education it is impossible
to standardise the age of entry and the normal age for
each standard. Educated Natives generally send their
children to school between the ages of five and eight,
but the children of " raw " Natives are often kept at
home until the age of ten, eleven, or even later. The
entering age of seven to nine has been chosen as repre-
senting the mean, a conclusion which is supported by
the fact that it contains the largest group of entrants.

^ The preponderance of girls in Native schools is largely due to this
reason. Thus in 1915, out of 21,700 Native pupils in average attend-
ance in Natal, only 9144 were boys ; and of 17,083 in average attendance
in the elementary schools of Basutoland in 1914, only 5766 were boys.

* Report on Native Education in S. Africa, pt. iii. p. 63.

no THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

5? i»rt

"^ «

•♦

■♦

■*

»x

Total.

■♦

M
M

u,«

0\ w

■«

OV 1-1

o-S

CO N

■1 •*

V V

•*

> no

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p vp

ro
in

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vil

0 1

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Js-s

IX fn -4- <r> <0

M tf

£g

10 00

CO «

«x

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! 2:

»x

Over 30.

19-20.

18-19.

CO tx

17-18.

01 •♦

16-17.

■♦

•*

15-16.

>r,

. *

14-15-

M
CO

13-14.

VO
w

12-13-

11-12.

„

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10-11.

•x-

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9-10.

„

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7-8.

6-7.

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t^ 1 1

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION III

•ova
" I? ^

.a o> p

Sot)
•or} a
a la <t

o * «

Ill

B i

o ■ o
■S •'^
a SP

tfl «

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« .3 *J

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Total.

MMOOOOOVOlOv
CO M M M M

> 60

O "

osrsrs^ocair>r»

■■o

loop IO*»NM •*©

■♦■«t>.0>>Ow w 1-

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Over 2o.

M M

19-20.

« w 0

18-19.

11 0 K CO

17-18.

N 00 « 0

16-17.

►< CO m m o> ♦ 0

M CO

15-16.

*< v» >0 0> M 00 VO

W M « « M

14-15.

0 m m eo 0 H
M CO to

f»

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00 0 f^ M in

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«S M « 00

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11-12.

0 ON IS

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10-11.

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CO CO

9-10.

0 <o

8-9.

9t 00

7^.

6-y.

m «

CO C«

5-6.

M •

Sub-Std. A. .
Sub-Std. B. .
Standard I. .
Standard 11. .

c
c

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112 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

H
■-)

<!
H

Q
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ts)

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Total

« a

Over ao.

18-19

17-18

16-17,

15-16

14-15

13-M
13-13

9-10.
8-^.
7-8.

r^ lo ■♦ en ir> M

« ^ fn w fO

*N 00 O* Ov 00

^ en ^ H

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rv m M 10

6-7.

5-6.

VO •<• •♦ to

«> 13 -O "O

2 2 iS 3
O w tn c/5

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION II3

00 H

M M

M
00

S R

0 •*

Ot OS

v»

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ts in

0 >o

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« m

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0 m

m 0
w

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« N m ^ 00

J- "O t3 *d "d

•§ -i I I I I

114 "^^^ EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

^^^^^^^

m.m.m.'m'm.-m.^

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y/My///y:KAy/<Wy.yyMY/MWyyy///'/.

^^^^^^^

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^^^^^a

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THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION II5

These figures, then, cannot be regarded as absolutely accurate,
but they are sufficient to show the variabiUty in age of the
pupils in the several standards, and to support a plea for Uberty
to modify the course of instruction in the case of special pupib
or groups of pupils. Especially do they seem to indicate the
advisability of regrouping the pupils for such a subject as
industrial training. To require boys of fourteen and fifteen to
do the simple kindergarten manual occupations suitable for
infants of six and seven is obviously absurd. In this connec-
tion also the advisabiUty of admitting old pupils to the sub-
standards might well be questioned. While it seems harsh to
refuse to admit children of fourteen and sixteen to the sub-
standards, it is a moot point whether it is not in the interests of
those children themselves, as it is certainly in the interests of
the class as a whole, to require them to devote themselves
entirely to industrial work, or, in the case of the larger insti-
tutions, to form a special class for academic studies. Such
pupils cannot expect to remain at school for more than a
year or two, and the work offered them in the sub-standards
is unsuitable.

The time-in-school-standard figures, which, in the absence
of official records, are based on figures supphed by the teachers
on a form issued by the writer, are very significant. The fact
that 67 per cent, of the pupils in Natal schools, 41 per cent, in
the Transkei, 54 per cent, in Basutoland, and 67 per cent, in
the Transvaal have repeated one or more standards, testifies
to the unsuitability of the syllabus, the poorness of the teach-
ing, and the rigour of the examinations. The extent of the
repetition in the case of the Natal schools is shown in fig. 4
(p. 121). Out of every 100 pupils, 5 have spent one year less
than the normal time to reach their present standard ; 27 have
spent the normal amount of time; while 39, 17, and 11 have
been retarded one, two, and three or more years respectively.
The effect of such excessive retardation is that a very large
number of pupils leave school, while those who remain do not
receive the instruction adapted to their ability, but they
help to swell the numbers of over-age pupils.

Il6 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

S l|5

Total.

Over 18.

8-9.

7-8.

6-7.

5-6-

4-5-

3-4-
a-3.

•31

§1

^ 6 o w
v) xo tn 00

«N

tN ^ 00 m 00

o, vo >o o I .«■

■3

o _: r: 5 C

cj n n <Q

op oy tJ "O

(/} tn (/} (^ M (A c/)

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION II7

g g

*o n

i (

•s«

■<

H-^l

'OS*'

525

««"S

"O « ^

"11

•30«

•<

0
0

tY,

^gs-

111

Total.

■a

d
2

Over 12.

8-9.

7-8.

6-7.

5-6.

4-5.

2-3.

„

■♦

<r>

«2-

•0

*n o ^

10 OS vO

!3 ^

^ i ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
« ^ I I I I I

Il8 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION II9

a V
5I

•83

^ 2

•aS
"g
S| .

•gifl

ii.s

•9 si

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S S V

■5

Total.

1/1 CI M M ►>

0 \c 0 a» r^ *n

^ t^ 00 tX t^ tN

o'
Z

00 tN «x « Ov .*

N » 11 H

z "*~

0 P-i ui N CO 01

d
Z

00 to CO fs O 1-1

0 M iri o^ 0 «

0 « 0 « M fO

•*

Over 12.

11-12.

10-11.

9-10.

».«

8-9.

M W m M »S.

7-S.

M VO M 00 0

6-7.

>0 m M <♦ 10
M w CO M

<7>

5-6.

10 VO OV « 0

4-5.

^ « * 5

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to >o

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1-2.

»s « «

O-I.

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-1

Sub-Std. A. . .
Sub-Std. B. . .
Standard I. . .
Standard II. . .
Standard III. . .
Standard IV. . .

120 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

■

"a
a

-1^ r
IP-

?l 1|

e
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yyy^

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y///i

yyyA

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vyA

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THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 121

A C I

B D

U jn. IS H YL Total 2ya, lyr.

Fig. 4. — Showing the percentage of pupils accelerated and repeating
by years in 10 Native schools in Natal, chosen at random.

122 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

C. Promotion and Non-Promotion of Pupils. — Complete
statistics of the promotion and non-promotion of pupils in the
Native schools of South Africa are not available, but the writer
has succeeded in obtaining figures for a large number of schools
in the Province of Natal, which correspond almost exactly
with the general results in the Cape Province, and may be
taken as typical. For convenience the figures are arranged
in four groups : —

I. The promotion and non-promotion of 2054 pupils in the
standards of 77 Native day schools, where the pupils only
proceed to Standard IV., and where the teachers are almost
alwajTs Natives. The promotions are made on the inspector's
annual examination.

Standard.

Number
examined.

Number
promoted.

572
367
280
121

Number

non-
promoted.

296
140
142
136

Per cent.

non-
promoted.

II. .

III. .

IV. .

Total

868

507
422

257

34-0
27-6

33-6
52-9

2054

1340

714

34-7

2. The promotion and non-promotion of 422 pupils in Native
boarding schools, where the pupils are received in Standards
IV., v., and VI. only, and where the teachers are partly Native
and partly European. The promotions are made on the
inspector's annual examination.

Standard.

Number
examined.

Number
promoted.

128

Number

non-
promoted.

Per cent.

non-
promoted.

IV. .

V. .

VI. .

Total

116

198
108

70
26

30-1

35-3
24-0

422

291

131 i 310

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION I23

3. The promotion and non-promotion of 1263 pupils in the
infant classes of Native day schools where the teachers are
Natives. The promotions are made by the teachers themselves.

Class.

Number
examined.

Number
promoted.

Number

non-
promoted.

Per cent.

non-
promoted.

B
C
D

Total .

466
372
212
213

262
272
175
173

204
100

37
40

43-8
26-8
17-4
i8-8

1263

882

38X

30-1

4. The percentages of non-promotion in the European and
Native schools of the Cape and Natal, compared with that for
the White and Coloured schools of certain cities of the United
States and the PhiHppine Islands.

Place.

Year.

European
or White.

Native or
Coloured.

Owensboro, Ky.

1914

7.8

9-1

Houston, Texas

1913

9-2

143

Memphis, Tenn. .

1913

I2-2

l8-2

Columbia. S.C.

1914

lO-I

i8-6

Kansas City, Mo. .

1913

23-1

21'9

Richmond, Va.

1914

i8-5

26' 2

Baltimore, Md.

1913

21-7

287

Galveston, Texas .

1914

197

29.3

Natal

1914

32-8

Cape

1912

ri3-8M

li5-6t.

f287§
l34-o||

Philippine Islands .

1913

45-0

§ Mission schools.
II Aborigines' schools.

* First-class schools,
t Second-class schools,
j Third-class schools.

Note. — The percentage of non-promotion has been calculated on
the number presented for examination in the case of the Cape and
Natal, on the total enrolment in the case of Richmond and Baltimore,
and on the average attendance in the case of the other cities.

124 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

These figures show that the percentage of non-promotion
in the Native schools of South Africa is greater than it is in
the White and Negro schools of the United States,^ and also
that there is an entire lack of uniformity or graduation in the
percentage of non-promotions in the several standards.

With regard to the whole question, the evil effects of such
excessive non-promotion need to be pointed out : —

(a) Many pupils who fail of promotion are disheartened
thereby, and tend to leave school without completing
the course.

(6) Those who remain at school increase the " over-ageness "
of the pupils, and add to the number of pupils who, by
reason of phjreical or mental maturity, should be doing
another kind of work at, perhaps, another kind of school.

(c) Non-promotion increases the congestion in the lower
classes and standards, which now contain more than
75 per cent, of the pupils.

The lack of uniformity or graduation in the promotion of
pupils in the different standards of the Natal schools is signifi-
cant. In a properly articulated system the requirements of
any one standard should not be higher than the requirements
of any other standard, and the normal rate of promotion should
be about lOO per cent. There will always be some pupils who,
by reason of late entrance or irregular attendance, will fail to
complete the requirements of the course, but their failures
should be compensated by the number of pupils who deserve
and receive double promotion.

The excessive non-promotion of pupils in the Natal schools
and the inequality of its distribution are due to some or all
of the following causes : —

^ The only school system showing a greater percentage of non-
promotions which the writer has been able to discover is that of the
Philippine Islands, where the percentages of non-promotions (calculated
on the enrolment) for the last six years have been :

1907-8

• 54

1910-11

• 50

1908-9

• 55

1911-12

• 51

1909-10

. . 46

1912-13

• 45

These extraordinary figures are largely accounted for by the fact
that the sole medium of instruction is EngUsh — a foreign tongue to
the natives of the Islands.

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 125

1. An unsuitable and badly graduated course of study.

2. Teachers incapable of meeting the requirements of the
course of study and inspections.

3. The S3rstem of examination.

4. Over-size classes in the lower classes and standards.

5. " Over-age " and dull pupils.

6. Ignorance of English on the part of the pupils .^

It is important to note that absence and irregular attendance,
which are the chief causes of non-promotion in European
schools, 2 axe not responsible for the low rate of promotion in
the Native schools. The attendance at the Native schools in
Natal is very satisfactory, being 89 per cent, in 1914, as against
85 per cent in the European schools.

To secure the normal rate of promotion,' the following
conditions are necessary: —

(a) A course of study adapted to the needs of different groups
of pupils within the same school and often within the
same standard.

{b) The distribution of the pupils in accordance with their
stage of advancement in each subject.

by the length of time the children, as a matter of
fact, do remain at school, and not by a period
arbitrarily chosen.

(d) A new basis for promotion, viz. the abihty of the pupil

to do the work of the class or standard ahead, not an
arbitrary assumption of what amount of information the
pupil ought to be able to reproduce at examinations^

* In a recent investigation Dr Bachmann found that the inability
to use the English language was the main cause of non-promotion
in the New York schools. The difference in the percentage of pro-
motion in favour of pupils who were able to use the English language
over those who could not was I9'94. Ignorance of EngUsh was most
disastrous to promotion in Grades 6, 7, and 8. (Bachmann, New York
Committee on School Inquiry, part ii., subdivision i., section F, iii.,
p. 85.) » Ibid., p. 19.

^ The best opinion in the United States regards 8 per cent, as the
maximum rate of non-promotion. (Strayer, The Butte Survey, p. 28.)

* " If school officials, principals, and teachers can come to see
that the prime purpose of the elementary schools is to develop the
natural tastes and abiUties of children, to arouse their imagination.

126 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

To obtain these conditions in toto is at present impossible, but
the nearer we can approach to them the better.

D. Failures by Subjects. — The number of pupils faihng in
each subject sheds light on two important aspects of the course
of study : viz., the relative difficulty of the subjects, and their
importance in the eyes of the examiner. The following table
gives the failures in each subject of the Natal pupils referred to
above. A failure in one subject does not necessarily imply
a failure in the whole examination. The number of marks
required for a pass is 50 per cent, in reading and spelling, 40
in composition, 30 in arithmetic, 60 in writing, and 50 per cent,
of the aggregate.

Standards.

Subject.

II.

III.

IV.*

IV.f

198

VI.

Number of pupils

395

2.54

a")?

186

116

108

Number of failures

108

Reading

Spelling

162

109

1 3.')

Translation .

■ 19

Composition

X-SS

Grammar

Arithmetic .

136

Writing

* Day schools.

t Boarding schools.

In connection with these failures the following points deserve
special reference : —

(i.) The absence of uniformity or graduation in the failures,
e.g. in composition and handwriting.

to stimulate their emotions, and to give them power to solve problems
and to meet practical situations in life, the question of the right of
children to advancement will not be based upon mastery of facts of
a grade, but upon the abihty to do work which lies ahead. On such a
basis, teachers and principals would feel that they can advance a
much larger per cent, of children than they do at the present time."
(Ibid., p. 30.)

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION I27

(ii.) The very heavy mortality caused by EngUsh speUing and
arithmetic. It is possible that this is due to the ease
with which these subjects can be examined,
(iii.) The apparently sudden stiffening of the requirements
in handwriting. The percentage of failures in this
subject jumps from i per cent, in Standard II. to
44'6 per cent, in Standard IV,

From these results it is a fair inference that either the require-
ments are badly graded or the examinations are hastily or
capriciously made.

E. The Unsuitabiliiy of the Instruction. — If we agree that the
object of education is to enable the coming generation to adjust
themselves to the society in which they will live, we must admit
that the few pupils who survive the elementary curriculum in
Native schools are not adequately prepared for their future
lives. In South Africa the ruhng European has decided that
the spheres of work of the two races shall be widely different,
for the present at any rate. Even though it did not approve
of the principle involved, any system of instruction which
failed to take into account that patent fact, and which gave
the Natives a literary and bookish education, as the present
system does, when the work which the Natives will be required
to do will be, for the most part, industrial and agricultural,
would be doing the Native more harm than good.^

The education given at present cannot but have the effect
of causing the Native to despise manual labour and to incUne
to the clerical occupations, which the European has decided
shall be reserved for those of his own race. That the present
sjTstem of education has not been provocative of more race
enmity must be largely attributed to its ineffectiveness.

* Speaking of the education of the Basutos, Sir Godfrey Lagden,
late Governor of the Protectorate, expresses the following opinion,
which would be acceptable to many friends of the Natives : — " The
system for a long time to come should be to give public instruction
of such a character only as will fit them for the common needs of their
peasant life. The true perspective of evolution may be lost by mis-
guided attempts to raise them." {Basutoland, vol. xii. p. 648.)

CHAPTER VII

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION

The term " higher education " is difficult of definition, but
for our purpose it is taken to include Native high schools and
colleges, theological schools, and training schools for teachers :
in short, all education other than that given in the elementary
schools, except industrial education, which is treated in a
separate chapter.

Section I. — ^Native High Schools

In South Africa a pubUc high school is understood to be an
institution which receives pupils after they have passed the
elementary -school stage (or earlier in Natal), and prepares them
for the school examinations of the Cape University. The
influence of the Cape University upon the secondary school
system of South Africa has been enormous. To nine-tenths of
the people of South Africa a secondary-school education means
preparation for the junior certificate, matriculation, or senior
certificate examinations of the University, and the mere ability
to pass its pupils in the matriculation examination has become
the recognised standard of efficiency of a secondary school.*

While the rigorous examinations have no doubt served to

^ Even some of the Departments of Education seem^to hold this
narrow view. For example, every year in the reports of the Cape
Department, for the " attainments and progress of pupils " in secondary
schools the list of passes in the matriculation examination is pub-
lished, and the comparatively large number of passes in the Cape
Province is contrasted with the smaller number in the other provinces.
The igii Report proceeds: " It also deserves mention that while for
all candidates the proportion of passes is 587 per cent., that for the
candidates from the Cape high schools is 69" 5 ; and that out of
36 first-class passes 30 were credited to Cape State-aided schools."

128

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION

129

keep up a high standard of academic scholaiship in the
secondary schools of South Africa, they have prevented the
introduction of more useful subjects into the schools, have
cramped teaching by their narrow syllabuses and regulations,
and, above all, have forced upon the country a wrong and
harmful conception of secondary education. The chief of
these examinations, the matriculation, which is designed as
an entrance examination for the comparatively few students
who are able to take up a University course, has become the
leaving-certificate examination for the high schools, and as
such dominates and cramps the course of study of thousands
who will never be able to proceed to the University.^

It is probable that a secondary-school system based on the
examination requirements of the University is not altogether
satisfactory in the case of European pupils ; it is certain that
it is not what is needed for the Natives of South Africa.

While several Native institutions in South Africa prepare
their pupils on these lines, and occasionally succeed in pcissing
a few pupils through the examinations, there is only one separate
and recognised high school for Natives in South Africa : viz. the
College Department of Lovedale Institution, which is graded
as a first-class school by the Cape Education Department.

During the last six years the distribution of pupils has been
as follows : —

1910.

25
19
21

1911.

1912.

1913.

1914. 1915.

Form A (Standard VII.)
,. B
,. c
., D
„ E

3
19

24
12

-■}

27
20

82
9

8
12
24

The College prepares pupils for the matriculation and junior
and senior certificate examinations of the Cape University.

^ The Cape University Calendar for 1 914-15 contains the names
of over nine thousand students who have passed the matriculation
examination but who have not passed the intermediate examination
in Arts, the first examination of the University course proper.

130 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

The course comprises the usual matriculation subjects : English,
Latin, mathematics, a modern language (Dutch, Sesuto or
Sixosa), history, science, and, in addition, agriculture, handi-
craft, bookkeeping, and first aid.

In the somewhat narrow field of preparing pupils for the
Cape University examinations the College has not been very
successful.

The number of passes during the last ten years is as follows : —

Examination? .

1904.

1905.

1906.

1907.

1908.

1909. 1910.

1
._ i

23 3

1911.

1912.

1913.

Matriculation
Senior certifi-
cate .
Junior certifi-
cate .

I
8

4
4

If these meagre results be compared with the good enrol-
ment in the classes, it seems safe to say that the Native has
not yet demonstrated his fitness for academic work of this
nature.

The chief reason which is given by the authorities of Love-
dale for the non-success of Native pupils at the matriculation
is that the students entering the College are so deficient in
English that they cannot understand the matter of the text-
books. They admit the unsuitability of the examination
when they rightly point out that the standard of English
demanded from Native pupils at matriculation is higher than
the German and French demanded of European students at
the B.A. examination.

Section 2.— Theological Institutions

It is not possible to give any exact figures of the number of
theological institutions and their students, as no return of these
is made in Government pubhcations, but their number must
be considerable, since all the Protestant missionary societies
make use of Native evangelists and preachers, and hold it as
one of their chief functions to build up a Native ministry.

The Churches do not regard the Native ministry as a pro-
fession for which young Native students should be prepared.

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION I31

They prefer to train eainest -minded men who have shown
themselves by their Uves and abihties to be specially fitted
for this work.^ Many of the men who are recommended
for admission to the theological institutions are middle-aged ;
at some (for example, Tiger Kloof) only married men are
accepted. The education possessed by these men varies
considerably, and special aiTangements are generally made
at the institutions for their instruction in ordinary school
subjects. The subjects generally taught are Biblical instruc-
tion, Old and New Testament history, comparative religion,
the principal Christian doctrines. Church history, ethics and
exegesis of some books of the Bible. ^ Practice in preaching
and in the conduct of public worship are also given.

On the whole, the Churches have been fortunate in their
Native ministry. Although such men as Tiyo Soga are rare,
the average Native minister is a good, honest man, sincere in
his efforts to benefit his fellows, loyal to the Government, and
respected by Europeans and Natives alike.

Section 3. — ^Training Institutions and Students

The necessity for Native training institutions follows as
a corollary to the necessity for Native education. Schools for
Native ctuldren will and should be staffed by Native teachers,
and it is of course necessary that these teachers be trained.
In 1915 the percentage of uncertificated teachers in the Native
schools was 49*02 in the Mission and 66*34 ^^ the Aborigines'
Schools of the Cape Province ; ^ 34-3 in Natal ; and 53-5 in the
Transvaal.

The extension of Native education is everywhere hampered
by the lack of trained teachers. The reports of the super-

' Of the seven students at the Theological Department of Ix)vedale
Institution, four had been teachers for periods ranging from three to
twenty years, one had a few years of office training, one had just
completed the training-college course, and the seventh had served his
time as a carpenter after passing Standard VI. (Report, 1913.)

* To illustrate the nature of the instruction given, the examination
questions set in 191 5 in the diocese of Natal to Native candidates
for ordination are given in Appendix B.

' Many of the uncertificated teachers in the Cape Province have
passed the first- and second-year pupil teachers' examinations, and have
thus had some training for their duties.

132 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

intendents of the several Education Departments are constantly
referring to this need :

" Until a supply of Native teachers has been trained
at these institutions the grants made on behalf of the
schools themselves can bear no real fruit." {Report of
the Director of Education, Transvaal, 1910, p. 83.)

" In view of the large increase of new schools and the
many schools still waiting to be taken over by the Depart-
ment, the demand for certificated teachers is still in excess of
thesupply, and will be for several years to come." {Report
of the Superintendent of Education, Natal, 1912, p. 15.)

There are only 27 training institutions for Native teachers
in South Africa, with an enrolment of 2312 students to supply
the needs of over 3000 Native and Coloured schools.

The following is a list of the State-aided training institutions
for Natives, together with their enrolments. ^ There are no train-
ing institutions for Native teachers in the Orange Free State.

Cape.

Bensonvale (Wesleyan) . 104
Blythswood (United Free

Church of Scotland) 108

Buntingville (Wesleyan . 61

Clarkebury (Wesleyan) . 66
EmgwaU (United Free

Church of Scotland) . 57
Engcobo, All Saints (Church

of England) . . 76

Genadendal (Moravian) . 18

Healdtown (Wesleyan) . 164
Lovedale (United Free

Church of Scotland) . 188

Mvenyane (Moravian) . 90
St Matthew's (Church of

England) . . . 151

Shawbury (Wesleyan) . 102

Umtata (Church of England) 43

Natal.
Adams (American Zulu

Mission) • • • 73
* Including a number of

Modderspruit (Church of
England) ... 67

Kwa Magwaza (Church
of England) 25

Umpumulo (Scandinavian) 45

Edendale (Wesleyan) 66

Mariannhill (Roman

Catholic) . 14

Transvaal.

Kilnerton (Wesleyan) . 100
Bothsabelo (Lutheran) . 66
Lemana (Swiss Presby-
terian) . .48
Pietersburg (Church of
England) . . . 141

Basutoland.
Morij a (Paris Evangelical) 158
Thaba Morena (Paris Evan-
gelical) .50*
Masite (Church of England) 21*
Roma (Roman Catholic) 296*
industrial-school pupils.

1 The figures are for 1914 for the Cape, 1917 for Natal. 1916 for the
Transvaal, and 1914 for Basutoland.

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION

133

Not only is the supply of students in training institutions
not adequate to meet the demands of the schools, but it should
be borne in mind that many of these students do not intend
to take up teaching as a permanent calling in life.^ In many
parts of the country the only possible way by which an
ambitious Native student can secure higher education is by
enrolling himself at a training institution. Many of the girl
students marry and give up teaching. Higher wages offered
in stores, on the mines, and in offices attract many of the
male students.

In the Transkeian territories the salaries in the Government
and Council-aided Native schools are £42 for certificated and
£35 for uncertificated head teachers, and £^4 and £30 for assist-
ants, with £1, 4s. a year good-service allowance to the former.

The salaries paid in the Native day schools of Natal are
as follows : —

Highest.

Lowest.

Average.

Head teacher (male) .
Head teacher (female)
Assistant

;^90
£5^
£36

£40

£m

£1^

^56
£3^
£M

In the Cape Province the Government grant to a fully
certificated teacher is £30 per annum, and to an assistant
£1$ per annum on an average. These average grants are
raised to £45 per annum and £22, los. by school fees and other
local contributions, but these latter sums are very difficult
to collect. 2

The inadequacy of these salaries becomes apparent when
it is realised that the lowest wage paid to Native labourers on
the Witwatersrand gold mines is from 50s. to 60s. per month
in addition to rations and lodging ; while Natives taking up

' Report of the Superintendent of Education, Natal, 1914.

* See the evidence of Messrs SihlaU and Rubusana before the Cape
Native Education Commission, 1907, Report, sections 704, 1375 et
passim.

134 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

domestic, commercial, or general service in Johannesburg or
working on the diamond mines at Kimberley receive con-
siderably more.i For these occupations, which call for no
school preparation, the supply of labour is not equal to the
demand. For the literate Native the openings are fewer, but
as assistant storekeeper, time-checker, lawyer's tout or inter-
preter, he will receive a much higher salary than he would as
an assistant teacher or principal of any but the largest schools,
and this without the long period of preparation at a training
institution.

Not only is the output of the training institutions inadequate
to supply the needs of the country, but the methods of training
leave much to be desired. As we have seen, only a very small
percentage of the students remain to complete the two- or
three-years course, so that the typical teacher in the Native
schools is the girl of nineteen or twenty years of age, who has
had one year of training after completing Standard VI,
(Standard IV. in the Transvaal) of the elementary school
syllabus.

Section 4,— Methods of Training Teachers

The methods of training teachers differ in the several
provinces. The length of the period of training, the require-
ments for admission, the nature of the certificates, the current
enrolment figures, and the nature of the financial assistance
may be thus summarised : —

Cape Province. — A three-years course of training at an
approved training institution is the requirement aimed at,
but for the present acting teachers and students from other
institutions are admitted to the examinations. The admission
standard for the first -year course of training is Standard VI.
Candidates who have passed Standard VII. are admitted to the
second-year course, and those who have matriculated to the

* Report of the South African Economic Commission, 1914, section 51.
In commenting on the inadequate salaries paid to teachers in the
Transkei, the Chief Magistrate says : " Native constables of the lowest
grade draw £j\d> and uniform, and many unskilled labourers on the
roads and tanks li6. Teachers need more intelligence . . . than men
in the class mentioned ; their present salaries are grossly dispro-
portionate to the importance ... of their work." {Report, 1912, p. 24.)

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION

135

third-year course. The minimum age for admission to the
first -year course is fifteen. An examination called the pupil
teachers' examination is held annually by the Government
inspectors, and first- and second-year pupil teacher certifi-
cates are issued to successful candidates. Candidates who
successfully complete the three years' training receive third-
class teachers' certificates.

Comparatively few students complete the course of training,
as the following distribution table shows : —

Years.

Pupil

teachers.

First year.

Pupil

teachers.

Second

year.

Pupil

teachers.
Third year.

Percentage of
third-year students
of total enrol-
ment.

16-9
i8-7
i6-5
I7-I

21-7

1910 .

1911 .

1912 .

1913 •

1914 .

550
619

598

555
601

257
293
291
360
360

165
210
176
189
367

Financial assistance is received from the Government in
the form of («) grants in aid of teachers' salaries, (&) main-
tenance grants for students.

Natal. — One- and two-year courses of training for the third-
and second-grade teachers' certificate examinations respec-
tively are offered at the six Native resident training institu-
tions.^ No " private study " or other outside candidates are
admitted to the examinations. Students must be fifteen years
of age or over, and must have passed Standard VI., to'enter the
training institution. The teachers " must be Europeans who
hold certificates for specialised professional training, and there
must be attached to or within easy reach of every training
institution one or more schools in which the student-teacher
will do practical work under the supervision of trained
instructors." *

> A third year in preparation for the first-grade teachers' certi-
ficate may be taken " if desired," but up to the present only three
candidates have availed themselves of this course.

- Section 4 of the Regulations.

136 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

The enrolment and distribution of the students during the
past four years have been as follows : —

V^-n-

ist Year

and Year

3rd Year

T,-.4-'.l

XCcU,

Students.

1 oiai.

I9I4

146

182

I9I5

127

182

I9I6

III

177

I9I7

203

284

Economic pressure and the want of sufficient inducement
to take the second and third years' work are the chief causes
of the elimination. Financial assistance is given through
{a) grants in aid of teachers' salaries, (b) a grant on the
average daily attendance, and (c) a bonus for each successful
student.

Transvaal. — There are four Government -aided training
institutions offering a three-years course in preparation for the
Native teachers' certificates. To gain admission a student
must now be fifteen years of age, must produce a certificate of
character, and must have completed the seventh-year course
of the Native school code. Candidates are examined at the
end of each year by Government inspectors, and certificates
are issued. The certificates issued are of a provisional char-
acter, full certificates being only awarded to teachers holding a
provisional certificate on the completion of three years' satis-
factory service. Success in the industrial subjects of the
course is essential for certification.

The enrolment was 257 in December 1915, and at the
examination for certificates held in June 1915 the numbers
of the successful candidates in the first, second, and third
years' examinations were respectively 79, 69, and 52.

Financial assistance may be given in the form of (a) a special
grant for land and equipment ; (&) grants in aid of salaries of
the officer in charge of the boarding establishment, principals,
instructors, and industrial instructors ; and (c) bursaries to
students.

Orange Free State. — The Orange Free State has no training
institutions for teachers. Students desiring to undergo a
course of training do so in Basutoland or in one of the other
provinces.

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION I37

Basutoland. — In Basutoland the system of training teachers
is the same as in the Cape, and the Cape pupil teachers'
examinations are taken. Most of the training of teachers is
done at the training institution of the Paris Evangelical
Mission Society at Morija, where in May 1914 there were
67 students taking the first-, 22 the second-, and 9 the third-
year course.

Section 5.— The Courses of Study in Training Institutions

The courses of study are prescribed by the several Depart-
ments of Education, and form the bases of the examinations
for teachers' certificates. Much of the criticism of the courses
of study in elementary schools appUes here also. In the Cape
Province and Basutoland the courses of study are the same
for the Native training institutions as for the European
Normal Colleges.^ In Natal the courses of study are based
too closely on European lines.

For the most part, the courses have been drawn up by
Government officials who have had little or no experience in
Native work. Sometimes the missionaries have been con-
sulted, but no official recognition has been given to the views
of the teachers in the training institutions — ^the men and women
who have to put the courses of study into action, and be
judged on the results of the examinations. The teachers in
these institutions are for the most part highly trained men and
women, and the failure on the part of the Education Depart-
ments to capitaUse their experience is one of the strongest
criticisms against the present systems.^

The subjects of examination, with the maximum marks
allotted to each, are as follows : —

* The only distinction between the course for Coloured pupil
teachers {the Junior Course) and that for European pupil teachers
(the Senior Course) is that the First- Year Junior Course is the same
as the Entrance Course for the Senior, the Second- Year Junior the
same as the First- Year Senior, and so on.

•^ The Transvaal Education Department recently invited repre-
sentatives from the missionary societies to discuss a proposed new
syllabus for Native schools. This is not quite what is desired. OflRcial
action is needed whereby the experience of the teachers in training
institutions may be put at the service of the Department.

138 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

TABLE No. 13
Subjects of Examination

School management

Practical teaching

Nature study .

Blackboard work

Writing (not on black
board) .

Manual training

Physical exercises

Reading .

Recitation

Spelling .

Composition

Grammar and lan-
guage .

Translation

Arithmetic, written
and mental .

Algebra

Geometry

Vernacular

Geography

History .

Vocal music

Cape and
Basutoland.

Natal.

First

Second

Third

First

Second

year.

150

100

yes

100

40
75

25
80

25
60

50
60

200
50

150

130
50
50

100

1 00

100

Transvaal.

First, second,

and third

years.

yes

yes
yes
yes
yes

yes
yes

yes

no
yes
yes
yes

yes

yes
yes
yes
yes

yes
yes

yes

yes
yes

yes

yes
yes
yes
yes

yes
yes

yes

no no

yes yes

* Taught as a class subject, not examined.

In connection with the above the following points should be
noticed : —

I. The absence of instruction in science or nature study in
the Transvaal and Natal. Even in the Cape the subject does
not receive the recognition of being specifically examined.^

^ " The inspection of nature-study work will for the present be
informal, but the papers on school management will include papers
upon it." {Regulations regarding the Training and Examination of
Teachers, 19 14, p. 17.)

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION I39

(For reasons for the special value of nature study and science
in Native schools, see p. 280 of this volume.)

2. The low marks given for manual training, which in the
Cape receives considerably fewer marks than blackboard work
or geometry, and in Natal fewer than history or algebra and
geometry,

3. The neglect of the vernacular in the Transvaal and Natal.
It is curious to find the Cape insisting on a study of the ver-
nacular in the training schools, when it does not insist upon
it in the elementary schools ; while Natal, which emphasises the
vernacular in the elementary schools, is content with a short
translation paper in the teachers' examinations.

4. The inclusion of algebra and geometry in the already over-
burdened curriculum in Natal. The formal nature of the work
in these subjects can be seen from the examination paper on
p. 328.

Section 6.— The Subjects of Instruction

The course of study is too heavy for one year's work. The
list might well be reduced by the omission of such subjects
as writing, translation, algebra, and geometry. Even then,
there are too many academic subjects to allow sufficient time
to be given to the professional side of the work. It is suggested
that the examination be divided into two parts, an academic
and a professional, and that these parts be taken separately
if desired.^

The narrowing and restrictive nature of the syllabus is as
noticeable in the case of training institutions, with their trained
and certificated European principals and teachers, as it is with
the elementary schools taught by the untrained Native teacher.
The intention is, of course, to enable the teacher to know the
range of the examiner's questions, so that this may be com-
passed during the course of the year's work ; but, as a matter
of fact, the incentives to pass students are so strong ^ that the
teaching often degenerates into the cramming to which the
system lends itself. The following examples will show the
restrictive nature of the work in the subjects of (A) School
Management and Class Teaching (Cape, Natal, Transvaal),
and (B) Manual Training (Natal).

* See p. 290 for an elaboration of this idea.

* Through the desire for bonuses, rivahy with other institutions, etc.

140 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

A. School Management and Class Teaching.
Cape and Basutoland. (Syllabus for Second-Year Junior.)

An observation lesson to a junior class on some plant in-
cluded in the nature-study course for the year (see below), or
on some animal, or some common object related to plant or
animal life (one of four original lessons, outUne notes of which
must be submitted to the inspector) ; a lesson in reading,
oral composition, writing, or arithmetic.

Natal. (Syllabus for Third-Grade Certificate.)

(«) Theory. — The methods of teaching the subjects of the
Native School Infant -Class Syllabus. Notes of lessons on, and
schemes of work for, the subjects. Elements of school hygiene
and of school management, including registers, returns, and the
monthly examinations of the infant classes.

(b) Practical. — i. The production of at least five specimens
of notes of lessons given before the method teacher on the
work of the four infant classes, and showing the teacher's
criticisms on them.

2. The giving of a lesson before the inspector on any subject
from the Infant Class Syllabus, including spelling and (for girls
only) needlework. The list specifying the notes of lessons to
be prepared for this test will be issued a fortnight before the
examination.

3. The drawing up of time-tables for the work of the four
infant classes. The test of the drawing-up of time-tables
will be given at the time of the examinations in practical
teaching.

4. The teaching of physical exercises suitable for the infant
classes. Each training school may draw up its own scheme
and submit it for the inspector's approval. The Board of
Education " Syllabus of Physical Exercises " may be found
useful,

Transvaal. (Syllabus for Third Year.)

In view of the fact that the work in language, arithmetic,
and geography will be mainly of the nature of revision during
this year, more attention to the professional work will be
required.

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION I4I

(a) Blackboard Work. — To write words in text and medium
size, and a short continuous passage in small hand ; to work
out a specimen sum as a model for Standard III,

Use of the blackboard for the purpose of illustrating
lessons.

(b) The attendance of each student at the demonstration
school must extend over twelve weeks. The student should
gain experience of and should be able to pass a test in the
teaching of any of the subjects specified in the Native School
Code. He should be able to discuss orally methods of disciphne
and the main principles to be observed in organising school
work, and in the ventilation and lighting of school build-
ings. He should be able also to draw up a plan of a lesson, to
construct a time-table, and keep all the records required in a
Native school. A short paper on the theory indicated above
will be set.

Practical. — To show practical knowledge of the method of
teaching any of the subjects specified in the Code for Native
schools.

Written Work. — Registers, simple notes of lessons, time-
tables, methods of discipline, construction of schools, including
ventilation and hghting.

B. Manual Training for Natal Third-Grade
Teachers' Certificate

Boy Students

(a) An elementary theoretical knowledge of the planting and
cultivation of mealies, beans, potatoes, and cabbage, and the
raising of the seed of these products.

(b) I. To cultivate throughout the year a piece of ground
not less than 6 yards by lo yards in size, with plants of each
item detailed above under (a). Of this piece, a plot lo feet by
20 feet is to be cultivated on the system given in the Gardening
Syllabus for Native Day Schools. At one end of his garden each
student is to have a pit or an enclosure above ground made of
sticks, 2 feet by 2 feet by 4 feet in size, for the accumulation
of the rubbish collected during the February term. Adjoining
this pit or enclosure, room should be left for a second pit or
enclosure, to be made and filled in during the August term.

142 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

(This system will enable the student to make use of the manure
collected in the first pit towards the end of the yeai.)

2. To raise from seed two trees, and to take care of two other
trees, one of which requires to be a fruit tree, already planted.

Girl Students

(a) The theoretical knowledge required for the needlework
prescribed below under (b), and for teaching the sewing to
classes below Standard III,

{b) The needlework prescribed for the classes below Standard
III., and the preparation of a copy of the Teacher's Handbook
up to p. 70.

(c) The cultivation of a piece of ground 10 feet by 20 feet
in size, on the system suggested in the Gardening Syllabus for
Native Day Schools. One-third of the plot is to be planted with
flowers.

Section 7.— The Methods of Instruction

Although the staffs of the training institutions are, for the
most part, thoroughly competent men and women, the systems
of inspection and examination in use compel them to teach
with the final examination in view, rather than to aim at turn-
ing out students well grounded in the essentials of teaching
and capable of growth.

The argument put forward for a very definite syllabus, and
for individual examination in Native schools, is that the
Native teachers are neither competent nor sufficiently self-
reliant to teach without definite instructions, or to make their
own promotions. To this it may be replied that the teachers
in their course of training are not taught to be self-reliant or
to use their judgment.

The teachers in the training institutions are not encouraged
to inculcate these virtues in their students. Success in the
Native teachers' examinations is generally in inverse ratio to
the breadth of the instruction. A serious defect in the system
of training is the lack of sufficient practising schools. The
scattered nature of the Native population makes it impossible
to establish a training institution in any place where a suffi-
cient number of classes can be formed to give the students

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION I43

adequate practice. Under these circumstances the practice of
the Transvaal authorities in deferring the issue of the final
certificate until after the student has demonstrated his ability
in actual practice is to be commended. The urgent need for
an adequate corps of supervisors to supplement the meagre
training in practical teaching will be realised.

A further criticism applies in particular to the training in-
stitutions in Natal. Because more than 60 per cent, of the
Native children at school are in the infant classes, and because
75 per cent, of the students in training only remain for the
first -year course at the training institutions, the attempt has
been made to restrict the theory and practice of teaching of
the first year to the methods of teaching infants.^

The teaching of infants is admittedly more difficult than that
of childien in the standards, and the special methods of infant
teaching need to be based on the general principles of all
teaching, which should therefore form the curriculum for the
first year's study of the theory and practice of education.
Again, as practised in the training institutions, and as required
in the examinations, the work degenerates into a series of
unorganised " hints " and " pattern lessons " which the
students copy down and learn by heart, without having any
knowledge of the fundamental principles of method on which
they must be based if they are to be worth anything. The
" hints " and " model lessons " are useful for examination
purposes,^ but generally break down in actual practice, and

* The extent to which this is carried can be seen by a reference to
the Syllabus in School Method for the Third-Grade Teachers' Certificate
set out on p. 140 of this volume. Cf. also examination paper on p. 327.

' Since the teachers in the training institutions are judged and
partly paid by their success in passing pupils in the Government
teachers' examinations, they naturally make a study of past examina-
tion papers and teach their students how to answer such questions as
the following (taken from recent School Method papers) : —

1. (a) Explain how you will teach " ba, be, bi, bo, bu" to children

who have just mastered Zulu Chart No. i. {b) According
to the syllabus, what " reading " is to be taught to the pupils
in the first term, second year ? (Third Grade, igii.)

2. (a) Are " fractions " to be taught to the classes below Standard

I. ? If so, state how, and give a few illustrations. (6) Name
the arithmetic work you plan to teach Standard I., and then
set three different problems to test Standard I. at the end
of the year. {Ibid.)

144 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

then the young teacher has no knowledge of principles on
which to construct a scheme which will work in his school.

Section 8.— The Examinations for Teachers' Certificates

The examinations for teachers' certificates consist of two
parts : the oral or practical, and the written or theoretical.
For the oral exajninations, the inspectors visit the institutions
and examine the candidates in actual class-teaching, black-
board work, reading, recitation, etc. How far, if at all, the
examiner consults the master of method regarding the work
and ability of candidates, before passing judgment, depends
on himself. There is no official recognition of the master of
method, except in so far as the Natal syllabus calls for his
comments on the lessons given by the candidate during his
course of training. Any reformed scheme of examination must
require the active co-operation of the master of method, who
must know the candidate much better than the inspector, and
who, if he cannot be trusted to give an unbiassed judgment,
should not be allowed to train teachers.

The question papers set for the written examinations are, as
a rule, far from satisfactory. In the Cape and Basutoland
the same questions which are prepared for European students,
with their infinitely better instruction and training, are given
to the Native candidates. In the Transvaal, formahsm is
rampant. Long (and to the Native) meaningless sums in

3. (a) Explain how you would teach " ba " on Chart No. 2. (6)

Make a scheme of the reading work to be taught during the
whole term to the pupils in the second term, first-year class.
(Third Grade, 1912.)

4. Detail the " arithmetic work " as you plan to teach it during

the first five months of the year to (i.) first Term, second-year
class, and (ii.) Standard I. (Ibid.)

5. Set one " writing " copy for each of the four infant classes,

and then mention (i.) the important points to be attended

to by a teacher in giving writing lessons, and (ii.) the distances

required between the Unes on the slates. (Ibid.)

In preparation for such questions as these the students learn by

heart the syllabus, " Scheme of Work," and " Suggested Time-tables"

issued by the Department, and answers prepared by the teachers.

One able teacher admitted to the writer the wrongness and futiUty

of these practices, but added, " We must pass our students if we want

to hold our positions."

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION I45

arithmetic ; definitions, parsing, and " formation of plurals and
feminines " in English grammar ; definitions and " countries
and capitals" in geography, abound. In Natal the papers
are equally formal and more restrictive. Specimen examina-
tion papers are reproduced in Appendix C to justify these
criticisms.

Apart from the inadequacy of such questions as tests for
teachers who are going out to teach in Native schools in South
Africa in the twentieth century, their restrictive effect on the
teaching in the training institutions is harmful. The teachers
in these institutions know that their work will be judged by
their abihty to pass students through such examiinations.
They would be more than human if they did not shape their
teaching to the examination ends.^

* Even if they attempted to depart from this narrow procedure,
their students would probably not follow them. The principal of a
training institution informed the writer that when he attempted to
add a useful subject to the curriculum his students objected. They
admitted its usefulness in their Uves, but refused to accept it, " because
it would not be examined by the inspector."

CHAPTER VIII

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING

On the necessity of industrial training for the Natives of
South Africa there is remarkable unanimity. Government
commissions and officials, missionaries, students of the Native
Question, and the general public all agree that industrial
training should be made a chief end of Native education.

In the Ordinance (No. 2 of 1856) authorising the establish-
ment of schools for the Natives of Natal it is expressly stated
that " in every school to be established or supported by public
funds, . . . religious education, industrial training, and in-
struction in the English language shall form a necessary part
of the system to be pursued therein."

The South African Native Affairs Commission of 1903-5
recommends " that special encouragement by way of grants-
in-aid be given to such schools and institutions as give efficient
industrial training." ^ The 1908 Select Committee on Native
Education of the Cape of Good Hope says : " The extreme
importance of manual training for all Native pupils has
been repeatedly insisted upon. . . . The manual training of
Native boys is thus altogether lacking in many cases, and the
undesirability of this cannot be too strongly emphasised." ^
The able and exhaustive report of the Cape Education Com-
mission of 1912 says : " No less important is it that manual
work should bulk large in the education of the Coloured
people. It is necessary to all. It is particularly necessary
to the Coloured people, whose minds cannot be really awakened
except through intelligent industry. . . . There is general
consent on this subject. . . . There need be no difficulty

1 Report, section 342 {b). The Natal Native Affairs Commission of
1906-7 also advocates industrial education.
^ Report, section 12 et passim.

146

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING I47

in carrying this out if it is laid down that every school must
devise some scheme of manual instruction which will commend
itself to the inspector." ^

The Superintendents of Education of the several provinces
have cdl emphasised the importance of industrial training,
either in their reports or in the curriculum of their schools.^
The late Superintendent of Education for Natal, Mr P. A.
Barnett, in regretting that the industrial jealousy of the
Europeans militated against the spread of this very necessary
form of education, writes : " The Native schools are driven
back for curriculum very largely on that kind of teaching which
is given cheaply ; and whereas it is of the most vital import-
ance to South African civilisation that the Natives should
be encouraged and taught to use their hands, we are constrained
to make our teaching bookish just in order to find the necessary
means for evoking their inteUigence." ^

Mr. E. B. Sargant, when acting as Education Adviser to
the High Commissioner for South Africa, strongly advocated
manual training for Natives, and particularly the introduction
of Native crafts into the curricula of all Native schools.*

The more experienced and thoughtful missionaries have
consistently advocated and, as far as their means allowed
them, practised industrial education. Their point of view is
admirably expressed by the Rev. James Henderson, Principal
of Lovedale Institution : " I should like to make it quite clear
that I consider industrial training should be compulsory in
all the Native schools, that a portion of the day should be set
apart in the institutions for industrial training, and that
that time should be uniform for all institutions. I consider
also that a serious effort should be made to devise means
whereby industrial training could be given in ordinary village
schools." ^ The Rev. W. C. Willoughby of Tiger Kloof Native
Institution is even more emphatic : " It would possibly be an
expensive thing, but I should like to see an arrangement

' Report, section 56 (c).

* E.g. see Report of Superintendent of Education, Natal, 1913 and
1914, and Report of Director of Education, Transvaal, 1912, p. 93.

' Report of Superintendent of Education, Natal, 1904, p. 9.

* Report on Native Education in South Africa, part iii. pp. 25-32.

* Report of the Cape Select Committee on Native Education, 1908,
section 2353.

148 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

whereby every individual student in Standard II., or above,
should take one hour of some sort of manual labour for every
hour's bookwork. I think he would do very nearly as much
bookwork, and he would use his brain in a way he is not hkely
to do in the mere study of books." ^

In addition to this advocacy of industrial education by
public commission and professional educators, we find strong
pleas for this type of education made by earnest non-pro-
fessional students of the Native Question, such as Mr Maurice
Evans, who founds his argument on economic and sociological
bases,^ and Mr Dudley Kidd, who beheves that manual and
industrial training would be beneficial to the mental develop-
ment of the Native : " The training should be largely industrial.
While book education seems in too many cases to close the
mind, or to open it in a distorted fashion, industricJ work has
an excellent effect. ... It is striking to notice how contact
with physical things opens the mind. The Kafirs who work
in iron (I refer to the tribal blacksmiths) are by far the most
intelligent of the Natives. . . . The Kafirs who are educated
chiefly by books do not seem to lose their crudity in the way
Natives do when they are taught by industrial methods." ^

Evidence of the support of industrial training by the ordinary
citizen is seen in the approval of the methods of the Trappists,
who specialise in industrial education, in letters and opinions
expressed in the South African press, and in the evidence
given before various commissions.

The attitude of the Natives themselves on the question of
industrial training is undergoing a change. In the past there
has been a disposition to regard book learning and education
as synonymous ; and although this view still obtains, it is being
modified considerably in the case of the better-educated
Natives. This conception of education can be easily explained.
To the Native in South Africa falls the heavy work of the
community, the digging and carrying, the pushing and hfting,
while the white ganger merely superintends and directs. It
is but natural that the Native should envy the lot of the

1 Report of the Cape Select Committee on Native Education, 1908,
section 1183.

* Black and White in South-East Africa, pp. 120, 121, 151 et passim.
^ I^dd, Kafir Socialism, p. 187.

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING I49

(seemingly) idle white man. This envy, coupled with the
fact that in his natural state the male Native does httle or no
manual work, and the bookish education of the schools, have
tended to make the " school " Native despise manual occupa-
tions, and to hope that through the white man's education
he may escape the burden of manual labour. ^ The view that
manual work is not "gentlemanly" is of course universal
with the ignorant and semi-educated of all races, and it is not
to be wondered at that it is particularly potent with the South
African Native. Booker Washington found the same spirit
among the Negroes of the United States, and his classic ex-
ample of the Negro young man studying French amid squalid
surroundings must be familiar to my readers.^

It is encouraging to find, however, that this view is losing
ground. The Native is beginning to reahse that the openings
for employment for merely book-learned Native men and
women are few. The tendency to close all clerical occupa-
tions to Natives makes teaching almost the only non-manual
vocation open to them. That profession, however, is poorly
remunerated, and the more thoughtful Natives are beginning
to reahse that it will be necessary for them to earn their bread
by " working with the hands." In some parts the improved
nature of the homesteads required by educated Natives is
encouraging young men to take up industrial work.

The writer recently interrogated an intelligent class of
Standard VII. pupils as to their future vocations. Of the
fourteen boys, seven expected to become farmers, three intended
to take up teaching, while the law, carpentry, storekeeping,
and clerical employment were the chosen vocations of the
remaining four. Of the six girls, three hoped to become
dressmakers, two nurses, and one a teacher. While too much
reliance cannot be placed upon school pupils' choice of voca-

1 " The demand for more time to be given to elementary industrial
work is not at all popular with the parents, who say that if work is
what the children are to do, they will find it for them at home."
{Report of the Inspector of Native Education, Natal, 1892.)

* " One of the saddest things I ever saw was a young man, who had
attended some high school, sitting down in a one-room cabin with
grease on his clothing, filth all around him, and weeds in the yard and
garden, engaged in studying a French grammar." (Up from Slavery,
P- 154)

150 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

tions, it is interesting, in view of the widespread opinion that
the educated Native will not return to the land, to note the
large percentage of boys who hoped to become farmers. This
opinion, like so many current theories regarding the Native,
does not take into account his common sense.

Attracted at first towards clerical employment, the educated
Native is beginning to see that this work is to be largely a
preserve for the white youth, and that he must take up some
manual occupation if he wishes to make a good living. At
present such forms of manual labour as carpentry, blactemith-
ing, and bootmaking are the most popular ; but when the
Natives realise, as they soon must, that these calhngs can
only take a limited few, they will turn to farming, which is the
field that offers the greatest scope for them, and which is the
hereditary occupation of their race.^

They will only be willing to prepare themselves for farming,
however, when they see that the nature of the country in which
they live and the conditions of land tenure will enable them
to make this a profitable occupation. The impossibiUty of
getting Natives to take up agricultural work in a district
which is not suited for that kind of farming is well brought
out by the Rev. W. C. Willoughby, who pointed out that it
would be an expensive matter to make spade-work the manual
training of the pupils in arid Bechuanaland, because it would
be necessary to employ policemen to bring the pupils to
school ! 2

We proceed now to show the extent of the manual training
provided both in separate institutions and in the ordinary

1 " The Bantu have not yet as a people fully awakened to their
need of industrial training, and for a long time the bright candidates
passed by the doors of the workshops in search of positions as teachers
and interpreters, and in employment with Europeans. But the vital
importance of their keeping hold of their land and developing it is
at last being brought home to them, and the higher type of candi-
date now offering for the workshops, and the numbers, far beyond
our accommodation, seeking admission to them, and their readiness
to pay for the benefit, point to a change of attitude for the better,
which should be thankfully noted." (Rev. J. Henderson, Principal
of Lovedale Institution, in International Review of Missions, vol. iii.

(1914). P- 342.)

- Report of the Cape Select Committee on Native Education, 1908,
section 1186.

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING I51

schools, and to consider the reason why this provision is
inadequate.

Section i. — The Provision for Industrial Training in
Special Schools

To meet the generally admitted need for the industrial
training of Natives there exist in South Africa to-day some
40 State-aided industrial schools and departments, with an
enrolment of approximately 1800 students. In addition to
this there are several unaided institutions conducted rather as
commercial undertakings than as training institutions.

The number of individual Native pupils and the number
taking each industry in the Cape Province in 1914 was as
follows : — ^

Boyi

Girls

Number of institutions

and departmen

ts . 12

and departments

Number of pupils

. 606

Number of pupils

394

Blacksmiths

Cookery

286

Bookbinders

Dressmaking

Carpenters .

. 164

House-work

276

Farmers

• 43

Laundry-work .

164

Gardeners .

. 252

Miscellaneous

House -work

Masons

. 23

Printers

. 15

Shoemakers

• 19

Tailors

Waggon -makers

Miscellaneous

. 58

Section 2.— The Financial Support of Industrial
Institutions

We summarise below the rates of grants paid in the
several provinces on behalf of industrial work.2 The actual

* The Cape is the only province publishing these details. The
figures include Coloured as well as Aborigines. In the case of the
girls' schools there is considerable duplication ; the girls who take
cookery generally taking house-work and laundry-work as well.

- See pp. 241 et seq.

152 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

amount of money paid cannot be determined from the
published reports. In the Cape Province the sum of ;£2334
was expended on Native industrial institutions in 1912, but
this obviously does not include the expenditure on equipment,
or the amount paid in maintenance grants.

In Natal the report states that in 1914 the Government
grant-in-aid for industrial work amounted to approximately
£650.

In the Transvaal it is not possible to tell from the reports
what amount has been expended on industrial education.
In the Orange Free State no grants are paid for industrial
work, but the Government maintains a special industrial
school for Native girls at Moroko. The average enrolment
for the years 1913 to 1915 was 45*8, and the cost of the school
to Government in 1915 was £790.

The existence of these regulations shows that the Depart-
ments of Education recognise the necessity for manual training.
That the amounts appropriated for this work are not nearly
sufficient has been frequently pointed out by the Superintend-
ents and Directors of Education. Thus, in his report for
1912 the Superintendent of Education for Natal refers to the
question of financial support : " The education of the Native
goes forward apace, although the Government subsidy is merely
a drop in the ocean, ... a paltry sum of ^^15,000 for the
education of approximately 200,000 children." ^

In the Report for 1914 the lack of funds is again commented
upon : " Want of iTioney is the only obstacle in the way of
developing manual training. The matter, however, must
sooner or later be seriously dealt with, and there are two
branches of industrial work which deserve immediate attention
and financial support from the State." ^

Section 3. — Industrial and Manual Training in
Elementary Scliools

It will have been noticed that with three minor exceptions
the grants for industrial training are reserved for special

* Report, 1912, p. 14.

* Report, 1914, p. 9, cf. also evidence of the Superintendent-General
before Cape Select Committee on Native Education, 1908.

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING 153

institutions.^ At first sight it seems reasonable enough that
industrial training should only be undertaken at special insti-
tutions, and that manual training should be regarded as an
integral part of the ordinary curriculum, but a little reflec-
tion should convince us of the inapphcability of this view to
Native schools. In the first place, the number of pupils in
Standards IV. and higher is so small that less than i per cent,
of the pupils in Native schools are receiving anything like
adequate industrial training. In the second place, the use
of the separate terms, industrial training and manual training,
is unfortunate, in that it imphes a distinction between the
two forms of training which does not in fact exist. It fosters
the idea that in manual training the process is the only thing
that counts, and the product is nothing ; hence the formalism
and futility of much of our manual training.

For Native children, at any rate, the manual work should
be valuable in itself, and the product intrinsically useful and,
if possible, marketable. The immaturity of the pupils in
European elementary schools, which makes it difficult to
carry out this fundamentally sound principle, does not apply
in the case of the Natives,

We find several attempts made to introduce manual train
ing into the Native day schools.

Cape. — In the elementary -school course of the Cape Educa-
tion Department, which is followed by both European and
Native children in the elementary standards, cardboard model-
ling is recommended for Standards II., III., and IV., and
woodwork is prescribed for Standards V., VI,, and VII., and
for the training institutions. Seeing, however, that only a few
selected Native schools are permitted to undertake work beyond
Standard IV., and that the cost of the apparatus for card-
board modeUing is prohibitive for Native schools, it is only
the few boys above Standard IV. (approximately 8 per cent.)

^ The exceptions are: —

(a) The grant paid for special teachers of needlework in the Native

elementary schools of the Cape Province.
(6) The grant towards the salary of an industrial teacher in the

elementary schools of the Transvaal,
(c) The grant on the threepence-for-threepence basis in the Natal

elementary schools.

154 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

who receive any training in manual work. Sewing is pre-
scribed for all the girls.

Natal. — No manual or industrial training is prescribed for
the boys in standards below Standard V., although, as a matter
of fact, school gardens are maintained at many of the schools.
In Standards V., VI., and VII. five hours of manual work
per week are required. The subjects generally taken are
gardening and carpentry. Approximately 4 per cent, of the
pupils are receiving this instruction. Sewing is required of
the girls in all the standards.

Transvaal. — In the new syllabus for Native schools in the
Transvaal special emphasis is laid on manual training. Half
the school time must be devoted to " training " as distinct
from " instruction," and manual work forms a very important
part of the " training." Definite instruction in manual
training begins in the third-year course and continues through-
out the primary school. Sewing and domestic work are
required of the girls, while the work of the boys first takes
the form of gardening, rudimentary agriculture, basket-making,
mat -weaving, brickmaking, the use of carpenter's tools, and
then extends to such occupations as road-making, tree-planting,
leading water, etc.

Orange Free State. — In the draft permissive code of the
Orange Free State Department a full course in needlework is
prescribed for the girls. With regard to the boys the schedule
runs : "No scheme is laid down for manual occupation, as
this must vary with the environment of the school. Wherever
possible, trees should be planted round the school grounds,
and vegetable or flower gardens should be laid out. These
should be looked after by the bigger boys of the school."

Although these regulations exist on paper, they are often
evaded in practice. Some of the forms of manual training
are too expensive, others are unsuitable owing to the locality
of the school, and all suffer from lack of constant and adequate
supervision.

In all the Native training institutions provision is made
for the industrial training of the students. The courses
include cookery, laundry-work, sewing for girls, and carpentry,
building, and agriculture or gardening for boys. No special
provision, however, except in the case of sewing, is made for

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING I55

the instruction of students in manual occupations which can
be carried out in the ordinary Native day school.

Section 4. — ^The Objections to Industrial Training

The inadequacy of the provision for manual and industrial
training is obvious, and it is now our task to attempt to
discover why so little practical support has been given to
these subjects when their importance has been generally
conceded.

The reasons, in the order of their importance, appear to be :

A. The high cost of manual and industrial training.

B. The opposition of the white industrial classes.

C. The attitude of the missionary teachers.

D. The opposition of the Natives themselves.

A. The High Cost of Industrial Training. — While the con-
notation of the term "industrial training" is restricted to
training in such subjects as carpentry, blacksmithing, waggon -
making, and other European mechanical crafts, it isclear that the
cost of provision of this type of education even to a very small
percentage of the Native pupils would be prohibitive. In-
dustrial education in this sense is admittedly the most expensive
type of education in view of the initial cost and maintenance
of the plant, the wear and tear on apparatus at the hands of
learners, the use and misuse of material, and the unmarket-
able nature of the usual products. Such forms of industrial
training can only adequately be carried on in certain chosen
centres, and to attempt to carry it to the ordinary day school
would be as impossible as it is undesirable. South Africa does
not as yet need a superabundant supply of black skilled labour.^

There is only a very limited amount of industrial work at
present required by the Native population itself, and it would
be highly undesirable to flood the towns with numbers of black
skilled workmen. Such a proceeding would only precipitate
race conflict. If, however, the term " industrial training " be
extended to include training in such subjects as agriculture,

^ " . . . Nor must it be forgotten that the great demand in South
Africa at present is for the unskilled or partially skilled Native
labourer." [The South African Native Affairs Commission, 1903-5,
Report, section 343.)

156 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

the manipulation of common tools, and instruction in Native
crafts and occupations, it can be shown that a considerable
extension of such training would be made with little cost to
the State and with the greatest benefit to the Native people.

B. The Opposition of the White Industrial Classes. — That
the white industrial classes would not view with satisfaction
the education of the Natives in industrial arts can easily be
understood. Any considerable influx of skilled Native artisans
into the towns and their emplojmient by Europeans would
result in a considerable fall in wages. The Native, with a
lower standard of living, can work for considerably less than
the white artisan. The industrial classes have watched the
movement of Native education very closely, and on more than
one occasion have made their influence felt.^ It was formerly
the practice of the industrial schools of Natal to dispose of
their products by sale to the public, but in 1898 pressure was
brought to bear upon the Government, with the result that
no State-aided institution in Natal has since been allowed to
sell its industrial products in the open market. At Lovedale,
the most important Native training centre in South Africa,
special precautions against competition with the Whites are
taken. All articles manufactured in the workshops are sold
at standard prices, and the institution does not compete for
open contracts. The result is that in some of the industrial
departments at Lovedale there is not enough work to keep the
apprentices busy.^

* The white man's attitude is often beautifully illogical. His idea
of Native education is that the Native should be taught to work ; and
when the missionary teaches the Natives how to work, the European
brings up the charge of unfair industrial competition.

* A better feeling would appear to be beginning to prevail in the
Southern States of America. The Superintendent of Schools in
Columbus, Georgia, where industrial training is the staple of the cur-
riculum of the Negro schools, speaks of the " cordial and peaceful
relations " which exist between the races in the town, and reports
with gratification the following declaration from the chief organisation
of industrial workers, the State Federation of Labour: "They (the
Negroes) are human beings. Whatever will tend to make better citizens
of themselves benefits not only the black race, but the white race.
The best white people in the South hold forth a helping hand to this
people in things material and moral. This is as it should be." {Report,
1914, p. 8.)

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING I57

While this jealousy of the European industrial classes
towards the industrial training of the Natives can be easily
understood, it appears to rest on insufficient grounds. In the
first place, the training institutions strain every nerve to
induce their apprentices to return to their own people on the
completion of their apprenticeship. The Principal of Love-
dale, in giving evidence before the South African Economic
Commission of 1914, said : " Our object in every case is to
make them a lever for the uplifting of their own people. The
pupil who goes out from us to a European centre is a direct loss
to his own people, and we consider that what we have spent upon
him at Lovedale for the purpose I have stated has been a
direct loss, and that we have missed our objective." ^ In the
second place, it has not been made clear that the Natives who
are competing with the Whites received their training at any
Native institution. On the other hand, there is evidence to
show that the Natives practising skilled trades have been
unwittingly trained by the white workmen themselves."

Thirdly, it is doubtful if the Native will ever become the
serious competitor of the skilled white workman, or if he
possesses the necessary skill, perseverance, and desire to become
really expert in a trade. Evidence both from South Africa
and the United States seems to prove that in trades the mass
of the Natives do not advance beyond a certain point. Dr
A. W. Roberts, a teacher of over thirty years' experience among
the Natives, holds that the white men need not have the
shghtest fear of Native competition in industries, either now
or in the future. He admits, as we all must do, that a few
exceptional Natives will attain to the white man's skill, but
denies that the people as a race can. Their mental and
physical hmitations, their heredity and tradition, stand in
their way, and the Natives do not believe in themselves as
the white man does.^ The Rev. W. C. Willoughby speaks

^ South African Economic Commission, Report, section 57. At
the famous American industrial institutions for Negroes, Hampton and
Tuskegee, it is the purpose of the foundations that the students should
return to work among their own people. (C/. Booker Washington,
Up from Slavery, pp. 159 et seq.)

* See evidence of Mr Gibbs of Lovedale quoted in the Report of the
Economic Commission, section 57.

^ South African Economic Commission, 1914, Report, section 57.

158 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

ol his Native apprentices at Tiger Ivloof in much the same
terms : " They are very quick to learn up to a certain point,
but when you get to the point needing more care and exactness
a certain number are quite unable to appreciate it. About
one-third seem to stick at that point. They can all do a
certain amount of rough work, and then in anything a little
finer you lose about a third of your class as far as advance is
concerned." ^

The South African Economic Commission of 1914 found
that the position of the Natives was negligible as far as skilled
trades were concerned. They confined themselves almost
exclusively to unskilled work, and had to rely on Whites for
direction and initiation. Even the Natives who had it in
them to become expert seldom acquired experience by per-
severing for a sufficiently lengthy period. Very few even of
the exceptional Natives ever got beyond the lower rungs of
the industrial ladder, leading from unskilled work to the fully
skilled, and they did not seriously attempt to compete with
white artisans. The very few skilled Natives experienced
great difficulty in securing employment, except perhaps in
remote country districts. The amount of skilled labour required
by their own people in tribal districts was very small indeed.
In the extension of local self-government, and the service of
Native councils (as in Basutoland and the Transkei) lay the
best ground of hope for the educated Native. While holding
the view that in the future a natural outlet for the talents of the
skilled and educated Native would be furnished by the develop-
ment of his own people, the Commission was of opinion that
there should be no legal barriers to prevent Natives or others
of the non-white population from engaging in any work above
the grade of unskilled.^

^ Report of the Cape Select Committee on Native Education, section
1028. In his interesting account of Tiger Kloof, Dr Willoughby says
in connection with this point: " It will be many generations before
the African artisan can become skilled in the European sense. He
lacks initiative, persistence of purpose, sense of fitness, and what one
may call an industrial conscience ; and these quaUties cannot be
rapidly evolved. He can be taught to do many things to the satis-
faction of his own people (whose weaknesses are similar to his own),
and for the general upUft of his own race it is important that he should
learn" (p. 67).

* South African Economic Commission, Report, section 57.

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING I59

While there is httle chance of competition between Europeans
and Natives with regard to skilled labour, competition in
unskilled work is almost inevitable in the future. The lower
wage which the Native will work for appeals to Europeans
of limited means, especially in times of financial depression.
The only really satisfactory solution of this question lies in
taking steps to train the European youth to be the skilled
workman, by the establishment of technical institutes, trades
schools, etc., and to accept it as inevitable that the unskilled
labour in South Africa will in the future be performed by the
Black and Coloured people.^

C. The Attitude of the Missionaries. — A third reason for the
neglect of manual and industrial training in Native schools
is due to the want of appreciation of those forms of education
on the part of the earlier missionaries who formed the mould
in which Native education has since run.^

As has been already pointed out, the earlier missionaries
were not teachers, but high-minded, self-sacrificing evangelists,
whose primary object was to enable the Natives to read and
understand the Bible. The content of the education which
they gave was entirely literary. They took over from the
schools which they had attended in Europe the reading,
writing, and arithmetic which they themselves had studied in
their young days, and could not, of course, be expected to
appreciate the value of manual training, which had found no
place in their curriculum. Hence a purely academical course
of study became traditional for the Native school. The later

' An interesting incident regarding the relationship of white and
black workmen took place lately in a large South African town. The
Town Council permitted the employment of Native workmen to paint
the poles which carry the overhead electric tramcar wires. On a
protest being made the blacks were dismissed, and unskilled out-of-
work white men employed. The latter, however, on being informed
of the danger from Uve wires, refused to paint the upper parts of the
poles, so the Natives were reinstated, and one had the amusing spec-
tacle of seeing Whites doing the simple painting of the trunks of the
poles, while the Natives up aloft performed the more intricate and
dangerous work.

- " There are workers in the (mission) field, for instance, who con-
scientiously believe that it is no part of their high vocation to instruct
children in the work of clearing a mealie field or of mixing clay for
brickmaking." (Report of Cape Education Commission, 1891.)

l60 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

missionaries naturally followed in the lines of their predecessors.
Some of these were cognisant of the growing importance of
manual work in European education, but felt that the school
life of the average Native child was so short that there was no
time for more than instruction in the three R's, unmindful of
the facts that this instruction was too divorced from their
actual experience to be of any permanent value, and that
manual work assists mental work to a considerable extent.
A third reason for the attitude of the missionaries in the past
was the desire to induce the Natives to abandon their original
habits and customs, and to take on European civihsation as
quickly as possible. From missionaries actuated by that
motive any respect for Native crafts, and any introduction
of them into school work, could not be expected.

These, however, were the views of the missionaries of the
past. As has been pointed out in the earlier portions of this
chapter, the modern missionary joins with other thoughtful
students of education and of Native policy in emphasising
the importance of manual and industrial training.

D. The Opposition from Natives. — The disinclination of the
Natives themselves for manual and industrial education in
school is due largely to three causes.

The Native is naturally indolent, and his ideal of hfe is one
of ease. Circumstances have made him the hewer of wood
and the drawer of water for the white man. The white man
does not work with his hands. He is a " gentleman." The
Native beheves that it is education which has made the white
man what he is. When he goes to school any attempt to make
him do manual work is regarded as a subtle attempt on the
white man's part to prevent him from achieving his ideal. ^
A second reason is that the Native sees no connection between
the manual work taught in schools and his past or future life.
Why should he learn to grow vegetables or flowers when he
never bothered about them before he came to school, and does
not mean to take up market-gardening after he leaves ? A

1 Cf. Booker Washington's story of the old darkie who suddenly
stopped work in the cotton-field, and, looking towards the skies, said,
" O Lawd, de cotton am so grassy, the work am so hard, and the sun
am so hot that I beUeve this darkie am called to preach." {Up from
Slavery, p. i6o.)

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING l6l

third reason is a false sense of pride. The educated Native is
sometimes incUned to despise the occupations by which his
uneducated brethren have to make their Hving. He is ashamed
to dig and to carry. The attractions of clerical employment
are very strong with him, as with all semi-educated people, and
he turns eagerly to the school studies which will fit him for
the " gentlemanly occupation." ^

^ A similar attitude is taken up by some of the Negroes in the
Southern States. To the Southern Negro manual labour is still
associated with the condition of slavery. Those who have had to
earn their hving by manual labour wish their children to escape the
same degradation, and insist that their children be given a " book "
education.

CHAPTER IX

THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF EUROPEAN AND NATIVE
PUPILS COMPARED

To support further the contention that the present courses of
study for Native pupils are unsuitable, the writer, in 1915 and
1916, gave tests in writing, composition, and arithmetic to a
number of pupils in certain long-established, permanent, and
reputable Native schools in Natal. For the purpose of com-
parison, the same tests were given to pupils in certain similar
European and Indian schools. For a proper interpretation of
the results the following facts should be borne in mind : —

1. The teaching and supervision of the Native schools are
less efficient than they are in the European and Indian schools.

2. In spite of this, the course of study attempted in the
Native schools, in so far as the subjects or parts of subjects
tested are concerned, is as comprehensive and as difficult as
that of the European schools.

3. In the case of English composition, the code requirements
are almost the same, in spite of the fact that the Native children
do not speak Enghsh at home, and are taught chiefly through
the medium of the vernacular for the first two years (Sub-
standards A, B, C, and D).

4. The normal time in school for European and Native
pupils is the same, viz. two years in the sub-standards, and a
year in each of the standards. The average ages for entry,
however, are six to eight in the case of Europeans, and seven
to nine, or even later, in the case of Natives,

5. The exact ages of a number of the Native pupils cannot
be ascertained, but the ages used in the following table are
those given by the pupils themselves, and accepted by the
authorities.

162

THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF EUROPEAN AND NATIVE PUPILS 163

6. The tests used are standardised tests designed on scien-
tific principles, and of proven utility in measuring class-room
achievement. A fuU explanation of the way they were devised
cannot be given here, but particulars can be found in the works
referred to.

7. The tests were given under strictly defined conditions by
thoroughly reliable European principals and superintendents,
and can be regarded as entirely trustworthy.

8. As it was not possible to test all the pupils in the schools,
a random selection of pupils from each standard was made.*

Section i. — ^The Ages of the Pupils Compared

The following table (No. 14) gives the distribution of the
ages of the European and Native pupils who underwent the
tests. The median ages of the Natives will be seen to be two
and a half years in excess of those of the Europeans. This is
due partly to late entrance, and partly to excessive non-pro-
motion. The educational significance of the facts disclosed
is that in the case of the Natives no recognition has been made
of the physical, mental, and emotional changes accompanying
pubescence. Although definite evidence is wanting, it is
generally beUeved that the onset of pubescence takes place
earher in Natives than in Europeans. In any case, we see that
in all standards pre-pubescent, pubescent, and post-pubescent
pupils are grouped together in the same classes, are working in
the same course of study, are taught by the same methods,
and are subject to the same kind of disciphne. As will be
argued later, the alleged arrest of mental development of
pubescent and post-pubescent pupils is probably due largely to
the neglect of the significance of pubescence and the imposition
of uniform subjects of study and methods of teaching on all
pupils alike.

At the present stage of development of Native education in

* The results in each test have been compared with results obtained
in certain school systems of the United States, where similar tests
and the same metliods of scoring have been used. In view of the
fact that the pupils in South Africa spend two years in the infant
classes, as agciinst the one kindergarten year of American children,
the South African " standard" has been regarded as one year in advance
of the American " grade."

l64 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

South Africa, adequate remedies for these conditions is frankly
impossible. Something can, however, be accomplished if
officials will recognise the existence of these conditions in their
inspections and examinations, and allow and encourage the
teachers to modify the course of study and use special methods
of teaching in the case of special pupils and groups of pupils.

TABLE No. 14
The Distribution of the Pupils tested by Ages

Standard
ages.

20
and
over

III.
European
Indian .
Native .

IV.

European
Indian .
Native .

VI.
European
Indian .
Native .

116
53
93

114

92
30
98

86
22
94

I
I

9
0

35
3

14
2

2
I

41
5

19
3
0

4
2

17
7

4
I

I
2

9
13
26

25
14

4
12

25
0
2

5
6

9
25

15
14
20

28
9
9

8
6

15
6

3
II

3
0

I
I

II-3
I3-I
141

12-7

13-7

15-2

13-2
I4-I

15-5

I4-I
15-2
16-5

Section 2.— The Test in Writing

The Teaching of Writing. — The teaching of writing is begun
in the first year of school in the case of Europeans, Indians,
and Natives. The method employed is to set " copies " on the
blackboard. The European children begin with letters and
proceed rapidly to words, but the Native children spend a
good deal of time writing the constituent parts of letters.

THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF EUROPEAN AND NATIVE PUPILS 165

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l66 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

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THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF EUROPEAN AND NATIVE PUPILS 167

The letters and parts of letters to be taught in each class are
prescribed in detail in the Native course of study. The
European children use paper and pen or pencil, but the Natives
do the greater part of their writing on slates. Copybooks are
used in both sets of schools. Writing continues to be a
separate subject of instruction throughout the Native and
Indian schools, but is dropped in Standard V. in the case of
the European schools. The subject is considered of the highest
importance in the Native and Indian schools, 60 per cent, being
the inspector's passing mark for the subject in Native schools.
In the European schools good writing is insisted upon, but the
subject occupies a more subordinate position.

The Nature of the Test. — ^The teachers placed the sentence,
" Natal is the most beautiful province of South Africa," on
the blackboard, and the children copied it in their best hand-
writing as often as they could in five minutes. The papers
were scored by the writer, and from two to four helpers, on the
Thorndike scale for measuring handwriting.^ The average
judgment of the judges was taken as the correct score. For
several reasons the scale is graded on the basis of form 4 to 18,
but for an interpretation of the table (No. 15) on the following
page, it may be taken that 4 means almost o and 18 means
approximately 100.

The Educational Significance of the Results. — ^The following
inferences may be made from the results : —

1. In spite of the importance attached to handwriting in the
Native schools, the work is not much better than it is in the
European schools, where the subject is of minor importance
only, and not as good as it is in the Indian schools.

2. The commonly accepted opinion that Native pupils are
better than Europeans in the mechanical subjects, such as
writing and " straightforward " arithmetic, is not borne out
by these results, though the excellence of the Indians is
noticeable.

3. Very little improvement takes place in the writing of
Europeans, Indians, or Natives after Standard III. The advis-
ability, therefore, of spending much time in the formal teach-

* Thorndike, 'E.'L., A Scale of Handwriting for Grades 5 to 8, Teachers'
College, New York, U.S.A. For a full explanation of how the scale
was derived see Teachers' College Record, March 191 o.

l68 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

TABLE No. 15

The Distribution of Scores on Handwriting of 372 European,
139 Indian, and 407 Native Pupils, by Standards *

Score.

European.

Indian.

Native.

III.

IV.

VI.

III.

IV.

VI.

III.

IV.

VI.

0 .
I

2 .

3 • •

4 •

5 •

6 .

7 • •

8 . .

9 •

10 .

11 .

12 .

13 •

14 . .

16 . .

17 . .

5
13
24
20

14
2

32
38

14
2

••

2
10

7
2

3
4
12
10
9
8

2
0
6
9
17
4
3

5
II

4
6

3
6
8
5

2
4

■3

13
29
26

9
4

3
13
22
22
22

13
6

Total .
Median .

12-9

116

12-9

87
13-8

90
13-9

46 i 41
13-4 114-2

30
13-8

22
14*3

80
12 2

117
13-4

109 ;ioi

i3-6;i4-6

• Comparative standing by median scores in handwriting of Natal schools and certain
school systems in the United States : —

Grade 4

Grade 5

Grade 6

Grade 7

School.

Standard

or
Standard

Standard

SUudard

III.

IV.

VI.

Butte, Montana ....

8-8

8-9

II-6

U-2

Connersville, Indiana .

lO'O

10-3

II-7

Salt Lake City, Utah .

10-7

III

ii'3

12-2

European schools, Natal .

ia'9

12-9

13-8

X3-9

Native schools, Natal .

12-2

13-4

13-6

14-6

Indian schools, Natal .

»3-4

14-2

13-8

14-3

THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF EUROPEAN AND NATIVE PUPILS 169

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r «

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t i 9 o s?

170 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

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— 15

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THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF EUROPEAN AND NATIVE PUPILS I7I

ing of writing in the higher standards may be questioned,
particularly in view of the short school life of the average
Native pupil.

4. The very considerable overlapping of efficiency in the
several standards shows that there are a number of pupils in
the lower grades who are writing as well now as they ever will.
For these further formal instruction in penmanship is a waste
of time.

Section 3. — ^The Test in Composition

The Teaching of Composition. — English is a foreign language
to all but a negligible fraction of the Native and Indian children
entering school. Oral instruction begins with the naming of
objects in the first year in the Native schools, and is continued
throughout the course. Written composition begins in the third
year (Standard I.) with the writing of sentences. Connected
composition begins in Standard III., and is continued through
the course. In the European and Indian schools the same
general procedure is followed, but the work is begun earlier.

The Nature of the Test. — ^The pupils were instructed to
write a composition on " How I would spend £$." The
time limit was thirty minutes. The results were scored by
from two to five competent judges on Thorndike's Pre-
liminary Extension of the Hillegas Scale for the Measurement oj
Quality in English Composition by Young People} The follow-
ing specimens will illustrate the scale of scoring. The scale
ranges from o to 10 : —

Sample A, rated at o. Written by Native girl, aged 13, in

Standard III.

I am divided by 2d if spend with saiy is 2d and Drived

five shillings but or divid is 2d and take £^ to divid by

IS 2d from take five shillings and divided. And wanderful

to be 2d or five shillings.

Sample B, rated at i. Written by Native girl, aged 14, in
Standard IV.
I would spend it with buy a dress and Books, for school
and Slates, and buy something for me and buy my exercise

* The way in which the scale was devised is explained in Hillegas'
Scale for the Measurement of Quality in English Composition by Young
People, Teachers' College, Columbia University, 19 12.

172 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

Book or give my sister some other and buy sheep, Goats,
and Cattle.

Sample C, rated at 2, Written by Native boy, aged 17, in
Standard IV.
I could spend £$ if I like by going to Durban. I could
buy two pairs of boots, at 7/6 each. But if I like to run on
Motor-car I could run. I could send a little sum of my
money to my friend, who is poor. In taking care for myself
I could (many) — buy many clothes for me. But I could
left Durban, for Johannesburg. Because I never be there
in my life. By the money remained from Durban to
Johnnesbueg. I could pay a lot of bad troubles, which
troubling me.

Sample D, rated at 3. Written by European boy, aged 11,
in Standard IV.
Once I was given £$ by a man, and I thought to myself
how I should spend it, so I told my ^»y- mother to put £^
in the Bank. With the other £2 I should have bought a
bycel. and a suit of Clothes. Soon I should have bought
a hat. Then my money was all finished least it should
have, so I told my father to take £2 out of the Bank, till
all my money was finished. Then I should have bought no
more but me hke a silly should have bought a pair of boots
and a pair of stocking and a pair of slippers but I had no
more money and could not buy them till I had some more
money to do it with.

Sample E, rated at 4. Written by European boy, aged 12,
in Standard IV.
With ^5 I should go into a hotel, and have my dinner,
and go to the Theatre, to see the performances. I should
put £2 in the bank, and go to Isipingo for two days hoUday.
I should go all round the bay, in a motor boat. I should
then go to the Transvaal in a motor car, and dig for
gold, with my uncle. I should buy a present for my
mother, and I should also treat her to a concert, or a ball
and give her, tfee- a happy times worth. I should think
my money, would all be gone, by the time I had an5rthing
else to do with it. But I should have been content with
^mii what I had done with it.

THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF EUROPEAN AND NATIVE PUPILS I73

Sample F, rated at 5. Written by European girl, aged 11,
in Standard V.

A great friend of mine gave me a present of £=).

I went down town to spend it.

I bought some useful ^ for my mother which cost me
£2. I also gave ^^i towards the comforts for the soldiers.

I saw marked upon a board. " Belgian Relief R Fund."
Fortunately I had some, to give, and I went inside the
shop and handed to a man, behind the counter £1.

Now I have £1 left. On my little cousin's birthday I
would hke to take her to the beach, and to Zoo in the
afternoon. When her birthday came, I took her to the
beach and several other places, and in the afternoon she
told me that she enjoyed herself very much.

Having a few shillings left I bought him several things
that he wanted.

Sample G, rated at 6. Written by European girl, aged 15,
in Standard V.
if I had ;^5 I would put £1 in the bank for Xmas and
would put 10/ away for mother's birthday and the remain-
ing £3-10 I would spend different ways. First I would
send both my father, and brother at the front a huge
hamper of fruit which would cost £1. Then I would buy
mother a navy blue dress that she fancied so much in
Harvey Greenacre's window yesterday which would cost
£1-10. With the remaining money I would buy my sister
& I some silk for two best dresses. Mine I would like
made with a gathered skirt at the back and quite plain
at the front ; the blouse I would hke cut the Raglin sleeve
with pale blue bead buttons right down the front, to the
edge of the skirt. With a pale blue ribbon round the waist
and the same kind of buttons down the front, with a flop
hat to match.

Sample 6, rated at 7. Written by European boy, aged 12,
in Standard V.
I was highly pleased with myself when father gave me
for a birthday present, a crisp £5 note.

" Do good with it my son," he said, as I left the little
cottage, which I called home. As I walked towards my

174 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

destination, I noticed a poor farmer trying in vain to
sell his goods. I immediately walked towards his little
vegatable stall, and bought a dozen eggs. Noting a widow,
surrounded by a number of little children, crying for food,
I at once gave her my eggs, and gave each child six-pence.
My sister Lottie, was crying when I reached home.
" What is the matter ? " I asked her. " Willie has broken
my new doll," she answered. " Never mind, I will buy
you another one." exclaimed mother. " No ! " I said,
"It is my birthday, and I shall buy it." Mother tried
her best to be the buyer. " It costs £4 " she said. But
I was determined, and the following day, Lottie was the
proud owner of a large doll.

The results of the test are as follows : —

TABLE No. 16

The Distribution of Composition Scores of 371 European,

139 Indian, and 402 Native Pupils, by Standards *

European.

Indian.

Native.

III.

27
38

IV.

VI.

III.

19
22

IV.

24
8

V. VI.

III.

9
I

IV.

8
45
39
15
10

16
59
15
19

VI.

32
59
10

Rated at

0 . .

1 . .

2 . .

3 • •

4 • •

5 • •

6 . .

7 • •

8 . .

I
9
9
3

Total
Median .

79
4-1

116
4-5

87
5-3

89
5-4

46
4-1

41
4-5

30
5-2

22
51

2-8

118
3-2

109
3-7

lOI

4-3

* The comparative standing by median scores in composition of Natal schools and certain
school systems in the United States : —

School.

Grade 4 or
Standard III.

Grade 5 or
Standard IV.

Grade 6 or
Standard V.

Grade 7 or
Standard VI.

Butte, Montana ....
Salt Lake City, Utah .
European schools, Natal
Indian schools, Natal .
Native schools, Natal .

2-3
2-9

4-1
4-1

2-8

3-1
4-5
4-5
3-2

3-4
3-8
5-3
5-2
3-7

3-7
4-4
5-4
5-1
4-3

THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF EUROPEAN AND NATIVE PUPILS

175

!>•

. r

«s»

> ^

s ?

§ s

.5;

\]>

, 1

8 ?

S ?

176 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

8 9

.§

fl\

§■

«VI

s $ s

o ? S o S ?

»«

-5

^ >'

to §

-i

^ R

THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF EUROPEAN AND NATIVE PUPILS 177

The Educational Significance of the Results. — As was to be
expected, the achievement of the Native pupils ranks consider-
ably below that of the Europeans. The difference would
probably have been greater had a more suitable subject been
chosen. Too often the composition was but an enumeration
of articles which could be bought with the money. To this
cause must also be attributed the absence of variabihty. The
writer's personal experience is that the Natives are much less
variable than Europeans or Indians. Under the circumstances
inferences from this test are unsafe. It might be pointed out,
however, in passing, that several of the Native pupils wrote
two compositions, one in EngUsh and the other in Zulu, and
that the compositions in the vernacular were superior to those
in English.

Section 4. — ^The Tests in Arithmetic

The Teaching of Arithmetic. — In European, Indian, and
Native schools arithmetic is regarded as the most important
subject. The work in the Native schools is more formal
than that in the European and Indian schools, owing to the
fact that the teachers in the former are less skilled. As
regards the work in the four simple rules here tested, the
Natives should be in a better position than the Europeans,
if early introduction and much practice are the factors deter-
mining success. Long sums in addition, subtraction, multi-
pUcation, and division, which often are given for " busy "
or " seat " work, retain their place in Native schools, whereas
they have disappeared from most of the European schools.

The Nature of the Tests. — The tests used were the Courtis
Standard Tests in Arithmetic, Series B, in the four simple
rules. ^ The peculiar excellence of these tests hes in the fact
that there are exactly the same number of processes in each
sum of a given kind. The tests are therefore useful in showing
how the pupils vary in the several standards and among them-
selves, since the child who works ten examples in the given
time has achieved twice as much as the child who works five.

The tests are printed on paper and handed to the children.
The instructions are clearly given, and all that the children
have to do is to write down the answers.

* S. A. Courtis, Standard Tests, 82 Eliot Street, Detroit, Mich.

178 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

The following instructions and specimens will best illustrate
the nature of the tests : —

A ddition
You will be given eight minutes to find the answers to as
many of these addition examples (24) as possible. Write the
answers on this paper directly underneath the examples. You
are not expected to be able to do them all. You will be marked
for both speed and accuracy, but it is more important to have
your answers right than to try a great many examples.

927 297 136 486 384 176 277 837

379

925

340

765

477

783

445

882

75^

473

988

524

881

607

682

959

837

983

386

140

266

200

594

603

924

315

353

812

679

366

481

118

661

904

466

241

851

778

781

854

794

547

355

796

535

849

756

9^5

177

192

834

850

323

157

222

344

124

439

5b7

733

229

953

525

Subtraction

You will be given four minutes to find the answers to as

many of these subtraction examples (24) as possible. Write

the answers on this paper directly underneath the examples.

You are not expected to be able to do them all. You will be

marked for both speed and accuracy, but it is more important

to have your answers right than to try a great many examples.

115364741 67298125 92057352 I 13380936

80195261 29346861 42689037 42556840

Multiplication
You will be given six minutes to work as many of these
multiplication examples (25) as possible. You are not
expected to be able to do them all. Do your work directly
on this paper ; use no other. You will be marked for both
speed and accuracy, but it is more important to have your
answers right than to try a great many examples.

8246 3597 5739 2648 9537

29 73 85 46 92

THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF EUROPEAN AND NATIVE PUPILS 179

Division
You will be given eight minutes to work as many of these
division examples (24) as possible. You are not expected to
be able to do them all. Do your work directly on this paper ;
use no other. You will be marked for both speed and accuracy,
but it is more important to have your answers right than to
try a great many examples.

25)6775 94)85352 37)9990 86)80066

The performances of the pupils are recorded and illustrated
in the following tables and figures : —

TABLE No. 17
The Distribution of the Number of Examples correctly worked
IN the given Time by 379 European, 149 Indian, and 399
Native Pupils, in the Several Standards

Addition.

No. of
examples
correctly

worked.

European.

Indian.

Native.

III.
9

IV.

V.
0

VI.
0

III.
4

IV.
I

VI.

III.

IV.

VI.
6

1.5

1-4

, .

, ,

Total .

116

114

Median

scores .

3-8

4-5

5-7

7-0

3-7

5-3

6-7

1-8

2-8

3-2

l80 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

B g

s -5

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11

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t U

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f* £

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«i

THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF EUROPEAN AND NATIVE PUPILS l8l

S o

9 o

-5r

iu-

15"

^0
f

9 <

^ '

2 o a ^

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2 , -r

§^

^Xi

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L-

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ts >

- Q
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l82

THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

TABLE No. 1 8

The Distribution of the Number of Examples correctly worked
in the given time by 379 european, i49 indian, and 399
Native Pupils, in the several Standards

Subtraction.

No. Of

European.

Indian.

Native.

examples

correctly

worked. U

LI.
9

IV.

V.
I

VI. I

II. IV.

4 I

VI. I

0 I

[I.

IV.

V.
0

VI.
0

I ]

0 0

0 I

2 ]

5 4

0 I

3 '

8 0

2 I

4 5

8 4

2 I

5 J

5 10

6 ]

8 7

3 2

8 5

3 3

I 3

3 •

Total . I]

86 <

53 44

22 9

114

Median

scores . 4

•3

5-8

6-9

7.8 .

)-4 6-3

8-0

10-3 3

•2

4-8

6-7

7-5

THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF EUROPEAN AND NATIVE PUPILS 183

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.0]

,,^

. r

1 .

, 1

1 ,

1 .

8 «

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; s

i 0

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-a >,

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TC'

JB-

-QJ-
3-

^ .9

9 bo
A a

H *
V) o

C/3

184 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

S 2 o

S
tU

- Q

^ <

~ Q

C/5

0 0 c

M -

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5 0 S 9 0

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,:a

»^

. 1

, 1

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«o

Q
Z

9
I

•-3

THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF EUROPEAN AND NATIVE PUPILS 185

TABLE No. 19

The Distribution of the Number of Examples correctly worked
IN THE given Time by 379 European, 149 Indian, and 399
Native Pupils, in the Several Standards

Multiplication.

No. of
examples
correctly
worked.

European.

Indian.

Native.

III.

IV.

VI.

III.

IV.

7
9
0
2
I
0
I

I
2
0
6
7
5
2
2

3
0

VI.

0
I
0
I
2
I
2
3
3
5
2
2

III.

44
18

15
7
6
2
0
I

IV.

31
18
12
21

7
5
4

19
16

• •

1
VI.

15
25
10

7
3
0
I

0
I
2
3
4
5
6

7
8

9
10
II
12
13
14

Total .
Median .

]
1

H
C9
[5
9
5
2

3
I

19
8

3
3

I
I

9
2

3
6
2

I
0

9
11
12

7
II

3
6

4
2

10
10
10
9
9
4
I

116
2-3

4-2

6-2

86
7-6

2-7

44
4.8

4-9

8.7

I'2

114
2-5

98
4-1

94
4-9

l86 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

—

i;:

—

, 1

1 i

» i

> (

> J

i 8

T
X

^ e

THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF EUROPEAN AND NATIVE PUPILS

8 2 q R

9 o

$ a

1 ,

'■S

,i 1

•*!

187

i88

THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

TABLE No. 20

The Distribution of the Number of Examples correctly worked
IN the given Time by 379 European, 149 Indian, and 399
Native Pupils, in the Several Standards

Division.

No. of

European.

Indian.

Native.

examples

correctly

worked. I

LI. i

V. V.

VI.
0

]

II. IV.
3 2

VI. I
0 7

11.

IV.

VI.

0 «

»4 J

3 5

I 1

4 3

6 5

]

2 2

2 I

2 ]

9 1

4 9

]

0 8

3 1

I ]

C3 10

7 8

6 ]

t3 8

7 0

8 II

2 6

7 9

0 3

3 8

I 2

6 .

4 •

3 •

. ..

Total . 11

6 i

$7 90

53 44

22 9

114

Median, i-

3 3

•I 5-8

8-5

•2 4-4

5-6

87 o-

2-4

3-4

5-8

iuxa^isaii

Ir a

ili'liwe

t<3U'6'6'7'«'3'lo'in2'l3'l4l|6'l6'l7'l8'l9'20'

Standard III.

£7

'pw,vr

in\-hT,r

I Vi ti f\ e

0'l'2'3U'6'6'7l«l3'lO'im2't3'l4'l6't»'

Standard IV.

'ttW

i'l

■"-.

.---

■

■-

.-_:_:.

0 1 23

» S 6. 7 8 9

olii n 1

314

19 29

Standard V.

'=:=^

"_!■

ivi

Wis'

« pi •^ /7

hii^rar

Ai'at/vir

Standard VI.

Fig. 1 1 . — Showing in percentages the distribution of examples correctly
worked in division.

iqO THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

TABLE No. 21

The Comparative Standing by Median Scores in the Funda-
mentals OF Arithmetic of Natal Schools and those of
certain School Systems in the United States

Addition.

Multiplication.

Grade 5

Grade 6

Grade 7

Grade 5

Grade 6

Grade 7

Std. IV.

Std. V.

Std. VI.

Std. IV.

Std. V.

Std. VI.

3'9

4-6

5-4

Detroit.

3-8

4-8

3-7

4-9

5-6

Boston.

3-3

4-8

5-1

3-9

4-4

4-7

Other cities.

2-6

4-5

5-2

2-9

3-4

3-8

Butte.

4-1

6-5

4- 1

6-4

6-9

Salt Lake City.

4-3

5-3

7-1

4-5

5-7

Europeans, Natal.

4-2

7-8

5-3

6-7

Indians, Natal.

4-8

4-9

8-7

2-8

3-2

Natives, Natel.

2-5

4-1

4-9

Subtraction.

Division.

Grade 5

Grade 6

Grade -j

Grade 5

Grade 6

Grade 7

Std. IV.

Std. V.

Std. VI.

Std. IV.

Std. V.

Std. VI.

5-5

6-2

7-3

Detroit.

2-7

4-4

■♦•9

6-3

6-9

Boston.

2-0

5-1

4-5

6-1

7-8

Other cities.

2-3

4-3

5-8

2-9

3-4

3-8

Butte.

3-6

4-3

7-2

3-2

7-8

8-8

Salt Lake City.

3-0

5-5

7-7

5-8

6'0

7-8

Europeans, Natal.

3-1

5-8

8-5

6-3

8-0

10-3

Indians, Natal.

4-4

5-6

8-7

4-8

6-7

7-5

Natives, Natal.

a -4

3-4

S-8

Section 5. — Speed and Accuracy

The tests in the fundamentals of arithmetic afford us an
opportunity of gauging the relative quickness of the three
races in the mental processes involved. In the following
table speed represents the median number of examples com-
pleted in the given time, and accuracy the percentage of
examples worked correctly. The quickness of the Indians
and the comparative slowness of the Native pupils are most
marked.

THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF EUROPEAN AND NATIVE PUPILS I9I

TABLE No. 22

Comparing the Speed and Accuracy of European, Indian, and
Native Pupils in the Fundamental Operations of Arith-
metic

Addition.

Subtraction.

Multiplica-
tion.

Division.

Speed.

Accu-
racy.

Speed.

Accu-
racy.

Speed.

Accu-
racy.

Speed.

Accu-
racy.

Per

III.

cent.

European
Indian .
Native

6-2

5-7
3-4

61
58
53

6-0

6-3
50

72
78
64

4-6
4-3

2-8

50
51
43

2-6

2-3
2-3

50
61
35

IV.

European
Indian
Native .

6-4
7-0
3-9

70
69

7-2

7-8
6-3

83
76

5-8
6-2
4-0

72
69
62

4-3
5-3
4-1

72
81

European
Indian
Native .

8-3
7-0

4-4

69
69
68

8-5
9-4
80

81
79
84

8-1

7-4
4-9

77
64
84

7-0
6-8
4-5

83
77
75

VI.

European
Indian .
Native .

9.7
9-8
5-1

72
75
63

IO-2
I2'7

9-5

76
76
79

lO'O

6-1

73
80

9-3
9.9

6-3

91
81
92

Section 6.— The Educational Significance of the Results
in Arithmetic

The tests in the fundamental operations of arithmetic are
probably the best criteria of the comparative efficiency of the
three races in school subjects, inasmuch as the subject is con-
sidered of prime importance in both types of schools, and
the differentiating factor of language is not here operative.

It will be noticed in the first place that, although the Native
pupils are very much slower than the Europeans, they are
not quite so accurate. This goes to confirm the belief that
" sureness " is not a necessary corollaxy to " slowness," and
is in keeping with the common opinion that the South African

192 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

Native is slower than the European in all types of activity,
and is satisfied with a considerably less degree of completeness
and exactness .1 In school practice it points to less stringent
requirements from Native pupils than from Europeans in
both teaching and examination.

The fact that the Native child is from 30 to 100 per cent,
slower than the European child in working arithmetical
examples is very significant. The slowness of the South
African Native has become proverbial, and in their poUtical,
social, and domestic dealings with the Natives the greatest
mistakes made by the Europeans have been in neglecting
to make allowance for the slowness of the Native people. We
have seen how the early missionaries attempted to proceed
too rapidly with their work among the Natives ; and to this day
one of the most difficult problems confronting the missionary
is to prevent retrogression. Similar mistakes have been
made, and are still being made, in educational work among
the South African Natives. Until we realise that our educa-
tional programme must be based upon the peculiar character-
istics of the people we are doomed to disappointment. The
absurdity of imposing the same curriculum upon the children
of both races is apparent. The curriculum for Native pupils
must be different from that of the Europeans ; and where
the subjects are the same, considerably less in the way of
achievement must be expected from the slower race.

A third fact of great significance is the greater variabiUty
of the Europeans in their arithmetical achievements. While
the Natives vary more than the Whites in their ages, they are
much more uniform in their achievements. This fact is of
much importance for the probable future of the races, and
points to the continued dominance of the European.^

Section 7.— Conclusions

Our investigation into the comparative achievements of
European, Indian, and Native pupils leads to the following
conclusions : —

* See Report of the Cape Select Committee on Native Education, 1908,
section 1028.

* See Thorndike, Educational Psychology, vol. iii., chaps, ix. auid x.,
for a treatment of the significance of variabiUty.

THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF EUROPEAN AND NATIVE PUPILS I93

1. The Native pupils tested were from two to three years
older than the Europeans of the same standards, and from
three to five years older in physical maturity. No allowance
has been made in curriculum, methods, or discipline for the
physical, mental, and emotional differences between pre-
pubescent and pubescent or post-pubescent children. This
would probably account largely for the so-called arrested
mental development of pubescent and post-pubescent Native
pupils. The only remedy available at present, when Native
pupils enter school at such different ages, is to encourage
teachers to modify curriculum and methods to suit these
pupils, and to advance them as rapidly as possible.

2. There is a considerable amount of overlapping in the
several standards of European, Indian, and Native schools.
Where it is not possible to regroup pupils in accordance with
their standard of achievement in each subject, they should
be allowed to devote their time to work in other subjects.

3. The formal teaching of handwriting is of little value in
and after Standard IV. The high standard already achieved
could be maintained by insistence on good writing in all
subjects, and the time thus saved might be devoted to other
subjects. This is of prime importance because of the short
school life of Native pupils.

4. In arithmetic the Native pupils are very much slower, less
accurate, and less variable than the Europeans. This fact
has important bearing on the curriculum, which should be
considerably simpler than that of the European pupils.

CHAPTER X

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION

PART I. THE MENTAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE
NATIVE

Dr John Adams, in his brilliant and entertaining study of
the psychology of Herbart,^ points out that when " the master
teaches John Latin," it was formerly only considered necessary
to know Latin, but that nowadays the master must know John.
So with us. If we hope to build up a satisfactory system of
Native education in South Africa we must first know the
Native.

The importance of psychology in education is twofold.
On the one hand, it is one of the basal subjects, and, along with
biology, sociology, and philosophy, provides us with a mass
of rationaUsed knowledge on which a system of education
must be founded. On the other hand, it becomes a pro-
fessional subject, and, by explaining how the mind develops
and acts, shows the educator how to bring about those
mental changes in knowledge and character which we call
education.

The study of child psychology deriv^ed from observation of
experiments with Caucasian children has given us sufficient
reliable data regarding the mental processes and development
of young children on which to base a system of education;
but when we seek to make use of that data in preparing a
system of education for the Bantu child, we are confronted with
a serious difficulty. Is the psychology of the Bantu child
the same as that of the Caucasian ?

^ Herbartian Psychology, chap. ii.
194

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION 195

Section i. — General Studies in Racial Psychology

The scientific study of racial psychology is still in its infancy.
Generalisations from individual cases or from the observations
of travellers are at least as old as Herodotus, but the first
real attempts to apply objective and quantitative methods to
the questions of race psychology were those of the Cambridge
Anthropological Expedition to the Torres Straits in 1891.^
The next important study was that conducted by Professor
R. S. Woodworth at the St Louis Exposition in 1904.2 In
both cases the qualities tested were motory and sensory
processes, and some of the simpler and higher mental pro-
cesses. The conclusions arrived at by the two studies are in
general agreement. The widespread notion that uncivilised
peoples are more acute in vision and hearing is not borne out
by the results. Primitive people appear to be superior to
Europeans in their sense of touch, but inferior in their sense
of pain. The sense of smell is about the same in all races.
In accuracy in tapping marked differences were noted, and in
the " form-board " test {i.e. fitting differently shaped blocks
into their proper grooves) the races experimented upon
seemed to divide into two groups of widely different abihty.
The reader is referred to the reports themselves for details.
All we can do here is to give the general conclusions that there
is very Uttle difference between races in sensory and motor
processes and the simpler mental activities, but that there
are apparently wide differences in general intelligence in the
higher mental processes.

Section 2.— Studies of School Children of Different Races
in the United States

While there is a pressing need for further experimenta-
tion along the Unes of these studies, our present interest is to
discover what mental differences (if any) exist between
European and Native school children. The writer believes
that the experiments reported below are the only ones which
have been made on the Native children of South Africa, but

' Reported in the Report of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition.
* Reported in Science, February 1910, " Racial Differences in Mental
Traits."

196 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

three studies which have been made in the United States on
the comparative intelligence of White and Negro children are
interesting and suggestive.

In 1913 Dr Marion J. Mayo endeavoured to find out the
differences in mental capacity between White and Negro pupils
as far as this capacity is exercised in school work.^ His method
was to compare the school marks of the 150 White and the same
number of Coloured 2 pupils in the high schools of the city of
New York, where both sets of pupils attend the same schools,
pursue the same branches of study, are measured by the same
standards, and have received the same kind of previous
school training. The results are summarised by Professor
Thorndike as follows : — ^

1. On the average Coloured pupils are seven months older
than the Whites, only 36 per cent, of them being as young as
the median White,

2. The Coloured pupils continue longer in the high school.

3. In achievement in the different studies they are some-
what, but not very much, inferior to the Whites. The general
tendency is for only three-tenths of them to reach the median
record for Whites.

4. The difference is greatest in the case of English, in which
only 24 per cent, of the Coloured pupils reach or exceed the
median for Whites.

5. The coloured pupils are perhaps a httle less variable
than the whites.

In 1913 Professor W. H. Pyle began a series of experimental
studies on the mentality of the Negro. The investigations
are not yet completed, but the results attained so far are
interesting and suggestive.^

The tests were four tests of memory, two tests of quickness

1 " The Mental Capacity of the American Negro," Columbia Contribu-
tions to Philosophy and Psychology, vol. xxii., No. 2.

* " Coloured " includes both pure Negroes and Mulattoes. Dr Mayo
was compelled, through difficulties of classification, to abandon his
attempt to separate the Coloured pupils into sub-groups on the basis
of the degree of race mixture.

» Educational Psychology, vol. iii. p. 208.

* An account of the results so far obtained are presented by Professor
Pyle in the March 1915 number of School and Society, vol. i.. No. 10.

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION

197

of learning, four tests of association, two word-building tests,
and one ink-blot test. The tests were particularly suitable
in that they are largely tests of natural ability and not of the
results of school training. The whole number of pupils tested
was 408. The results are grouped under ages ; but since the
number of some ages examined was not great enough for
reliability, Professor Pyle finds the averages of attainment
in each test, and regards these as the most reliable index for
comparison.

TABLE No. 23

Boys.

Girls.

White.

Negro.

White.

Negro.

Logical memory, immediate

235

19-4

25-3

19-9

Logical memory, permanent

IO-8

9-5

II-7

9-3

Rote memory, concrete .

37-4

29-3

390

32-4

Rote memory, abstract .

31-4

19-7

32-8

22-9

Substitution, symbol — digit

19-4

9-6

22-4

IO-8

Substitution, digit — symbol

i8-5

8-2

21-5

9-4

Controlled association, opposites

12-3

5-5

13-4

7-2

Controlled association, genus —

species . . . .

2-2

9-8

3-6

Controlled association, part —

whole .....

lO-I

4-2

IO-3

4-8

Free association

32-0

26-0

35-4

30-0

Word-building, a, e, 0, b, ra, t .

IO-8

5-2

I2-0

5-9

Word-building, a, e, i, r, 1, p

ii"3

6-0

13-0

5-1

Cancellation, " A " test

12-8

12-6

14-6

15-8

Ink blots

8-5

6-9

8-9

6-5

The conclusions arrived at by Professor Pyle may be sum-
marised as follows : —

1. The marks indicating the mental ability of the Negro
are about two-thirds of those of the Whites. About one-fifth of
the Negroes are equal or superior to the average of the Whites,
while three-fourths of the Whites are equal or superior to the
average of the Negroes.

2. In both races the girls are superior to the boys, but there

40
35

CO
10

40
35

SO
16
10
5

• •

......

.^.m/ies

BOYS

Negroes

•

;

■

i
1
1

;

t t
1 /

1 /

%
\ f
\ 1

k \

\ 1

'•..

\ «

'""./

♦.

xT*"

N«

GIRLS

I <

\''-

< /
1 1

• /

\ t
\ «

1 /

\ «

■"/

- —

...

E .

"a "

u S

o S

i i '^T -5 I 1 1

Ei! a*3 2I Sf^o

«n »<h «>2 u)«!.iia

|§ |l 1 1 !:&,§«

PS o PS « ifl !n IW-C O ea

S 0.2 B
0.2 S. §

be .

.SS

^«

3«

a ■

•90

•?>-<

•3 &

Fig. 12. — Showing comparative scores of Whites and Negroes
in tests of mental ability (after Pyle).

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION

199

is greater difference between Negro boys and girls than there
is between White boys and girls.

3. With increasing age there is a tendency for the difference
between Whites and Negroes to become less.

4. If the Negro children are separated into two groups
according to social position, it is found that Negro boys of
the better social class have about four-fifths of the ability of
White boys, and Negro girls of the better social class have an
ability which is three-fourths that of the White girls.

5. The superiority of the Negroes of the better social class
may be due to their superior environment and conditions of
life, or to the fact that they have White blood in them.

In 1915 Louise F, Perring endeavoured to find out how the
Negro compared with the White child in taking up the White
child's course of study. ^ The study was made in a school in
Philadelphia where the Negroes form about 40 per cent, of
the school population. The Negro children are not segregated,
but are taught in the same classes and by the same teachers,
use the same text-books, and are subject to the same super-
vision and discipline as the other children. Miss Perring used
as the basis for her comparisons (a) the percentage of retarda-
tion of each race, [b) the extent of the retardation. The
number of children studied was 417 Whites and 175 Negroes.
Of the Whites 77 boys and 77 girls were in the Grammar
Grades (our Standards IV.-VII.), and 143 boys and 120 girls
in the Primary Grades (our Standards I.-III.). Of the Negroes
17 boys and 28 girls were in the Grammar Grades, and 53 boys
and 77 girls in the Primary Grades. The percentages of
retardation were as follows : —

Boys.

Giris.

Totals.

Gram-
mar.

Prim-
ary.

Gram-
mar.

Prim-
ary.

Gram-
mar.

Prim-
ary.

White .
Negro

37-6
52-9

32-8
34-5

298
37-1

29-1
59-7

33-7
55-5

3I-I
59-2

* Study reported in the Psychological Clinic, May 19 15.

200 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

The extent of the retardation was as follows : —

Extent of
retardation.

Retarded i year

2 years

Boys.

Girls.

Totals.

Gram-

Prim-

Gram-

Prim-

Gram-

Prim-

mar.

ary.

mar.

ary.

mar.

ary.

<ij

_■(->

o
o
I

2
O

I
I

Miss Perring shows that the non-promotion of the Negroes
is not due to poorer physical condition, by publishing figures
from the medical record of these pupils. The average number
of defects per pupil was -54 and '69 in the case of the Grammar
and Primary Grade White pupils, and only "51 and '40 in the
case of the Negro pupils. On an average the Negro pupils
were '6 and 7 years older than the Whites in the Grammar and
Primary Grades respectively. Miss Perring's conclusion is
that we are justified in saying that the Negro boy or girl is not
getting what he ought to get in our schools, arranged as they
are on a basis of European tradition. Whether the Negro
has or has not a less keen intellect than the Caucasian is beside
the point. His mind is evidently not hke the mind of those
vnih whom he is associated in the present investigation, which
was as fair to him as possible. If we are going to give the
Negro eight years of education in not over ten years, it must be
a different sort of education from that which we try to instil
into the minds of White children. To be sure, we only
measurably succeed with the latter, and in so far as we fall
our method and our materials are probably wrong ; but they
are probably twice as far wrong when we attempt to force
them upon the Negro.

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION 20I

Section 3.— A Study of School Children of Different Races
in South Africa

In 1915 and 1916 the writer applied Professor Pyle's tests to
328 European, 176 Indian, and 281 Native children in Govern-
ment and Government-aided schools in Natal.^ The children
consisted of both boys and girls, and were selected at random.
The following tests were used : —

1. Logical Memory. — The object of this test is to determine
the child's immediate memory for ideas. Whipple's story
" The Marble Statue " was used. The piece was read slowly and
distinctly to the pupils, who were then required to reproduce
as much as they could remember. The time of reproduction
was not limited, except that when each child had written all
that he or she could recall, the papers were taken up. One
point was given for each idea correctly reproduced.

2. Rote Memory, Concrete. — ^The object of this test is to
determine the immediate memory of the pupil for unrelated
impressions. Six groups of concrete words containing 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, and 8 words respectively {e.g. cat, tree, coat, mule, bird,
cart, glass, etc.) were read to the pupils, group by group, and
the children were required to reproduce them on paper.^ A
word remembered at all counts one point ; if in its proper
place, two points. The possible score is 66 points.

3. Rote Memory, Abstract. — ^The same as the above, except
that the words represent abstract ideas [e.g., good, black, fast,
clean, tall, round, hot, etc.).^

4. Substitution, Symbol Digit. — This is a test of quickness of
learning, and represents the speed with which a person can
build up new associations. Each pupil was supplied with a
sheet containing forty numbers of five digits each. At the top
of the sheet is a key giving a symbol (^.g. A x =) for each digit,
and the pupils are required to substitute s5anbols for digits.
The time allowed was eight minutes for Standards up to
Standard III. inclusive, and five minutes for Standards IV. and
over. The scores are reduced to the number of substitutions
made per minute.

5. Substitution, Digit Symbol. — A similar test to No. 4, except

* Pyle, W. H., The Examination of School Children, 1913, New York,
The Macmillan Co.

* The words chosen were such as would be familiar to all pupils.

202 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

that the child was given the symbols and required to substitute
the equivalent digits. The symbols are different from those
in test 4.

6. Word-building with the Letters a, e, 0, b, m, t. — This is a
test of ingenuity, involving memory, attention, and association.
The pupil is required to build as many real Enghsh words as he
can in five minutes, with these letters only. The words need
not contain aU the letters.

7. Word-building with the Letters a, e, i, r, I, p. — A similar
test to No. 6.

8. Free Association. — This test determines the rapidity of
flow of the pupil's ideas, when no limitation is put upon the
flow. The children were given the word " dog," and instructed
to write down as fast as possible all the other words which came
into their minds. The time allowed was three minutes.

9. Controlled Association, Opposites. — The object of the
association tests is to ascertain the extent of the flow of ideas
when subjected to certain limitations. The processes involved
are similar to those involved in solving a real life problem,
where our thoughts are controlled by limiting factors. The
opposites test consisted of twenty words (north, out, black,
etc.), to each of which the pupils were to write the word con-
taining an opposite idea. The time Umits were sixty seconds
for pupils in Standards I.-III., and forty-five seconds for pupils
in Standards IV. and over. The scores are reduced to speed
per minute.

10. Controlled Association, Genus, Species. — This test is
similar to No. q, except that the twenty words represent class
names {e.g. mountain, city, weed), and the pupils were required
to name an example or species under each class. Time limit
and method of scoring as in test No. 9.

11. Controlled Association, Part, Whole. — Each of the twenty
words represented a whole {e.g. window, leaf, pillow), and the
pupils were required to write down a word which named a part
of it. Time limits and method of scoring as in test No. 9.

12. The Cancellation Test. — The pupils were required to
cancel the a's in a printed sheet containing all the letters of
the alphabet, placed together in no definite order. The score
is the number of a's marked per minute. The time limits
were two minutes in Standards I.-III., and ninety seconds in

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION

203

Standards IV. and over, but the scores were reduced to the
number of a's marked per minute. This test determines quick-
ness of perception, discrimination, and quickness of reaction.
The results in average scores for each age-group are as
follows : —

TABLE No. 24

Showing the Average Scores of European, Indian, and
Native Pupils in certain Tests

A«« . .

10.

II.

13.

13-

14-

15.

16.

17-

18.

Aver,
age.

Number of cases.

Eiuropean .
Indian

3?
18

41
26

33
21

33 36
24 22

33
21

30
25

44 31
15 a

Native

29 1 84

34 33

Logical memory.

European .
A.D, .

28-1

306
6-9

1:1

37.0
60

370
5-2

43-0
4-3

42-7
41

40-9 42-9
40 4-6

38-7

37-7

Indian
A.D. .

171
7-8

i8-3
9-2

170
«-3

24-6
S-3

25-9
9-0

31-2
«-4

27-2 39-0
10-2 20

32-0

3-0

25-5

Native
A.D. .

10-2

8-2

3-6

13-5
71

90
3-9

19-9
91

21-5

7-8

28-8
8-2

35-9 39-8

5-7 \ 7-7

37-2
£-0

22-2

Rote memory,
concrete.

European ,
A.D. .

35-9
4-2

42-4
6-2

47-5
43

47-2
4-6

49-9
5-<

534

5-;

56-1
7-0

35-3 .51-7
6'-3l 3-6

531

7-8

49a

Indian
A.D. .

3«-3
6-1

34-7
6-5

351
51

33-9
5-<

4-13
^-9

39-9
5-0

43-7

42-5 :44-5

4-4 I 1-5

44-0
5-0

39.3

Native
A.D. .

25'0

7-2

21-5

4-7

28-5
7-4

24-5
6-2

33-7
8-3

37-2
5-8

42-2
62

45-1 45-2
4-9 4-7

47-4
3-7

350

Rote memory,
abstract.

European .
A.D. .

35-0
5-4

37-9
6-3

43-1
6-1

44-3
41

45-2
5-0

52-7
51

57-4
7-3

54-2
8-1

52-5
3-7

54-7

47-7

Indian
A.D. .

130-6
1 7-3

32-0
66

31-9
6-9

32-6
5-6

37-5
6-7

40-5
6-9

4I-I
6-9

43-6
9-6

44-5
2-5

38-5
5-5

37-3 i

Native
A.D. .

20'O

19-4
61

26-7
7-4

23-5
6-8

31-7
«-0

34-8
6-i

35-0

r-0

45-7
51

45-1
4-9

37-5
10-4

3i-"8

Substitution,
symbol — digit.

European .
A.D. .

123-4
1 SI

ao'o
6-7

18-5
4.4

17-6
3-3

21-4

27-2
3-S

29-3
6-J

27-1
4-6

28-3
3-3

256
5-0

23-8

Indian
A.D. .

: 3-0

i 5-7

10-2

141
5-5

II-8
62

17-8

4-b

18-3
3-?

I9'2

2-8

23-5
rf-5

13-9
01

17-4

149

Native
A.D. .

5-5
1-9

4-7
2-3

7-3
4-6

5-6
3-i

11-9
6-J

T4-8
^•7

13-1
rf-5

19-8
5-0

20-1
3-i

22-1
6-6

14-9

Substitution,
digit — symbol.

European .
A.D. .

14-4
4-3

19-2

4-2

l8'0
2-9

I9'0
3tf

23-4
40

30-2
4-6

29-8
41

30-1
60

29-2
3-6

28-8
5-2

24-a

Indian
A.D. .

9-3
S-3

II-8
3-8

14-6
4-4

12-2

4-6

l6-2

20-0

3-i

21-3

^■4

24-8
4-5

19-7
0-3

i6'9

Native
A.D. .

4-1
31

8-9
#•6

10-5
rf-7

15-8

200

lCj-1

19-2

10-8

Word-building,
A,E,0,B,MT.

European .
A.D. .

9-3
27

8-7
2-3

ll'l
2-6

10-8
2-2

n-5
42

13-6
2-6

13-4
3-3

13-3
31

l6-£

2-8

150

2-7

I8-2

Native
A.D. .

6-2

8-6
2-8

8-2

J.J
23

lO-O

3-0

6-6

12-0
6-S

14-5
2-3

I4-0
i-0

17-0
10

ii-i

Indian
A.D. .

4-5

8-4

1-0

30
1-3

4-6
1-8

61
2-5

8-6
3-6

10-5
2-6

ii-i
2-«

II-2

3-7

5-3

204 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE
TABLE No. 24 — continued

Ages .

10.

II.

12. 13.

14.

15-

16.

17-

18.

Aver-
age.

European .

14 i 33

Number of cases.

Indian

Native

Word - building,

European .

6-6

7.7

I0-8

10-5 lO'S

16-2

15-6

I5'i

22-2

16-5

13-2

A,E,I,R,L,P.

A.D. .

2-4

2-8 2-5

3-2

3-9

3-4

Indian

6-0

7-5

7-1

6'2 ! 9-9

10-8

12-0

12-2

13-5

12-5

9-8

A.D. .

3-1

2-1 , 2-S

4-5

tf-5

2-5

Native

2-5

1-5

3-0

2-91 3-3

5-6

7-8

10-8

12-5

13-8

6-4

A.D. .

0-6

1-2

l-3\ 15

2-1

3-2

2-7

3-6

3-4

Free association.

European .

236

28-3

28-6

37-8I43-4

46-2

54-3

50-1

44-1

49-2

40-6

A.D. .

6i 1 61

6-2

7-0 1 6-8

22-3

8-5

160

7-9

220

Indian

25-4

28-1

29-8

29-9 |36'8 144-8

44-8 i46'7

57-5

55-5

39.9

A.D. .

8-8

6-3

8-7

7-6 \ 8-2

9-6

20-2: 2-5

2-5

26-5

Native

30-0

i8-8

20-3

22-1 29-4

31-7

34-6 35-1

350

34-6

28-2

A.D. .

4-8 7-3

5-4

8-5\ 8-6

7-8

4-9\ 91

12-9

7-6

Controlled

European .

8-6 6'4

9-5

IO-5

12-4

19-0

20-2 120-9

21-5

21-3

150

association,

A.D. .

2-3 4-4

1-6

1-7

3-7

3-2

3-4\ 4-1

2-6

4-2

opposites.

Indian

3-9 1 4-0

4-0

5-5

6-9

7-3 II-6

12-0

A.D. .

2-1 ] 2-2

2-3

2-5

3-2

3-3\ 2-9

3-0

Native

0-8 1-3

2-0

1-7

4-5

5-8

8-6 99

9-9

12-1

5-7

A.D. ,

02 \ 0-5

0-7

2-4

2-0

2-2 20

6-2

3-2

Controlled

European .

2-6 1 2-0

3-8

5-1

6-6 12-8

12-3 ir-3

II-O

12-2

8-0

association,

A.D..

1-3' 11

2-2

2-7

Sf-0

3-5

3-0 1 4-7

2-5

genus — species.

Indian

2-4 j 2-7

4-0

3-4

5-5

7-6

8-5 lio-i

12-5

6-9

A.D. .

11 \ 13

2-7

2-i

2-5

2-3 1 2-8

6-5

3-5

Native

0-8 0-8

2-4

1-5

3-5

4-8

7-6 9-7

7.9

10-6

5-0

A.D. .

1-3

0-6

2-21 2-rf

3-2

3-4

3-2 2-9

Controlled

European .

7-6

5-4

7.7

8-4

10- 1

II-3

lO-I

8-3

8-0 IO-7

8-8

association,

A.D. .

2-6

1-9

i-7

2-3

2-6

2-9

6-2

5-2 i 2-5

part — whole.

Indian

3-5

3-8

2-9

5-9

6-0

6-2

7-2

7-5 7-5

5-4

A.D. .

2-0

1-9

2-9

2-5

2-1

2-2

0-5 1-5

Native

I-O

1-6

2-2

2"0

3-0

3-4

4-4

5-7

6-2 6-1

3-6

A.D. .

0-5

0-7

1-3

2-4

2-6

2-7

2-9 2-6

Cancellation.

European .

IfO

I2-9

14-9

16-8

i8-o

17-7

21-0

1
20-5 ;2I-5

16-3

A.D. .

2-0

2-2

3-2

4-0

3-5 4-6

Indian

II'2

9-3

9.7

8-4

12-8

11-6

13-3

I''.-2

14-2 I16-5

12-3

A.D. .

3-6

3-1

3-8

3-2

4-4

4-2

3-9

;-5

2-2 1 1-5

Native

lo-g

9.9

10-7

I2'I

I5-7

15-6

14-9

20-1

18-8 120-4

13-9

A.D. .

1-9

2-1

2-S

3-9

2-5

4-3

4.2 I

3-9

Note. — ^The A.D. or Average Deviation is the arithmetical mean of the separate deviations
of a series of measurements from their mean.

Any conclusions to be drawn from these results should be
ccasidered in the light of the following facts : —

(a) For reasons already stated the ages of the Native and
Indian pupils are often approximations only.

60
55
50

40
•35
30
25
20
IS
10
5

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION 205

European Indian Native — =

'•••,

•
•
•

•

♦

"•-

•
•

•
• /

1 1

• •

* •

« • •

•

• /
f /

I * •

•
•
•

*0 1

>w ^

'/
» /

•

••v

•*%

»i

•

^^'•w

I I

2
fa

w'9

■OS

.0^

•?o

•A -

T! ,-

is<

•s<

9 o.

O O4

v.n.

Fig. 13. — Showing the average scores of 328 European, 176 Indian,
and 281 Native School children in certain mental tests.

206 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

{b) The [tests in logical memory and in controlled associa-
tions were more difficult for the younger Native and Indian
pupils, because of their comparative unfamiliarity with the
English language.

(c) In three instances, viz. Native pupils of nine years of age
and Indian" pupils of seventeen and eighteen, the scores are
unreUable because of the fewness of the cases.

With these reservations we may deduce the following general
conclusions : —

1. Native school pupils of all ages are less efficient in all
the mental processes involved in these tests than European
and Indian pupils. Roughly speaking, they are only 50 per
cent, as efficient as the Europeans, and 75 per cent, as efficient
as the Indians.

2. The Native pupils are very much slower in their thinking
than the Europeans and Indians. In this respect the results
support the conclusions derived from a consideration of the
tests in arithmetic (see ante, p. 190), and are in agreement
with the experience of teachers of Native children.

3. The alleged superiority of the Native in rote memory is
not supported by these tests, although it is certain mere
memorising of facts pla.ys, a more prominent part in Native
schools than it does in European and Indian schools.

4. In these tests the scores of the Native pupils of twelve
years of age are in all cases less than those of Native pupils of
eleven years of age. This may be due to the onset of the
pubertal period, which is generally considered as from twelve
to fourteen years of age in the case of Natives. If so, the
rapid recovery at thirteen years of age and the continual
increase of efficiency up to seventeen should be noticed.

5. The inferiority of the Native to the Indian pupils, whose
mother tongue also is not EngUsh, would point to an inferiority
deeper than that of mere language ability.

6. The results of these tests are in general accord with those
of Professor Pyle in his experiments with American Negro
pupils, though the superiority of the Europeans is more marked
than that of the Whites in the United States.

Our tentative judgment would therefore be that the Native
pupil is at present distinctly inferior to the Emopean and

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION

207

Indian in those mental qualities involved in school work, but
that the inferiority is not so great as has been commonly
believed. A common course of study for Europeans and
Natives is unsound on psychological as well as social and
economicaJ grounds.

Section 4.— Sex Differences

The following table gives the scores of pupils by sexes. In
the ca^e of the Indian pupils no girls were tested, since it is
not customary for Indian girls to attend school.

TABLE

No. 25

h >^

Age.

Race.

Sex.

as
« 0

Symbol —
digit.

Digit-
symbol.

a
^ 8

1
a

Age 18.

European.

Boys

cas

es ta

ken.

Girls

387

53'i

54-7

25-6

28-8

I5-0

i6-5

49-2

21-3

12-2

107

21-5

Indian.

Boys

32-0

44-0

38-5

17-4

197

17-0

12-5

55-5

I2'0

12-5

7-5

12-5

Native.

Boys

35-5

49-2

47-1

19-6

12-2

II-O

12-6

32-4

II-2

6-2

19-3

Girls

38-2

46-1

47-8

24-0

21-5

137

147

36-2

12-8

II'2

6-1

2I'l

Age 17.

European.

Boys

46-5 53-5

31-5

26-2

35-2

9-5

14-5

46-0

22-0

9-9

7-5

14-0

„

Girls

42-6 51-3

52-8

28-4

28-8

i6-6

16-4

43-8

21-4

11-5

8-0

21-0

Indian.

Boys

39-0 44-5

44-5

13-9

19-5

14-0

13-5

57-5

I2-0

12-5

7-5

14-2

Native.

Boys

39-4

44-4

44-2

19-1

i8-3

10-3

ii-i 133-9

8-1

6-2

6-1

17-9

Girls

40-6

47-1

47-3

22-4

20'9

13-2

15-8 '37-4

139

II-9

6-5

ZIO

Age 16.

European.

Boys

46-0

58-6

53-0

29-0

337

14-6

i6-8'4o7

2I-0

11-4

I0'6

18-5

„

Girls

39-6

54-2

54-3

26-5

287

13-0

14-6

52-2

20-9

II-4

7-6

21-5

Indian.

Boys

27-2

42-5

43-6

23-5

24-8

14-5

12-2

467

ri-6

lO-I

7-2

l6-2

Native.

Boys

37-4

45-8

45-5

22-1

20- 1

10-8

10-2

317

9-2

8-3

17-6

„

Girls

34-1

44-3

46-0

21-6

19-9

10-5

"•5

387

107

ii-i

5-3

22-8

Age 15.

European.

Boys

49-5

55'5

56-3

30-6

33-2

15-0

18-5

49-3

23-2

137

14-3

I7-I

„

Girls

40-3

55-8

58-2

28-2

27-1

I2-2

13-3

58-1

i8-o

II-2

i8-i

Indian.

Boys

31-2

43-7

4I-I

19-2

21-3

I2-0

I2'0

44-8

7-5

8-5

6-a

133

Native.

Boys

23-4

42-0

38-3

177

15-5

8-3

67 31-8

7-6

6-0

17-6

•'

Girls

29-6

42-7

387

20-5

16-4

9-2

lO-l

39-8

10-5

107

3-8

197

Age 14.

European.

Boys

42-4

54-3

52-3

28-4

32-6

12-4

15-0

44-6

22-8

137

14-3

i6-3

Girls

43-5

53-4

53-0

26-4

28-6

14-3

15-5

47-3

16-5

1 1 -8

9-4

187

Indian.

Boys

26-9

39-9

40-5

18-3

20'0

131

10-8

44-8

6-9

7-6

II-6

Native.

Boys

25-1

39-5

37-5

i6-6

12-2

6-3

3I-I

5-8

15-4

Girls

I7-I

34-2

31-4

I2'9

8-2

5-4

325

5-6

3-6

iS-8

Age 13.

European.

Boys

33-0

52-0

44-5

2I-I

21-2

13-0

II-3

42-3

120

6-2

107

i6-6

„

Girls

39-0

48-9

45-5

22-3

24-4

107

10-5

43-8

12-8

6-5

9-6

16-9

Indian.

Boys

24-6

41-3

37-5

17-8

i6-i

lO-O

9-9

36-8

5-5

5-6

5 9

12-8

Native

Bovs

i6-6

309

28-6JI0-9

4-3

2-9

27-8

3-8

3-4

2-3

I4-2

Girls

9-3

24-0

250 8-5

3-8

i6'0

1-5

3-3

I30

208 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

TABLE No.

25 — continued

t ]t .

, i

«j

Age.

Race.

Sex.

i
1

Rote memo
concrete.

Rote memo
abstract,

Symbol-
digit.
Digit-
symbol.

■0 a

Age 12.

European.

Bo>'s

36-0 49-6

47-0 15-7 |i6-5

10-9

xt.8

36-6

II-O

5-3

9-6

14-0

„

Girls

37-6 457

42-9 19-1

20-5

10-7

9-6

38-5

10-2

4-9

7-5

15-4

Indian.

Boys

I7-0

33-9

32-6 I1-8

12-2

7-7

6-2

29-9

4-0

3-4

2-9

8-4

Native.

Boys

II-3

24-0

24-11 7-3

5-0

4-0

25-2

1-8

1-7

i8-5

Girls

23-5

22'1

4-1

2-1

2-2

1-8

19-3

1-6

i-i

2-3

6-2

Age IX.

European.

Boys

34-8 ,47-8

42-5

i8-4

17-8

II-6

36-6

9-8

2-9

8-1

II-7

„

Girls

37-7 47-4

43-6

i8-6|i8-2

IO-7

9-3

39-4

9-3

4-2

7-4

13-6

Indian.

Boys

21-3 35-1

31-9

l4-l;i4-6

8-2

7-1

29-8

4-0

3-8

9-7

Native.

Boys

7-1 !22'I

20-7

4-9 1-8

1-4

i'3

14-6

1-4

2-3

1-6

lO-O

Girls

19-2 J3I-I

29-1

12-7 9-2

6-0

23-2

2-4

2-8

120

Age 10.

European.

Boys

30-2 ;45-4

38-7

21-8 20-5

9-6

8-5

25-9

6-7

2-2

6-6

II-I

Girls

30-6

39-6

37-0

i8-6 i8-9

7-8

6-9

30-6

6-7

2-1

5-3

IO-8

Indian.

Boys

i8-3

34-7

32-0

IO-2

II-8

8-6

7-5

28-1

4-0

2-7

3-8

9-3

Native.

Bt.ys

6-5

17-4

14-0

3-4

3-8

1-4

1-2

12-4

I-O

0-8

1-5

8-5

Girls

7-6

19-3

21-2

5-6

4-2

2-6

1-6

i8-3

1-3

0-7

1-6

"•5

Age 9.

European.

Boys

29-0

36-5

37-6

25-5

17-6

9-5

7-6

2I-0

9-3

2-4

8-8

8-5

„

Girls

27-0

34-5

320

SO-I

6-8

5'5

26-5

7-7

6-2

8-1

Indian.

Boys

I7-I

32-3

30-6

8-8 1 9-2

6-2 6-0

25-4

3-9

2-4

3-5

11-2

Native.

Boys

4-4

17-0

II-6

5-0] 2-8

40 1-6

14-8

i-o

0-8

i-o

IO-2

•'

Girls

lO'O

21-0

200

6-3 3-4

2'0 I'O

i6-o

0-3

0-6

I-O

IO-5

An analysis of the foregoing table shows that in the 108 tests
in which European boys and girls were compared, the boj^
were superior in 62 and the girls in 44 ; whereas in the 120 tests
in which the Native pupils were compared, the boys were more
efficient in 44 and the girls in 75 cases. In the case of the
Native pupils, the girls of nine, ten, eleven, fifteen, sixteen,
seventeen, and eighteen are markedly superior to the boys,
but at the ages twelve, thirteen, and fourteen the boys are
very much better than the girls in the mental qualities under-
lying these tests.

Although it is unsafe to dogmatise, it seems hard to resist
the tentative inference that at the pubertal period (twelve to
fourteen), the Native boys are mentahy more efficient than
the girls, but that after that period the boys lose interest in
their school studies and are surpassed by the more docile girls.
These sex differences, which are supported by the experience
of missionaries, would point to a more meaningful and therefore
more interesting course of study for adolescent Native boys.

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION 209

PART II. THE THEORY OF THE ARREST OF
MENTAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE NATIVE

Section i. — ^The Theory Stated

We have now to endeavour to ascertain if the intellectual
processes develop in the Native child much as they do in the
European, and if that development is a continuous process, the
mental power becoming stronger as the child's experiences
increase. In attempting to enumerate an order of develop-
ment, it must not be assumed that the processes can be
separated from one another by definite intervals of time.
Nature does not work in such a simple fashion, and the stages
of development merge into one another; but it is generally
accepted that at certain periods of the child's life certain
intellectual processes are more dominant than others. The
earliest process is undoubtedly sensation, and the last, reasoning
and judgment. The order of development of the others is
roughly sensation, perception, memory, imagination, concep-
tion, judgment, and reasoning. In the case of the European,
we educate him at first through his senses, while with the adol-
escent we rely chiefly upon his reason. As we grow older we
cease to rely upon sensation, and more and more on judgment
and reasoning, so that in adult hfe we tend to rely almost
entirely upon reason.

In the case of the Bantu people, the weakness of the higher
mental powers, compared with the strength of the earlier pro-
cesses of sensation and memory, coupled with a lessening of
these earlier powers more noticeable than in the case of Whites,
has led to the generally accepted hypothesis that there is a
marked arrest in the mental development in the Negro. This
arrest, occurring for the most part in the early stages of adol-
escence, has induced the further hypothesis that the arrest
takes place at, or shortly after, the pubertal period. The
wide extent of this belief among colonials and others who have
had dealings with the Negro peoples, and the necessity for
taking cognisance of it, if it be true, in any schemes of educa-
tion, wairant us in dealing with the subject at some length.

The questions, then, confronting us are :

I. Is this alleged arrest of development a fact ?

2IO THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

2. If SO, is it peculiar to the Bantu people, or is it shared by
children of other races ?

3. If it is so, what are the causes ?

4. Are they permanent or removable ? and

5. What effect would the fact have on our system of Native
education ?

Section 2. — ^Evidence in Support of the Theory of
Arrested Development

That arrested mental development occurs among individual
Natives, just as it does among individual Europeans, will be
generally conceded ; but there are many who hold that mental
arrest is characteristic of the Negro peoples. Among those
who maintain that there is a more or less clearly marked arrest
we find ethnologists, experienced observers of the Natives,
travellers, educators, and the general pubUc.^

1. Ethnologists — " The Negro children were sharp, intelli-
gent, full of vivacity, but on approaching the adult period a
gradual change set in. The intellect seemed to be clouded,
animation giving place to lethargy, brightness yielding to
indolence." ^

2. Experienced Observers. — " Deprived of all extraneous aid,
a Bantu child is able to devise means for supporting life at
a much eajlier age than a European child. But while the
European youth is still developing his powers, the Bantu
youth, in most instances, is found unable to make further
progress. His intellect has become sluggish, and he exhibits
a decided repugnance, if not an incapacity, to learn anything
more. The growth of his mind, which at first promised so
much, has ceased just at that stage when the mind of the
European began to display the greatest vigour." ^

3. Travellers. — " Tiyo Soga [a famous Native missionary
and teacher] was taken to Scotland, and was shielded from
kraal influence until long after puberty. He continued to
develop in mental vigour long after that period, and did not

1 Evidence from South Africa is used wherever available.

* Manetta, quoted by Joyce in Encyclopcsdia Britannica, eleventh
edition, art. " Negro." Joyce and Keene support this view.

* Dr Theal, late Historiographer- Royal of the Cape Colony, in History
and Ethnography of South Africa before 1795, vol. i. p. 170.

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION 211

dwindle in capacity as do nearly nine-tenths of the Kafirs." ^
" The (Native) children are smart and intelligent. . . .
But just when we hope to produce a good result the mental
development seems to become arrested, and the children return
at puberty to the kraal and disappoint all our hopes." ^

4. Educators. — "With regard to such [clever] Native
students there is a considerable body of testimony to show
that quite a large proportion ultimately reach a stage at which
they seem to be unable to make any further advance. To all
appearances their faculties become dulled, and a state of mental
apathy ensues, which makes it unprofitable for them to remain
at school." ^

A number of teachers in Native schools have expressed their
opinion to the writer that while it is a pleasure to teach the
young Native child, there is no more dispiriting work than
to have to prepare the very willing but distinctly dull-witted
adolescent for Departmental examinations,

5. General Public. — Many employers of Native labour,
particularly the housewives who employ Natives of varying
ages, contrast the quickness and ability to learn new things

^ Dudley Kidd, a much-travelled and experienced missionary, in
Kafir Socialism, p. 237.

^ Ibid., p. 176. Notice Mr Kidd's inconsistency. From the first
extract we would infer that it was the kraal influence which was
responsible for the alleged arrested development, but from the second
we see the arrest takes place before the Native returns to his kraal.

' Mr E. B. Sargant, late educational adviser to the High Commis-
sioner of South Africa, in Report on Native Education in South Africa,
vol. iii. p. 60. Sir Thomas Muir, Superintendent-General of Education
in Cape Province, in giving evidence before the Cape Select Committee
on Native Education, said : "If you compare a White boy and a
Coloured boy from the ages of twelve onwards you will find that a
White boy goes on growing mentally, whereas a Coloured boy seems for
a while almost to come to a stop."

Dr PhiUps, Superintendent of Schools in Birmingham, Ala., U.S.A.,
holds the same view: " The Negro child prior to the age of puberty
may learn as well as the White child, and in so far as he exercises the
physical senses, the motor powers, the memory, the imaginary power,
and the faculty of imitation, may even excel. But after that, arrested
development prevents the fulfilment of early promise, and the incapa-
city to exercise effectively the reflective, the reasoning, and the executive
powers is everywhere in evidence." (Journal of Southern Educational
Association, 1908.) The speaker reiterated his views at the 191 1
meeting.

212 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

of the Native " umfaan " with the slowness and stupidity
(from their point of view) of the " Kafir boy " of from seventeen
to twenty-five.

Section 3. — Evidence in Rebuttal of the Theory of
Arrested Development

In opposition to the views expressed above, we have much
evidence of a similar nature to the effect that arrested mental
development is not a peculiar characteristic of the Natives.

In 1914 the writer sent a questionnaire to forty-eight ex-
perienced missionary teachers and superintendents throughout
South Africa, which, inter alia, asked for an expression of their
experience in the matter of the theory. The thirty-two rephes
received may be classified as follows : —

Eight believed that it was characteristic of the Native for
an arrest of development to take place at about the age of
puberty.

Seven had noticed the arrest in some cases.

Nine were of opinion that arrested development was no more
noticeable in the case of Natives than it was in the case of
Europeans.

Eight were emphatic in declaring that no arrest of develop-
ment took place.

A few of the replies are quoted to illustrate the different
views held.^

{a) " There does seem to be an arrest of development
at the age you mention. A large number of girls become
heavy and inert, and seem unable to make the necessary
effort to improve themselves mentally. Amongst those
who persist beyond this stage ' mental saturation ' seems
to take place about the age of twenty-one, for after that
age very few girls are able to learn an3i:hing."

{h) "A few, at varying ages, give evidence of such
mental saturation that they are unable to proceed further.
Proof : repeated failure to pass certain examinations. As
a mle they are good students, though slower than

* The names of the writers are not published, but the raphes have
been placed on file at the Education Office, Durban, where they may
be referred to.

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION 213

Europeans, because dealing with matters with which they
have had httle previous acquaintance."

(c) " It does not appear that there is sufficient evidence
to support the statement. Something may be said for the
contention that the typical Native and the typical peasant
of Europe stand much on a par in respect to their power
of general intelligence, and it is a question as to whether
the percentage of pupils from among the school-going
Natives going beyond the standards which fit the scholar
as a wage-earner is not as large as that of other countries.
It may be that we are looking for special reasons in the
case of the Native, when the world view would help us
to overcome many of our difficulties. The mass of pupils
do not look beyond the requirements of the moment.

" In the Transvaal our scholars, beyond the school
standards, come to us at the age of from fifteen to thirty,
many of them after some years of house or mine work, and
some of them after earning money for the school fees.
About one-third of those entering the normal course are
able to pass through and gain the certificate ; but the other
two-thirds do well on the industrial side, and if we were
able to offer a course which met the requirements of
such pupils, the results would be very satisfactory.

" Our experience is that many, who failed to gain the
technical quahfication, in actual contact with hfe develop
in such a way that they stand far above some of their own
year who have easily passed the quahfying examinations."

{d) "As far as my observation goes — and this covers
an experience of more than thirty years — I should be slow
to suggest that there is an arrest of mental development
at the age of puberty. If there is any arrest at all, it is
due rather to the restricted and oppressed environment
in which they live than to any physical cause. Given an
enlarged environment — a wider sphere of activity — and
mental development will continue. It is all a question
of opportunity, as individual cases amply show. In no
sense do I think their physical development differs from
that of Europeans."

{e) " In my opinion and the opinion of my staff it is
impossible to dogmatise on this subject, but there seem

214 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

no grounds for supposing that Natives differ from
Europeans in this respect. Girls as well as boys develop
mentally both before and after puberty at about the same
rate, if they are well and scientifically taught. But there
is no doubt that the Native with several generations of
civilisation behind him is capable of more rapid mental
development than the child of raw parents."

(/) "The alleged arrest of development is not a fact.
Proofs : it is necessary to give names of South African
Natives, some of whom continued their school until they
were about thirty years of age. In fact, most Natives
obtain their education after puberty. Dr W. B. Rubusana,
J.L. Dube, Saul Msane, Pixley Seme, Dr Mahlangeni, M.D.,
F.R.C.S.L., Rev. James Tartsi, B.D., etc. ; ladies. Miss
Gabatshane, Mrs Maxeke, Miss Kakaza, and Mrs C. L.
Dube ; — all these have done creditable work in their classes
abroad. There are hundreds of names I could quote you,
but I beUeve these are sufficient. My eighteen years'
experience as a teacher and student supports my proofs.
Some of these men are between forty and sixty 3^ears of
age, and yet their minds are still developing."

(g) " No, emphatically, no ! I have been in Native
work thirteen years, of which eight years have been spent

at S Mission, at which I have had good opportunities

of testing this oft -repeated assertion. In the reading of
literature dealing with Native races, this was one of the
so-called facts which attracted my early attention. I have
been on the alert to discover instances in support of it, or
otherwise. The conclusion I have reached is, that as a
general statement it is false, although individual cases
may be cited to the contrary,

" Our Normal Department is for girls only. The ages
of the students entering upon the course range from
fourteen to twenty years. In every case, without excep-
tion, the age of puberty has been reached."

(h) " There is, I think, a great deal of what one might
call ' cant ' written and spoken about Natives, and one
of the doctrines of this cant is about Native boys and
girls at the age of puberty. At the age of puberty, on
general grounds, we should expect that pupils would show

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION 215

increased mental activity and greater capacity for re-
sponsibility. Now, it is impressed upon us, as if it were
an established fact, that the average Native at that age
goes back — that that is the critical period of his develop-
ment, and in the great majority of cases it is the point at
which his advancement ceases. A recent writer has spoken
upon this degeneration at puberty as the critical fact in
Native educational work ; in fact, I think he said it
is the critical fact in the Native question. Now, this
degeneration at puberty is not an established fact. Ex-
perienced men I have come in contact with do not recognise
that there is this break in development at puberty. What
does happen is that in European and Native schools — I
am not aware in Native schools any more than in European
schools — ^there is a small percentage of pupils who from that
date do not make normal progress, but I do not think the
number is any greater in Native schools than in European
schools. What does occur in Native schools is this :
When pupils — and this is a much more serious problem
in the newer fields than in districts of the country which
have been long under the influence of civihsation — begin
school work at the age of ten or twelve they are liable to
come to a dead-stop later on, and probably more so
beginning later on ; it is more marked with pupils begin-
ning, in many cases, after puberty. In these new fields
we have grown-up men and grown-up women coming for
education. Now, what has repeatedly been the experience
in regard to these is that when education has been pressed
with these people grown beyond mere boyhood or girlhood
there has been a liability to mental trouble ; the pupils
become saturated and incapable of mental effort, and in
some cases a form of temporary insanity appears." ^

The preponderance of evidence against the theory induced
the Cape Select Committee on Native Education to report as
follows : —

" Your Committee find that the beUef in the inability of
the Native to develop at a normal rate beyond a certain

* Report of Cape Select Committee on Native Education, 1908, sect. 2339.
The witness referred the writer to this as the expression of his opinion.

2l6 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

stage is not supported by facts, and that any definite
assertion as to the capacity or hmits of the Native mind
must at present be regarded as a deduction from in-
sufficient evidence."

Section 4. — ^The Evidence from Experiments

So far the evidence for and against the theory is the result
of empirical observation by more or less competent observers.
The need for a more scientific criterion is apparent.

In 1915 and igi6 the writer tested a number of European,
Indian, and Native pupils in schools in Natal in handwriting,
composition, and the fundamentals in arithmetic.^ The results
were as follows : —

TABLE No. 26

Standard.

Median scores.

•c

III. European .
Indian
Native

IV. European .
Indian
Native

V. European
Indian

Native

VI. European .
Indian
Native

II-3
131
131

12-7

13-7
15-2

132
141
15-5

14-1
15-2
16-5

12-9

13-4

12-2

12-9
14-2

13-4

13-8
13-8
13-6

13-9
143
14-6

41
41

2-8

4-5
4-5
3-2

5-3
5-2
3-7

5-4
51
4-3

3-8

3-7
1-8

4-5
5-3

2-8

5-7
5-3
30

70
6-7
3-2

4-3
5-4
3-2

5-8

6-3
4-8

6-9
8-0
6-7

7-8

IO-3

7-5

2-3

2-7
I'2

4-2
4-8

2-5

6-2

4-9
4-1

7-8
8-7
4-9

1-3

2-2

3-1
4-4
2-4

5-8
5-6
3-4

8-5
8-7
5-8

The progressive improvement in the work of European,
Indian, and Native pupils will be noticed. So far as these
Native pupils are concerned, it will be noticed that there is
1 See ante, p. 177 et seq.

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION

217

no marked arrest. If it is objected that the Native pupils are
a selected group in so far as they represent the survival of the
fittest, the same objection must be urged against the European
children, for in a recent study it has been shown that in the
year 1914, of the 213 boys who left the Government elementary
schools of Durban, 69, or 32 per cent., left before reaching
Standard V., and 164, or 'j'] per cent., left before reaching
Standard VI. ^

A more serious objection against the use of these figures
would be that the majority of the Native pupils have already
reached the age of puberty, so that these results only show
that there is no evidence of mental arrest in post-pubescent
Native pupils. We have therefore to discover if the pre-
pubescent pupils show any marked superiority over the
pubescent and post-pubescent.

For reasons already stated,^ the tests in the fundamentals
of arithmetic are the best of these tests in mental ability, as
evinced by school achievements. If we classify the European
and Native pupils according to age, we have the following
median scores : —

TABLE

No.

Age of pupils

10 II

Europeans : —

Number of cases

Addition
Subtraction .
Multiplication
Division

3-9
4-6

4-5
0-9

i
52 74

4-7 1 4-3
4-2 '5-3
3-7 3-6
2-9 2-7

4.9

5-7
5-3
41

5-8
6-5
5-2
4-9

4-9
5-9
4-9
6-6

6-4
6-4
7-0
7-4

■■

Indians : —

Number of cases

Addition
Subtraction .
Multiplication
Division

2-6

5-8
3.6
4-2

4-5
6-5

2-9

3-4

4-3
6-1

3-5
3-6

3-7

6-2

3-5

3-7

5-5

7-5
5-0
5-4

4-6
6-9
4-3
3-8

8-1
8-7

5-9

7-1

* Narbeth, Some Notes upon Technical Education, p. 45.

• See ante, p. 191.

2l8 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE
TABLE No. 27 — continued

Age of pupils . 9 i 10

13 14 15

r
16

Natives : —

Number of cases

■ ■ 1

Addition

2-1

1-8

2-0

1-9

2-2

2-9

2-6

2-0

3-8

2-8

Subtraction . 5-6

3-9

4-7

3-8

4-9

7-0

6-1

7-5

.5-1

5-4

4-2

Multiplication i-g

1-3

1-6

2-2

3-9

3-7

3-«

3-4

3-3

• •

Division . 2-2

2'0

2-1

4-1

4-0

4.8

3-7

3-4

1-9

While some of the results in the above table are invalidated
by reason of the fewness of the pupils of certain ages for whom
scores are available, the drop in the median score of European
pupils aged fourteen, and of Native pupils aged thirteen, is
worthy of notice. It may be that this decrease in efficiency
is due to the onset of puberty. If so, it should also be noticed
that the decrease in efficiency is common to pupils of both races,
and is not characteristic of the Natives only. It will also be
seen that the older pupils recover themselves quickly and
progress steadily until we come to the superannuated Native
pupils of eighteen, nineteen, and twenty.

Section 5. — ^The Reasons for the Lack of Progress in
Older Native Pupils

If, then, the results of our experiments prove that an arrest
of mental development is not a racial characteristic of the
Natives, how are we to account for the undoubted mental
slowness and sluggishness of many of the older pupils in our
Native schools ? Four reasons have been put forward : —

I. A Physical Development different from that of Europeans. —
Although it is popularly held that there are marked differences
between the size, structure, and development of the brain of
the European and that of the Negro, the researches of anato-
mists conflict on the question ^ ; and even if these differences
exist, it has yet to be proved that they have any direct bearing
on mental ability. At any rate, until more accurate means of

* See Mayo, The Mental Capacity of the American Negro, p. 56 et seq.,
for an account of the conflicting views.

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION

219

measurement have been discovered, and more unanimity of
scientific opinion has been obtained, we cannot rely on the
anatomical evidence at present available.

n 1

5'-

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s>^

^k:

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N w >

n 1

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z
0

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"*••"

w *

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•i.

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•

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* 1

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WIS

CO H

tso P
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II. Obsession of Sex Instinct. — In a previous part of this
study it has been shown that sex talk and sex indulgence

220 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

occupy a large place in the lives of the uncivilised Natives.^
The same phenomenon is noticed in the case of all primitive
peoples, and instruction in sexual matters forms a prominent
part in the initiatory rites of savage peoples. ^ A great many
missionaries who deal with Native pupils believe that the sex
impulse is stronger among adolescent Natives than among
Europeans. At some training institutions extraordinary pre-
cautions are taken to keep the sexes apart, and all the super-
intendents consulted by the writer are emphatic on the
necessity for constant watchful supervision to prevent out-
breaks of immorality.

The inference that the strength of the sex impulse is a
sufficiently distracting influence to account for the alleged
arrest of development is held by a number of missionary
teachers.3 More exact evidence is wanting, but the writer's
personal opinion, derived from observation and discussion with
missionaries and other close observers of the Native, is that
the sex instinct is stronger in adolescent Natives than in the
Europeans of South Africa ; that it occupies a very consider-
able share of the Natives' attention owing to the absence of
other distracting thoughts ; and that a certain amount of list-
lessness and indifference to study of adolescent Native pupils
is due to the fact that the school studies are not sufficiently
real and attractive to counteract the animal impulses of that
stage of development.

III. Mental Saturation. — In his Report on Native Education

* See ante, p. 27.

* See Stanley Hall's Adolescence, vol. ii. p. 232 et seq., for details.

' " The immoral practice known as * ukuhlobonga,' which is almost
universally carried on between young people arriving at the age of
puberty, would, in my opinion, account for the arrest of mental
development." (Principal of M School.)

" I certainly think that obsession by sex instinct plays a large part
in this [arrest of development]." (Principal of U School.)

" When it is remembered that for generations back the Native
tribes of South Africa have attached great importance to the age of
puberty, and emphasised it by the custom of circumcision for boys
and the corresponding rite amongst girls (these practices being accom-
panied by instruction of a lascivious kind in sexual matters), it is
not to be wondered at if a certain obsession of the sex instinct accom-
panies this time of life." (Missionary Superintendent at J .)

" As a rule the Native youth has his mind more taken up with sexual
matters than a European." (Principal of U Training Institution.)

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION 221

in South Africa, certainly the most thorough and thoughtful
consideration of the question of Native education which has
yet appeared, Mr E. B. Sargant discusses at some length the
causes of this arrest of mental development, which he assumes
to be a fact in the case of a large proportion of the clever
Native students who correspond to the youths in European
schools capable of winning scholarships and of taking dis-
tinguished positions among their fellows in general studies.
To this arrest Mr Sargant gives the name " mental saturation."
This is unfortunate, since it conveys the impression that the
mind is something which can absorb a certain amount of know-
ledge and no more, whereas Mr Sargant appears to mean no
more than that there is a limit to the amount of second-hand
information which a pupil is able or willing to receive. We
may summarise Mr Sargant 's conclusions as follows : —

1. Mental saturation is not pecuUar to Natives, but is found
also, though not to the same extent, in European pupils who
fail to fulfil the expectations aroused by their earlier scholastic
achievements.

2. In European pupils the arrest of development " is due
mainly to a forcing process, popularly called cramming, which
attempts to fill the mind of the young pupil with the results
of other persons' experiments without any proportionate
appeal to his own experience." While the experiences are
simple the pupil is able to absorb them, but when the subjects
of study increase the " pupil finds himself in need of an
important faculty which can only be sufficiently cultivated
through a first-hand acquaintance with facts : namely, the
power to arrange and to compare experiences, and to assign to
them their proportionate value, in order that some may be
rejected entirely, while others are grappled and linked together
so firmly as ultimately to form part of that discipUned mental
equipment which is alwa)^ at command when new facts are
encountered and their true place and value has to be deter-
mined."

3. Native pupils are more subject to cramming with other
people's experiences than are Europeans. " The Native,
through which an appeal can be made to the child's own know-
ledge, is abandoned at the earliest opportunity for the English
language. English itself is taught through books wliich cannot

222 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

be understood without a knowledge of social conditions alto-
gether beyond the reach of the Native child, and in most cases
of his teacher also. Arithmetic is made as unpractical as
possible, and becomes a series of mechanical operations some-
times incapable of verification in the present economic condi-
tions of the Native tribes. No advantage is taken of any of
the admirable Native industries to prepare the child's hand
and eye for further manual occupations of a higher order.
Thus it is not surprising that . . . there should be a frequent
entry made by teachers against the names of their former
scholars, ' Left school, tired.' " ^

4. In the case of both Europeans and Natives, where the
arrest of mental development occurs it is caused by " a want
of regard for the natural processes by which knowledge is
acquired, a tendency to press upon the unfortified mind a mciss
of mere results which it is incapable of its own motion of placing
in relation to other events and of utilising subsequently ; in
fine, an examination s)retem which encourages the teacher to
sacrifice every future quality of learning to mere imitative
achievement in the present. The same causes leading to
mental atrophy are at work, but they operate in one case
with immensely greater force than in the other."

5. When we have the same cause operating in the same way
upon both Europeans and Natives, "it is better reasoning to
draw the conclusion that the two types are similar to each
other in this particular respect, than to make an otherwise
unverified assumption that the difference of degree in the
effect produced rests upon entirely different types of beings,
characteristics which are practically permanent and must for
ever separate them from one another."

Without necessarily subscribing to Mr Sargant's psychology,
it must be admitted that he offers a most reasonable explana-
tion of the phenomenon. The curriculum of the Native schools
is either wholly or in part that of the Europeans ; the subjects
taught are generally outside the experience of the pupils ; and
the medium of instruction is for the most part a foreign tongue.

^ Mr Sargant might have further pointed out that geography is made
a matter of memorising definitions and of learning capes and bays,
while history often consists of memorising dates and the names of
Cape Governors.

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION 22$

A system of individual examination has encouraged the learn-
ing by heart of reproducible information. It is not surprising
that the Native fails when demands are made upon him for
consideration of the relative values of items of information,
for organising his knowledge, for reasoning, and for the applica-
tion of what he has learned to other fields.

IV. The Operation of the Law of Effect. — A fourth, and in
the writer's opinion the chief, reason for the apparent arrest
of development is to be found in the original nature of man.
All human and animal learning is conditioned by two laws —
the law of exercise, and the law of effect. The law of exercise
is that where there is a modifiable connection between a
situation and a response, the oftener that connection is made,
the more the strength of the connection is increased. The
oftener I hit the nail with the hammer, the more Ukely I am
to hit and not to miss. But that is not enough. If I want to
be successful in hitting the nail, I must want to hit it ; I must
find more satisfaction in hitting the nail than in just hitting.
In other words, the law of effect must operate. " The law of
effect is : when a modifiable connection between a situation and
a response is made, and is accompanied by a satisfying state of
affairs, that connection's strength is increased ; when made,
and accompanied by an annoying state of affairs, its strength
is decreased." ^

Our educational practice in the past has suffered by our
neglect of the law of effect. We have believed that "Practice
makes perfect," whereas it is only practice with appreciated
purpose or satisfaction which makes perfect. Mere knocking
of the balls with a cue will not make me a good billiard player.
I must want to do something with the balls ; and if I want to
become an expert player, I must get more satisfaction when
my ball goes into the pocket or knocks another ball than when
it simply rolls up the table.

In our education of the Natives we have neglected the law
of effect. We have forced the Native child through a course
of study the purpose of which he can only dimly conceive. We
have taught him subjects foreign to his experience, and in a
language which he cannot understand. At first, he comes to

* Thorndike, Educational Psychology, vol. ii. p. 4. (The italics are
the present writer's.)

224 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

school eager to receive the education which he thinks has made
the white man his master. For a few years the pressure
brought upon him by his teachers, inspectors, and, in some
cases, his parents, induces him to continue ; but then at the
period of adolescence, when he begins to feel himself a man,
when the method of school discipline becomes less formidable,
and when he wants to know the why and wherefore of things,
he sees no meaning in his school work. He finds no satisfaction
in doing the tasks given him. Other interests, e.g. those of
sex indulgence or of town hfe, clamour for satisfaction. No
wonder that he becomes listless in his school work, fails to
satisfy those in authority, and either leaves school or remains
there unwillingly.^

The operation of the law of effect will also account for those
Natives who do not exhibit the so-called arrested development.
The Sogas, the Semes, the Dubes, and the other Natives who
have shown no signs of arrested development did find some
meaning and satisfaction in their school work which encouraged
them to proceed with their studies.''

Section 6. — Conclusion

Our study of the psychology of the Native leads us to the
following conclusions : —

I. In the mental tests so far devised, and still more in
school achievements, the Native is considerably inferior to the

* In an article in the Pedagogical Seminary, vol. xv. p. 231, Dr
C. W^ard Cramp ton recommends the following special provisions for
adolescent school pupils : —

(i) Children who mature in the lower grammar grades should be given
the opportunity to obtain such form of instruction in the elementary
school as will directly prepare them for immediately taking a part in
active life.

(2) Where mature and immature children are now brought together
in the same class in the elementary or high school, they should be
separated into different classes, so that the pedagogical, ethical, and
social treatment to which they are subjected may be better adapted
to their disparate and distinct requirements and abiUties.

* In this connection it is interesting to note that almost all the
writer's correspondents who are convinced that an arrest of develop-
ment takes place attribute it wholly or in part to poor teaching.
Several correspondents state that pupils who showed signs of arrested
development in academic work made excellent progress in manual work.

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION 22.5

Europeam, but there is no evidence that this inferiority will be
permanent. The spread of civiUsation, selective breeding,
improved environment, and better teaching will undoubtedly
tend to lessen the mental differences between Europeans and
Natives.

2. The so-called arrest of mental development at the age
of puberty is clearly not a racial characteristic, though it is
undeniably true that at about that period a larger number of
Native pupils than European pupils do become listless and
indifferent in their school studies, and fail to make the progress
liitherto sustained.

3. This failure to progress is due principally to a course of
study and methods of teaching which fail to give the pupils
the satisfaction necessary to evoke their continued efforts,

4. The unsatisfyingness of ordinary school work is over-
poweringly strong at about the age of puberty, when the pupil
is no longer subservient to the ordinary school discipline, when
he begins to think about the meaning of his school studies and
to form plans for his future, and when other satisfiable interests
begin to appear.

If our conclusions are correct, their significance for Native
education is very great. They would encourage us to con-
tinue in our efforts to educate the Natives so that this great
mass of people may become a benefit, and not a hindrance,
to South Africa. For many years to come, separate courses
of study, as well as separate schools, for the Natives will be
necessary. The courses of study should take account of the
pecuhar experiences of the Natives, and the teaching, in the
earlier stages at least, should be through the vernacular.
From the beginning the education given should be meaningful
to the Natives, and to this end should lead up to the future
occupations open to them. Above all, it teaches us that the
kinds of schools, the subjects of instruction, and the methods
pursued can never be permanent, but must change with the
advance of civilisation among the Native people.

CHAPTER XI

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION {continued)

The prime basis for the reconstruction of a system of Native
education, viz., the mentality of the Bantu, has been discussed
in the preceding chapter. Two further fundamental considera-
tions must now be discussed before we can proceed to the task
of proposing a reformed scheme of administration and instruc-
tion. These are —

(A) The question of the position of the vernacular languages.
South Africa has already two official languages, Enghsh and
Dutch. The languages spoken by the Natives may be resolved
into three main groups, viz., Thonga, Sesuto, and Zulu-Kafir.
What shall be our attitude towards the vernaculars ? Shall
we attempt to perpetuate them, or shall we attempt to induce
the coming generations of Natives to speak either one or both
of the European languages ?

(B) The questions involved in the establishment of agri-
culture as a Native industry. It can easily be shown that
farming is the most suitable vocation for the Natives, both in
their own interests and in the interests of the governing
Europeans ; but good farming presupposes a satisfactory system
of land tenure, which does not yet exist in South Africa as
far as the Natives are concerned. Before we can induce the
Native to farm, we must assure him that he will have definite
right to his land, that he will be able to reap where he has sown,
and that there will be a market for his products.

PART III. THE POSITION OF THE VERNACULAR
LANGUAGES

As we have already seen,^ the courses of study of the several
provinces show considerable differences with regard to instruc-
tion in and through the vernacular languages.
1 See pp. gS and 138.
226

IHE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION 227

In the Cape Province the use of the vernacular, although not
so stated in the regulations, is permissive in Native schools.^
Seeing, however, that few of the inspectors make use of the
vernacular in their examinations, and that the parents generally
regard its study as a waste of time, we may assume that its
use is by no means general.

In Natal, Zulu is the medium of instruction in the lower
classes, and a medium of instruction for certain subjects
throughout the school course.

In the Transvaal the use of the vernacular is permissive as
in the Cape Province.

The Orange Free State prescribes the " mother-tongue of the
majority of the pupils " as the medium of instruction during
the first four years.

In Basutoland the vernacular is both the medium and subject
of instruction throughout the whole course. The subjects
hygiene and geography are taught in Sesuto, and the position
of EngUsh is decidedly that of the foreign language.

As the subject is of fundamental importance for the framing
of regulations and the drawing up of courses of study, it
deserves treatment in some detail.

Section i.— Different Views on the Use of the Vernacular
in Schools

On the whole question of the position of use of the vernacular
in Native schools, we have three schools of thought.

I. In the first place, there are the Natives themselves, who
do not, as a rule, desire instruction in the vernacular for their
children. They realise the value of English and Dutch, the
languages of the ruhng race, and wish their children to begin
the study of these as soon as possible. It is becoming in-
creasingly difficult to induce them to learn their own language
first. This tendency is the more marked in schools under
Native control, and it is very probable that, if the management
of the schools were handed over to the Natives themselves,
instruction in the vernacular would cease. ^

^ Muir, Evidence before Cape Select Commission on Native Education,
section 358.

* " The less the Native idiom is taught, and the more rapidly English
is introduced, the better they (i.e. the Christianised Natives of Basuto-

228 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

2. The second school of thought consists of Europeans who
are of opinion that since there are at least three different
Native languages in South Africa, Thonga, Sesuto, and Zulu-
Kafir, and since these languages have no commercial or literary
value, time spent on instruction in the vernaculars is largely
wasted. All sources of new information are EngUsh or Dutch,
and the sooner the child commences the study of these
languages the better.

This view is shared by a considerable number of educators
in the polyglot portions of the British Empire, who, realising
the short school life of the child, and recognising the unifying
power of a common language,^ and the necessity for inducing
pupils to think in English if they are to know English, would
make little use of the vernacular. The conclusions of Dr
Norman F. Black of Regina, Canada, who has made a special
study of the question, represent the views of this school of
thought : —

" English must be the dominant subject in all ele-
mentary schools. If, however, the parents desire taught
another language of acknowledged practical value, the
writer would favour granting their request. . . . The
teaching of reading and writing in the vernacular should
in all cases be postponed until the child has completed
the work of Grade I. at least, and, so far as possible, the
reading matter used in the mother-tongue lessons should
be of a character to increase the pupil's intelligent interest
in and love for the land in which he dwells and the flag
that flies over it. In all elementary schools receiving State
aid, the language of instruction should be EngUsh, except
in teaching the mother-tongue itself, and possibly in con-
ducting moral and reUgious instruction where this is
made a recognised subject of formal study." {English
for the Non-English, p. 78.)

land) are pleased." (Sargant, Report on Native Education in South
Africa, part iii. p. 4.)

" I do not tlunk the scholars would attend and pay fees if we did
not teach English." (Willoughby, Evidence before the Cape Select
Committee on Native Education, section 1158.)

The same opinion has been given to the writer by missionaries in
the Cape and Natal.

^ Cf. the insistence on English in the public schools of the United States.

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION 229

3. The third school of thought consists of South African
officials and politicians,^ missionaries,^ and educators,^ who
base their arguments for the retention of the vernacular on
pohtical and pedagogical grounds. As this is the opinion most
prevalent to-day, it is necessary to examine the grounds on
which it is based.

Section 2. — ^The Case for the Vernacular

I. The Politician's Point of View. — ^The argument advanced
by the politician for the retention of the vernacular is that it
will prove a desirable separating factor between the White and
Black races. The chief want of the educated Native is pride
of race. If we take away from him, they say, or rather allow
him to forget, his Native tongue, the last shreds of his nation-
ality will disappear, and the danger of assimilation through the
Native's desire to be like the European will be increased."*
Further, either with or without segregation some form of local
self-government for Natives seems bound to come. In the
conduct of such self-government it will be necessary to have
a common medium of communication, and this, for many
years to come at least, will be the Native language.

The argument that identity of language is an assimilating
force will be conceded, though its potency is not nearly so great
as identity of religion or of nationality. A common religion
is the force which binds the Jews of different nationalities
together, but the possession of a common language or patois
Hebrew (Yiddish) makes the alliance closer. On the other
hand, racial and national differences may exist in spite of

* E.g. the members of the South African Native Affairs Commission,
which consisted of representatives from the Cape, Natal, Transvaal,
Orange Free State, Basutoland, and Rhodesia.

2 Out of sixty-five of the most experienced missionaries in South
Africa who repUed to a recent letter of inquiry on this point, no less
than sixty-two expressed their opinion that in Native schools the
medium of instruction should be the vernacular. (See The Christian
Express, August i, 1908, p. 1 15.)

* ' ' Almost all the witnesses, whether teachers, inspectors, or members
of School Boards, are in favour of the principle that the mother -
tongue should be used as a medium in the lower standards." {Cape
Education Commission, 1911, Report, section 40.)

* " When a Native talks Kafir he is a man ; when he talks English
he is a caricature," is a common remark in South Africa.

230 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

identity of language. The German-speaking Pole is a Pole
and not a German. The Russian Jew is a Jew first and a
Russian afterwards. In the United States the possession of a
common language — English — does not bridge the race differ-
ences between the Negro and the White man. As Professor
Margoliouth says : "Of the various ties which bind human
beings together, that of common language seems to possess no
great strength. Other bonds protect it, rather than it them.
Where in the same city different languages are spoken in
different quarters, the quarters are not isolated because the
inhabitants speak different languages, but they speak different
languages because they are isolated." ^

More is to be said for the second argument, for the educated
Natives from among whom the councillors and officials in any
scheme of local self-government should be chosen must cer-
tainly know the language of the people. Already deterioriation
in the spoken and written Kafir and Sesuto of educated Natives
is noticeable.^

2. The Missionary's Point of View. — To the missionary the
Native school is not primarily a place at which a boy or girl can
be prepared for his or her future occupation only, but the place
where the Native can also be trained in the principles of the
Christian religion and the Christian virtues, with the definite
view that the man or woman so trained will go back again to
the Native people and let his light shine among them. The
elevation of the whole of the Native people through selected
individuals is their object, and they recognise that the spread
of civilisation must be largely through the efforts of their ex-
pupils. It is therefore indispensable that the educated and
civilised pupil should know the vernacular, and that he should
not lose this bond of sympathy with his own people.

3. The Educator's Point of View. — It is the missionary educa-
tors, however, the men and women who live and labour among
the Native people, who make the strongest plea for vernacular
instruction. So insistent and (in the writer's opinion) so

1 See his interesting article on " Language as a Consolidating and
Separating Influence," in Papers on Inter-Racial Problems communi-
cated to the First Universal Races Congress, pp. 57-61.

* Cf. Inspector Mr Bennie's evidence before the Cape Select Com-
mittee on Native Education, section 2385 et passim. Letters appearing
in the Native press abound in elementary grammatical errors.

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION 23I

pedagogic ally sound has been their attitude, that the Cape
Select Committee on Native Education was induced to recom-
mend that the vernacular should be the medium of instruction
up to Standard III., that subsequently English should be the
medium as far as practicable, but that rehgious instruction
should, where desired, be through the medium of the verna-
cular, and that both English and the vernacular should be
taught as languages throughout the school course,^

The chief pedagogical arguments in favour of vernacular
instruction, at least in the lower classes, are : —

{a) Using language in its broadest sense to include gestures,
pictures, movements of the body, etc. — in short, anything used
as a sign, — we may say that language is necessary for think-
ing, for to be able to think about things, those things must
have a meaning, and meanings are embodied in language.
Language is then the instrument, and indeed the chief subject,
of school work. To secure good thinking, which is the primary
object of intellectual education, the meaning of the thing to
be thought about — in other words, the comprehension of the
language used — is indispensable. If we ask young Native
children to do thinking about facts so novel to them as those
of European civilisation, and in a tongue so foreign as EngUsh,
we are asking for the impossible, and if we attempt to insist,
as we do under our present system, we receive words instead
of thoughts.^ The defects of verbalism and parrot-like
memorising so frequently commented upon by the inspectors
are chiefly due to the too early insistence upon EngUsh as the
medium. As Mr Sargant points out, the facts of modern
European civilisation, just as those of religion, are too novel
and foreign to the Native to be capable of presentation through
a foreign tongue.'

' Report, section 6.

^ " A teacher who has never seen the sea with its tides and its ships,
nor a large river, nor a great manufacturing town, nor any industry
prosecuted on a large scale, attempts to teach geography in English,
a language which it would be a stretch of courtesy to say he under-
stands, to a class ignorant of the language he is trying to use." (From
an article in The Christian Express, June i, 1908.)

- Report on Native Education in South Africa, part iii. p. 6. Cf.
also an article by a Native teacher in The Christian Express of August i,
1908.

232 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

(6) The object of making English the medium is, of course,
to teach EngUsh ; but this results in laying undue emphasis
upon one subject, albeit a very important one, of the curri-
culum. The function of education is to create situations, the
responses to which will result in the acquirement of habits,
knowledge, and tendencies to action, which are in the best
interests of the person or people to be educated. A knowledge
of English is very desirable for the Native, not only for its
immediately practical value as a means of intercourse with
the ruling race, but as a means whereby the Native can acquire
additional knowledge as a basis for future and more adequate
reactions. But concurrently with this process in linguistic
abiUty must proceed a knowledge of real things, so that the
thought process may not be divorced from reality. Other
matters, such as the formation of good habits and ideals of con-
duct, are of paramount importance, but these cannot receive
adequate attention if English dominates the curriculum.

(c) The serious elimination of pupils from Native schools and
the high percentage of failures in the departmental examina-
tions are largely due to the insistence upon English as the
medium. Pupils who fail at the inspector's examination are
naturally inclined to leave school,^ while even those who
survive become " tired " of a curriculum which, because of its
reference to foreign things in a language imperfectly under-
stood, makes no appeal to them.^

{d) Granted that a time may come when it will be possible and
desirable to use English entirely as the medium of instruction,
that time is not yet. The present disabilities under which
the Native schools labour — the inadequate financial support,
the wretched buildings and equipment, and the ill-prepared
teachers — are sufficient obstacles to education without adding
to their number by requiring the use of a medium which neither
teacher nor pupil understands.

1 " A good many, of course, never go beyond the first standard,
jnst because the medium of instruction is English ; whereas if they
commenced in their own language, the probabihties are before finishing
a year or so they would be able to pass the third standard in Kafir."
(Rev. S. P. SihlaU, Native missionary, Evidence before Cape Select Com-
mittee on Native Education, 1908, section 942.)

* Cf. Sargant, Report on Native Education in South Africa, part iii.
p. 62 et seq.

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION 233

Ssction 3. — ^The Ultimate Supremacy of the European
Language

While the arguments in favour of instruction in and through
the vernacular are strong enough to control our practice, the
writer's personal conviction is that the Bantu languages cannot
live. The practical value of English and Dutch, both as means
of intercourse and as bases for further education, the un-
willingness of the Europeans to learn the Native languages,^
the absence of a Native literature, and the improved methods of
teaching English, will prevail ; and despite the efforts of Bantu
scholars, who point out the beauty and euphony of the lan-
guages, the completeness and regularity of their grammars,
and their abiUty to keep pace with the spread of civilisation
by adopting technical and other terms from the EngHsh, the
Native tongues must give place to the more practical European
languages.

Apart from sentiment, there is no reason for wishing the
Bantu languages to survive. They have served their purpose.
They are not capable of expressing the ideas which the new
European civilisation has brought to the country. They are
hopelessly clumsy and inadequate on the mathematical and
scientific sides.^ Besides this, languages are instruments of
communication, and it will be to the interest of South Africa
not to perpetuate another language. For the present, however,
instruction in the vernacular will be necessary for those who
intend to become teachers, and the use of the vernacular as a
medium will be necessary where the children come from Bantu-
speaking homes. As a working rule it is suggested that the
vernacular be the chief medium of instruction for the first two
years, that it share with English or Dutch the position of
medium for the next three, but that after that English or Dutch
become the medium.

' The Dutch almost invariably address their Native servant in
Dutch, while the majority of the English people use a " kitchen Kafir,"
a feeble mixture of Kafir and EngUsh.

* Even strong advocates of the Kafir medium admit its clumsiness
in arithmetic. It is certainly cumbersome to have to express 555 by
" amakulu, amahlanu anamashumi amahlanu anesihlanu," while it is
not possible to express in Zulu large numbers, such as a hundred
thousand, or low fractions.

234 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

This rule should, however, be subject to change where the
teacher is especially competent in English, and where the
children have considerable opportunity {e.g. in towns) of
speaking EngUsh or Dutch.

PART IV. AGRICULTURE AS A NATIVE INDUSTRY

In our consideration of the present system of industrial
education in the Native schools of South Africa we showed
that, in spite of the unanimous opinion that the education of
the Natives should be largely industrial, a very small percentage
of the Natives were, as a matter of fact, receiving industrial
training. The reasons for this were the high cost of the
necessary equipment, the opposition of the White industrial
classes, and the apathetic and even hostile attitude of some
missionaries and the Natives themselves towards the subject.
It was there pointed out that only the first two objections
could be regarded as worthy of serious consideration, and that,
after all, the fear of competition evinced by the Europeans was
to a large extent unfounded. The vaHd objections towards a
general system of industrial training are therefore founded on
the cost of the necessary equipment and the limited demand
for skilled labour. Both these objections fall to the ground,
however, if we extend the term " industrial training " to
include instruction in agriculture and the Native arts and
crafts.

As far as we can at present foresee, agriculture must become
the chief industry of South Africa. Our mineral wealth must,
in the course of time, become exhausted, and the isolation of
South Africa must prevent it for many years from becoming a
great manufacturing and industrial country in the sense in
which Great Britain, Germany, and the United States are
industrial countries. On the other hand. South Africa's
opportunities in agriculture and stock-raising are very gieat.
The country's farming resources are only now becoming known,
and, with the discovery of remedies for the numerous plagues
and diseases which periodically ravage the country, the
agricultural prospects of South Africa are very bright. If, how-
ever, these prospects are to be fully realised, the four miUion
Native rural inhabitants must be taught to be good farmers.

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION 235

In the past the Native has made httle use of the land. So
long as he could obtain sufficient grazing for his cattle, and a
small patch of land for cultivation, he was content. As a
stock-farmer the Native has not been very successful, and he is
probably the worst agriculturist in the world. Although agri-
culture is the hereditary occupation of the people, it has never
been practised on a large scale. On the contrary, each " raw "
Native produces just enough to satisfy the needs of his family.
Agriculture is followed as a means of sustenance and nothing
more. Indeed, since the coming of the White man the Native
does not produce even enough to satisfy his own wants, but
buys mealies from the White storekeeper. He rarely looks
beyond the immediate present. His wives cultivate just
enough land to bear the amount of food required. If anything
occurs to spoil the crop, be it drought or a visitation by locusts,
there will not be enough food. Then if our Native does
not succeed in begging food from his neighbours, he will have
recourse to the natural roots and fruits of the bush. If these
fail, he faces starvation. Some primitive methods, to be sure,
are taken to store the crops when reaped, but the Native rarely
plants enough to allow for a bad year. Even to-day the supply
of Native labour for the mines, the farms, the stores, and
domestic service varies with the goodness or badness of the
harvest, for in bad years the Native is compelled to leave home
to work for food for himself and his family, whereas in a good
j^ear he can bask in the sunshine at home.

It would be difficult to imagine a more haphazard and waste-
ful method of cultivation than that practised by the Natives.
On the slopes of the hill, on which the Native kraal stands,
small irregular pieces of land are turned over by the hoe, or in
a few cases thinly ploughed up. Here the seeds are sown, and
the natural fertiUty of the land produces a fair crop. This
same plot of land is cultivated in succeeding years, and as no
system of fertilising is practised, it soon becomes worn out and
will grow nothing but weeds. Then another piece of virgin land
is selected, and the same process is repeated. Since the bush
land is generally the most fertile because of the accumulation
of leaf-mould, which acts as a natural fertiliser, the bush is often
fired, and small plots of land there cultivated in the same way.
No attempt at irrigation is made, though this would often be

236 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

possible ; and no attempt is ever made to restore fertility to
the soil. The adherence to these wasteful ancestral methods
of cultivation in the face of European example is astonishingly
strong. A Native will work for years with a European farmer ;
will become so thoroughly conversant with the White man's
method of farming that he can safely be left to till the land
and sow the crops in his master's absence ; he will see that on
the European plan four times as much grain can be obtained ;
yet when he goes back to his kraal, he will still practise his
old methods of agriculture. If he is reminded of the example
of the White man, and asked why he does not follow it, he will
reply simply, " That is the White man's way : I am a Native."
This improvidence, this being satisfied merely to meet the
requirements of to-day, is so deep-rooted in the Native, that
it is almost hopeless to expect to improve the present genera-
tion. There are signs, however, that an improvement in his
methods of agriculture must come. The wants of the Natives
are increasing, and the amount of land available for them is
hardly sufficient to support them with their present primitive
methods of agriculture. The Native will be compelled by
economic pressure to adjust himself to a new and better method
of agriculture ; it is in the interests of both races that he should
become a better producer, so that it is clearly the duty of school
authorities to prepare the coming generation for the new order
of things.

To enable the schools to induce the educated Natives to
return to the land, an improvement in the system of Native
land tenure is necessary. The " raw " Native clings tenaciously
to his tribalism with its communal occupation of land ; but
one of the first effects of education is to make the Native
individualistic, and with individualism comes greater industry,
enterprise, and progress.

Industry, enterprise, and progress in agriculture depend on
a reasonable security of land tenure, and until the educated
Native can be convinced that he will be freed from the more
or less arbitrary decisions of a raw Native chief, and that he
will be able to lead the new hfe which has been opened out
to him by education, it will be difficult to induce him to
turn to agriculture as a permanent means of earning a
livelihood.

THE BASES OF RECONSTRUCTION

237

Four systems of Native land tenure exist in South Africa : —

{a) Communal occupation of public land reserved for
Natives in locations and mission reserves.

(b) Squatting on public lands.

{d) Individual tenure of public land reserved for Natives,
as in the Transkei.^

An adequate treatment of the history and merits of these
systems is outside the scope of the present work.^ It is
sufficient to point out here that under the first two systems
there is not sufficient security of tenure to induce educated
Natives to take up agriculture as a permanent vocation. Of
the two latter systems, that of permitting Natives to acquire
land from individuals by purchase or lease presents such social,
economic, and administrative difficulties as to make it un-
desirable except in areas defined by Government, and under
conditions which prevent communal occupation.^

We are left, then, with the form of land tenure which in their
present state of development is most suitable for the Natives
and most desirable from the European's point of view — ^the
allocation by the Government of small plots of ground to indi-
vidual Natives to be held subject to good behaviour, and the
payment of an annual rental. This system, under the name of
the Glen Grey Act, has been in operation in a part of the Cape

1 The distribution of Natives as regards the nature of their land
tenure is as follows : —

Province.

Locations.

Townships

and

municipal

areas.

Private
lands.

Crown
lands.

Mission,
reserve.

Cape proper

CapeTranskei .

Natal and Zululand .

Transvaal

Orange Free State .

343,756
846,994
426,936
299,658
14,600

102,970

8,620

27,339

25,445

53,585

190,487
41.893
486,098
550,318
211,951

13,902

81,810
59,140

16,565

5,251

27,026

17,458

1,537

{South African Bluebook on Native Affairs, 1910, p. 360.)

- For a full account see the Report of the South African Native Affairs
Commission, 1903-5, sections 75-210.
' See sections 191-193 of the Report.

238 THE EDUCATION OF IHE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

Province since 1894, and has proved very successful.^ In 1910
a Government Commission was appointed to inquire into the
general working of the system of individual land tenure. The
report is distinctly favourable, and concludes on the following
optimistic note : " Generally the Native people are rising in
the scale of civiUsation ; they are advancing intellectually, and
by their loyalty, their obedience to the law, their large share
in the industrial life of the country and their direct and indirect
contributions to the public revenue, they are responding
wortliily to the generous pohcy of this colony in the administra-
tion of Native affairs." ^

The trend of competent opinion in South Africa is to-day
in the direction of extending cautiously, but surely, the system
of individual ownership.' Without it we shall not succeed in
inducing the Native to take up farming, the occupation most
in keeping with his nature and view of life, and one that he
can pursue without entering into competition with the
European.

1 The principles involved in the Glen Grey Act are :
(i) Individual title to land.

(2) Recognition of law of primogeniture.

(3) Local self-government.

(4) Power to levy taxes and vote expenditure.

' Quoted by Evans, Black and White in South-East Africa, p. 235.

* For example, the South African Native Affairs Commission, 1903-5,
passed the following resolution : " Recognising the attachment of the
Natives to, and the present advantages of, their own communal or
tribal system of land tenure, the Commission does not advise any
general compulsory measure of subdivision and individual holding
of the lands now set apart for their occupation ; but recommends
that movement in that direction be encouraged, and that, where the
Natives exhibit in sufi&cient numbers a desire to secure and a capacity
to hold and enjoy individual rights to arable plots and residential
sites on such lands, provision should be made accordingly under well-
defined conditions " (section 147).

CHAPTER XII

THE FINANCING OF NATIVE EDUCATION

In the last analysis provision for education resolves itself into
a question of finance. Education costs money, and as more
and greater responsibilities devolve upon the school an increas-
ing amount of financial support is necessary. Before the
matter of education became a State function, its financial
support was derived from private. Church, or State charities,
but nowadays the funds for education are derived from public
taxation. These are generally obtained by a form of direct
taxation for educational purposes, as in the case of England,
Germany, the United States, and most other countries enjoying
local self-government. In South Africa, however, almost all
the funds for education are derived from the general revenue of
the Union, but are expended by the Provincial Councils.^ This
is not the place to enter into a general discussion of the relative
merits of the two forms of obtaining financial support for educa-
tion ; but when deaUng with a people like the Natives, who
cannot be expected to understand the principles involved in
taxation, it would seem to be desirable to let the Native know
as clearly as possible why he is being taxed. If we can point
out to the Native the material benefits in the form of schools,
roads, bridges, etc., which he as an individual enjoys as the
result of taxation, we shall appeal to something which he can
understand and appreciate more than if we attempt to explain
the principles of State taxation. The most progressive Natives
in South Africa are those of the Transkei, where a form of
local self-government, with local taxation for educational and
other specific services for the benefit of the Native, obtains.

1 In the Cape Province each School Board is empowered to levy
a rate not to exceed one-eighth of a penny in the pound for school
purposes, and in parts of the Native Territories and in Basutoland
the Natives tax themselves directly for educational purposes.

239

240 THE KDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

The system of local self-government, however, is but in its
infancy, and for many years to come the funds for Native
education must be derived from the general revenue of the
Union. In the past and at present Native education is sup-
ported by special grants-in-aid. The system was derived from
that in vogue in England when the elementary schools were
being qonducted by religious and philanthropic agencies. If
there was any principle underlying the system, it was that the
education of the masses was primarily the function of the
Churches. Even when the State began to recognise its duty
in the matter of public education, it was felt that the Churches
were the best agencies for carrying it out.

In the following pages we have attempted first to summarise
the systems of State aid to Native education in the several
provinces and Basutoland, and then to examine the other
sources of revenue for Native education. We have then tried
to demonstrate that Native education is not receiving the share
of financial support to which it is entitled ; finally, a basis for
the furnishing of Government support to Native education
has been proposed, and a system of grants-in-aid suggested.

Section 1. — The Present System of Government
Grants-in-Aid

The basis on which Government grants in aid of Native
education are paid in the several provinces and in Basutoland
are as follows : —

(A) Cape Province

The following grants may be paid : — ^

I. Mission Schools ^

I. A grant not to exceed £75 per annum for the principal
teacher, and not to exceed £45 per annum for each assistant

1 AH grants are contingent on the money being voted by the
Legislature.

* A distinction is made between the grants paid to Mission Schools
and to Aborigines' Schools. Mission Schools are schools for the Coloured
people of the province proper, and Aborigines' Schools are schools
for the Native population of the Transkeian Territories. The Mission
Schools are attended by "Coloured" (mulatto) children as well as by
Natives.

THE FINANCING OF NATIVE EDUCATION 24I

teacher. This grant is solely in aid of teachers' salaries, and
must be supplemented by a local contribution of los. for every
£1 of grant.

2. A grant not exceeding £50 per annum may be made
towards maintaining an industrial class in connection with a
mission school.

3. A grant in aid of rent.

II. Aborigines' Schools'^

1. An annual grant in aid of the salary of the teacher,
varying from a maximum of ;^ioo for the principal and ^^40
for the assistant teacher in an institution to a maximum of
£40 for the head teacher and a lesser grant for the assistant
in an ordinary school. In those parts of the Transkeian
Territories which fall under the Glen Grey Act, these grants
are supplemented by grants from the Transkeian General
Council, to the extent of 50 per cent, in the case of assistants,
and 75 per cent, in the case of principal teachers.

2. A grant in aid of the apprenticeship of boys and girls who
enter into an agreement with the authorities of the institution
with which they are connected to serve in certain trades.*
These maintenance grants, as they are called, are ^^15 per annum
for bo57s and £10 per annum for girls.

3. A grant of £io or £12 per annum in the case of boarders
other than apprentices. *

4. A grant not exceeding £120 per annum in aid of the salary
of the trade instructor of apprentices. As a rule, not more
than two departments in a school may receive this grant, and
there must be fifteen apprentices in each trade department
receiving the grant.

1 A distinction is made between the grants paid to Mission Schools
and to Aborigines' Schools. Mission Schools are schools for the Coloured
people of the province proper, and Aborigines' Schools are schools
for the Native population of the Transkeian Territories. The Mission
Schools are attended by " Coloured " (mulatto) children as well as by
Natives.

- The number of apprentices and boarders for whom grants are
available is strictly limited. The regulations require that the whole
number of boarders and apprentices in a school should consider-
ably exceed that of those to whom maintenance grants are paid.
(Reg. No. 51.)

242 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

5. A grant not exceeding £30 in aid of purchase of tools,
fittings, and materials for the trade departments.

6. An annual allowance of £$0 for the expenses of an indus-
trial department not in receipt of the foregoing allowances, or
attached to a Native day school.

7. A grant in aid of rent to training schools and industrial
institutions in the case of new buildings erected in accordance
with plans approved by the Department, vested to the satis-
faction of the Department, and used in perpetuity for educa-
tional purposes only.

(B) Natal Province
The following giants-in-aid may be paid :—

I. Training Schools for Teachers

1. Half the amount of the salaries of the necessary teaching
staff, provided that the amount payable by the Government
under this clause shall not exceed ^^300 per annum.

2. £3 per student per annum calculated on the average
attendance.

3. £2 for every student who obtains a teacher's certificate
at the end of the year.

II. Boarding Schools

1. Class A (containing only pupils above Standard IV.). —
Half the amount of the salaries of the necessary teaching staff,
provided that the amount payable by the Government under
this clause shall not exceed ;f200.

£^ per pupil per annum calculated on the average daily
attendance.

2. Class B (boarders only). —

20S. per annum for pupils up to Standard I., calculated

on average attendance.
30S. per annum for pupils in Standards II. and III.,

calculated on average attendance.
40S. per annum for pupils in Standard IV., calculated

on average attendance.
60s. per annum for pupils over Standard IV., calculated

on average attendance.

THE FINANCING OF NATIVE EDUCATION 243

3. Class C (boarders and day pupils). —

255.^ per annum for every pupil below Standard I., on

average daily attendance,
30S.1 pgi- annum for every pupil in Standards I. and II.,

on average daily attendance.
40S.1 per annum for every pupil above Standard II., on

average daily attendance.

In all boarding schools a special grant not to exceed £2 per
pupil per annum for approved industrial work, for not less than
ten hours per week.

III. Day Schools

1. 17s. per pupil, subject to reduction if an uncertificated
teacher is employed.

2. A bonus of £4 to the principal, £2 to each certificated
teacher assistant, and £1 to each uncertificated assistant if the
school is graded " excellent."

3. An industrial grant of 3d. per annum will be allowed for
every pupil on the roll who pays 3d. per year into the " Indus-
trial Training Fund " at the school.

I. Training Institutions

1. An initial grant not exceeding £300 for equipment.

2. Grants, to be expended only on salaries for teachers, on
the pound-for-pound system as follows : —

(a) A grant not exceeding ;^ioo for the officer in charge

of the boarding establishment.
(6) A grant not exceeding £250 on behalf of the chief

officer of the institution or department thereof.

To obtain a grant for the chief officer, at least

one other instructor must be employed.

' Grants will be reduced by 53. each if uncertificated teachers are
employed. Similar reduction if accommodation and equipment are
not as required. '

* For new scale of grant proposed see Appendix F.

244 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

assistant instructor. To obtain a grant for two
instructors there must be more than thirty
students, for three instructors there must be
more than sixty students, and for more than
one hundred students, or separate departments
for men and women,

(d) A grant not exceeding £100 for each manual-

training instructor, the number of instructors
to be limited as above.
((f) Bursaries at a rate not exceeding £10 for each
Native student who signs an agreement to teach
for three years in a Government-aided institution.

II, Industrial Schools. {" To train boys for crafts and

occupations connected with farming, and to train girls
and boys for household work and domestic occupations
generally." — Regulations, section 8.)

1. A maintenance grant of £10 per annum for each approved
and indentured pupil, who must have passed Standards III.
(if a boy) and II. (if a girl).

2. Grants in aid of salaries of teachers.

{a) Not exceeding £$0 per annum for each qualified

male teacher.
{b) Not exceeding £30 per annum for each qualified

female teacher,
(c) Not exceeding £150 per annum for each European

teacher,

3. An initial grant not exceeding £100 for equipment for
approved institutions.

III. Ordinary Native Schools. {" In no case shall the full
grant be payable unless industrial education of a satis-
factory character is given.")

I, Grants in aid of salaries of teachers —

(«) Not exceeding £20 per annum for every uncertifi-
cated teacher,

(b) Not exceeding £40 per annum for provisionally
certificated teacher.

THE FINANCING OF NATIVE EDUCATION 245

teacher.
{d) Not exceeding £yo per annum for European

teacher.
{e) Not exceeding £20 per annum for industrial

teacher.

{N.B. — The number of teachers for whom grants will
be paid is one for every thirty pupils, " provided that the
number enrolled exceeds any multiple of thirty by not less
than ten, grants may be paid in respect of an additional
teacher.")

IV, Special Instruction Courses for Teachers ^

1. A grant not exceeding £36 in all, or 9s. per hour for each
competent instructor.

2. Payment at the rate of gs, per hour for approved com-
petent instructors in industrial work.

3. A grant at the rate of 30s. per caput as subsistence
allowance for each teacher in regular attendance.

4. A grant not exceeding ,^20 for every thirty teachers in
attendance, for books and other school material needed in
the course.

(D) Orange Free State

The annual vote of £4000 for Native education is allocated
(half every six months) among the various mission organisa-
tions conducting Native schools. The allocation is based on
the attendance returns, furnished by the mission organisations.
In 1913 the allocation was at the rate of 3s. 6d. per pupil
enrolled.

(E) Basutoland

I. The total grant to each mission will be calculated on the
total average attendance of pupils in all its day schools and

* " At least until such time as a better-qualified type of Native
teacher has been produced in the training institutions, courses of in-
struction extending over a period of about four weeks may be held
periodically, in cases where not less than thirty acting teachers present
themselves, and where adequate provision is forthcoming for class-room
purposes, and the accommodation of instructors and teachers."
(Regulations, section 26.)

246 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

institutions which are on the official list. It will be calculated
at the rate of not less than 15s., or more than i8s., per unit of
attendance.

II. The sum of money constituting the difference between
the total grant and the sum payable to each school for its
day schools and institutions will be allocated in the form of
grants for special purposes, to be decided by the Department
in conjunction with each central mission authority, at the
beginning of each financial year.

III. Grants to Elementary Schools, as follows : —

Average

Grant.

attendance.

Third class

20- 25

£16 Per annum.

25- 45

£20

Second class

45- 60

£M-i-8 .. „

60- 70

;^28+8 .. „

First class .

70-100

;^34+l2+8

100-150

;^34-f-l2 + 8+8 „

over 150

£8 for each addi-
tional fifty
pupils in at-
tendance

IV. Head teachers of first-class schools receive a bonus of £3
per annum after five years' service, and an extra bonus of -^3
per annum after ten years' service.

Section 2. — Other Sources of Financial Support

In addition to these Government grants-in-aid, which have
been, and must continue to be, the chief source of income, funds
for the maintenance of Native education are obtained from
four other sources : —

(a) The Union Government.

{h) The Native Councils in the Transkei and Pondoland.

contributions.
{d) European philanthropists in South Africa and

overseas.

THE FINANCING OF NATIVE EDUCATION 247

(a) Since 1915 the Union Government has made a direct
grant of £600 per annum to the Inter-State Native College.
It also provides the funds for the grants-in-aid which are
distributed by the Provincial Councils.

{b) In the Transkeian Territories the grant in aid of teachers'
salaries made by the Cape Government, which varies from ;fi2
per annum for an uncertificated assistant up to £40 for a
certificated head teacher, is supplemented by grants from the
Transkeian General Council to the extent of 50 per cent, of the
Education Department grant in the case of assistants, and
75 per cent, in the case of head teachers. In addition to this,
teachers in these cases participate in the benefits of the
Teachers' Good Service and Pension schemes. This system of
supplementing from general revenue the amounts raised by local
taxation for educational purposes is working very satisfactorily,
and its gradual extension to other districts is recommended.

(c) Fees. — School fees are required in all the Native schools
except those situated in the Native territories and in the
reserves, where the Natives pay a special tax which is expended
on education, roads, and other services for their benefit.

The school fees vary from threepence a month in the infant
classes to two and three shillings in the higher standards. The
amount collected in fees in the day schools depends largely
on the activity of the teachers and missionary superintendents.
That these fees can be collected if sufficient trouble be taken
is shown by the satisfactory amounts received by such an
active organisation as the American Zulu Board in Natal,^
but that the Natives will avoid paying if they can is evidenced
by the frequent complaints of missionaries and teachers. ^

The present state of affairs is unsatisfactory, and the in-
equality of burden apparent. As was pointed out to the Cape
Committee on Native Education, in the Ciskeian mission and
aborigines' schools the teacher has often to wait for his salary
until the missionary has rounded up the parents and extracted
the fees. Again, when money is required to enable the school

* See Report of American Zulu Mission, 1914, and also the chart
infra, p. 249.

* See, for example, the evidence of Messrs Schlali and Rubusana
before the Cape Committee on Native Education, 1908, sections 704-714,
1395-1404 et passim.

248 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

to meet the requirements of the Department, it is the Christian
Native who is mulcted, and, although the heathens may be
sending their children to school, they escape payment. The
position is worse in Natal, where the income of the school
depends entirely on the average daily attendance, for the
missionary cannot expel defaulters without reducing the
amount of his grant.^ The financial uncertainty is the bugbear
of the missionary, and it is clear that a more satisfactory
scheme must be devised.^

TABLE No. 28

The Income of the Native Schools of Natal from all Sources
FOR THE Years 1905-1914, compiled from the Annual Reports
of the Superintendent of Education

Amount contri-

Year.

Governmeii l

buted by Natives

tributed by

grant.

in fees, etc.

Europeans.

i s.

i s. d.

1905 .

6,334 12

2475 3 7

9,845 16 3

1906

7.035 13

2479 2 4

5,018 8 9

1907

7.332 0

2247 II 7

10,130 3 3

1908

7.599 19

2884 12 0

10,063 3 9

1909

8,913 12

2773 12 10

5,547 5 4

1910

10,341 5

3293 0 4

5.230 I 4

1911

11.773 9

3504 18 9

4,987 14 II

1912

14,169 15

5308 0 3

5.582 6 3

1913

17,002 3

4729 0 2

7.137 14 I

1914

21,889 18

6138 14 I

7,726 6 0

1915

21,587 6

6941 2 2

8,011 18 I

(rf) The fourth source of income is the contributions from
missionary societies and other philanthropic bodies in South
Africa and elsewhere. Recognising that Christianity and edu-
cation must go hand in hand, these societies have regarded the
extension of education as a legitimate charge against missionary

1 When an exasperated missionary does take this extreme course
of dismissing pupils he often has the satisfaction of seeing them re-
ceived gladly and without payment by his denominational rival on
the other side of the river I

- A suggested scheme is outlined injva, p. 258.

s/ef

906t

aujoDuj JO funoLui/

25^ THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

funds. While this wilUngness to support Native education
still obtains,^ there is a distinct tendency on the part of many
overseas missions to place the responsibility of continuing the
education of the Native on the people of South Africa them-
selves, and to restrict their expenditure mainly to rehgious
purposes. The amounts contributed by the missionary societies
vary in different years. In Tables 28 and 29 the income of
the Native schools in Natal (the only province publishing
this information) from all sources is indicated and represented
graphically. The figures under " Fees " and " Amount con-
tributed by Europeans " are suppUed by the missionaries.

Section 3. — ^The Comparative Expenditure on European and
Non-European Education

An attempt is here made to compare the amounts expended
by the Union of South Africa on the education of Natives and
Europeans. The figures used are the Census returns of 191 1,
and the figures for 1912 published in the Report of the Union
Under-Secretary for Education, 1913. For a comprehension of
the table the following explanations are necessary : —

{a) The number of persons of school age is estimated at
25 per cent, of the population.*

(b) Owing to the fact that statistics regarding the three kinds
of Coloured people — Natives, Asiatics, and Coloured
proper — are only kept separately in the returns of one
province (Natal), it has been necessary to make com-
parison between Europeans and non-Europeans.

We find, then, that the comparative State expenditure on
the maintenance of education is £/\, 12s. 8d. for each European,
and 2s. id. for each Coloured person of school age : in other
words, the State spends forty-five times as much on the main-
tenance of education for a European as it does on the education

' For example, the United Free Church of Scotland Foreign Missions
Committee has recently given property and money to the value of
;^io,ooo to the South African Native College.

' This percentage, which has the sanction of custom, is supported
by the Census returns of the United States, which give the percentage
of children between the ages of seven and eighteen as 25-9 per cent,
in the case of Negroes.

THE FINANCING OF NATIVE EDUCATION

251

joY a Coloured person. This, however, does not take into
account two important facts : —

(a) The above figures do not include the interest on the
money expended in school buildings and equipment.
This amount, which cannot be less than £200,000
per annum, has been expended almost entirely on
European education,

TABLE No. 29

European.

Non-
European,

I. Population ....

1,276.242

4,697,152

2. Persons of school age, i.e. 25 per

cent, of I .

319,060

1,174,285

3. Average enrolment, 191 2 .

190,329

175.030

4. Estimated percentage of persons

of school age actually at school

59-7

14-9

5. Number of State schools *

1.325

6. Number of State-aided schools .

3.043

2,374

7. Estimated proportionate expen-

diture : —

(fl) Administration

A8.187

;£2,536t

(fc) Inspection

57.446

6.382t

, (c) Teachers' salaries

1.189,493 1

(d) Training of teachers, in-

155.889

cluding bursaries .

103.504J

(«) Trades and industrial

school, home industries

42,202

(/) Conveyance of pupils to

school ....

1,010

. ,

{g) Indigent grants and free

meals ....

18,425

, .

(A) Sui)erannuation of teachers

17,878

286§

Total .

;^i.478.i45

;^l65,093

8. Per caput expenditure on num-

ber of children of school age

i^, 128. 8d.

fjO, 2S. id.

* I.e. erected and maintained entirely by Government.

t Estimated at 5 per cent, of total cost.

X Estimated at 10 per cent, of total cost.

§ Estimated from the number of Native names in the Cape Report.

252 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

{b) The term " Coloured " includes Asiatics and Coloured
people proper as well as Natives. From the reports of
the Cape Province the amount of money spent on each
class separately is not shown, but from the Natal and
Transvaal figures it is clear that the Asiatics and
Coloured people proper are much more liberally
treated than the Natives. Thus in Natal the com-
parative figures were : —

Total

Cost

1,399 Coloured children
4,418 Indian children .
:8,i72 Native children .

grant-in-aid.

• 5,322 =

• 7,283 =
. 15,014 -

per caput.
£ s. d.

3 12 2
I 13 II

0 16 5

A conservative estimate of the differential treatment afforded
to the two races would be that the State spends fifty times as
much on the education of each European as it does on the
education of each Native.^

Section 4. — ^Does Native Education receive its Fair Share
of Financial Support?

We have already shown that the amount of financial assist-
ance afforded to Native education is inadequate. The next
question is whether or not the Natives are receiving their
fair share of financial support. The obvious basis of compari-
son is the amount contributed by the Europeans and Natives
to general revenue, and the amount expended on the education
of each race.^ At the outset it should be stated that the

* " In 1913 Native education was responsible for 2-4 per cent, of the
total bill for education, a proportion which cannot be said to err on
the side of liberaUty." {Third Report of the Council of Education,
Transvaal, p. 15.)

^ It may be objected that other services, such as expenditure on
poUce, justice, railways, roads, bridges, etc. etc., should be taken into
consideration; but it must be remembered that the benefit of these
services is enjoyed by Europeans and Natives aUke. While it is no
doubt true that a large proportion of (say) the expenditure on poUce
is necessitated by the presence of the Natives, it is equally certain
that the expenditure on railways, roads, and bridges, even in Native
territories, is for the benefit of the European.

THE FINANCING OF NATIVE EDUCATION 253

greater part of the Native contribution to revenue is through
direct taxation, while almost half of the European contribu-
tion is raised through indirect taxation.

The manner in which the items of revenue are distributed
in the official returns, and the impossibility of estimating the
Natives' contribution to revenue through customs and excise
duties, makes it difficult to do more than estimate roughly
the contributions of each race to revenue. Mr W. B. Worsfold,
who has attempted to separate the contributions of each race,
estimates that in 1912 the actual as opposed to the nominal
taxation of the two races was ^fg, 500,000 for Europeans, and
;^i, 500,000, for Natives. 1 If we accept these figures, we find
that 1,278,025 Europeans contributed £9,500,000, or £7, 8s. 8d.
per head, whereas 4,061,082 Natives contributed £1,500,000,
or 7s. 4d. per head : that is, each European contributed in
actual taxation twenty times as much as each Native. Coming
back to our original question, we believe there are few who
will be bold enough to assert that it is equitable that because
each European is taxed twenty times as much as each Native,
he should receive educational opportunities fifty times as
great.

Even if it could be shown that other advantages enjoyed by
the Native make up for the comparatively small amount of
State money expended on his education, that would not absolve
the State from the responsibility of improving and extending
education ; for, as we have already pointed out, not only is it
the clear duty of the European to educate the Native, but it
is indispensable to his interests, if not actually necessary for
his survival, that he do so.''

1 Worsfold, The Union of South Africa, p. 406. The reader who
wishes to know how these figures are derived is referred to Mr Worsfold's
book.

- Speaking of school conditions in Montgomery County, Maryland,
U.S.A., the investigators (one of whom was an expert from the Bureau
of Education) say : " It is probably true that the county is expending
upon the Negro schools an amount as great as is paid by the Negro
population in direct taxes. It is becoming a recognised principle of
economy, however, that the responsibility of a city, county, or State
to its people or to any part of them for the best interests of all the
people in the political unit cannot be measured in terms of the direct
taxes paid." (" An Educational Survey of a Suburban and Rural
County," U.S. Bureau of Education Bulletin, 1913, No. 32.)

254 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

Section 5. — ^The Basis of Government Financial Support

A reference to the various systems of financial support for
Native education ^ will not only show how the several provinces
differ in respect to the amount and nature of their grants-in-
aid, but will also indicate the absence of any settled principles
on which their financial regulations are based. In some cases
the grants are survivals of older systems, when conditions were
simpler than they are to-day, and in others they have obviously
been drawn up as more or less temporary expedients.

It seems desirable that certain fundamental principles of
Government financial assistance should be formulated, and
that the nature and amounts of the grants paid should be based
on these principles. The fundamental principles may be
summarised as follows : —

1. The education of the South African Natives is the duty of
the State, and the expense involved must he regarded as a legitimate
charge against State funds. In the past the expense of Native
education has been met to a considerable extent by donations
from mission societies and from other philanthropic agencies ; ^
and while it is highly desirable that contributions from these
sources should continue, it is obvious that they must be regarded
as supplementary, and not as a regular source of income for
the maintenance of such a system of education as the State by
its regulations, syllabuses, etc., regards as necessary for the
Native people. The Union of South Africa should be too
proud to depend upon charity for the performance of its
recognised duty.

2. State funds should only he expended for the secular instruc-
tion of the Native people. While it may be necessary for the
present and in the future to make use of missionary agencies,
it must be a matter of principle that every penny of State

* See above, pp. 248-9 et sea.

* The income of Lovedale Training Institution for the three years
1905-1908 was derived from the following sources : —

Average total annual Government contribution ;^2403 18 5

,, ,, contribution from school fees 5128 15 2

from other sources 5831 5 8

(Appendix to Report of Cape Committee on Native Education, p. viii.)

See also p. 248 of this volume.

THE FINANCING OF NATIVE EDUCATION 255

money be spent upon the schools, and it should be the right
and duty of the Department of Native Education to satisfy
itself that this is being done.

3. The Natives themselves must share in the cost of Native
education. It should be a principle of pohcy that the Natives
should, to a large and increasing extent, pay for their education.
This payment should be made by means of (a) contributions
to general revenue ; (6) taxation for education ; and (c) school
fees. Steps should be taken to estimate more accurately the
amount of money contributed to general revenue by the
Natives. The principle of direct taxation for education is
sound, and should be extended wherever possible.^ Where
special taxation for education is impossible. Native pupils
should be required to pay school fees, and it should be a con-
dition of Government financial assistance that these fees are
regularly paid.^

Section 6. — ^The Nature of the Goveniment Grants

The best way to determine the purposes for which Govern-
ment grants-in-aid should be paid is to consider the needs of
the missionary who is about to open a school.

I. The School Site. — ^The first need is the land for a school
site. When the proposed school is to be located on an area
reserved for Natives or on Crown lands there is no difficulty.
A site will be granted by the Government. In towns it is
generally possible to obtain a grant of land from the munici-
pality. When the school is on land belonging to a private
individual or corporation, the advisability of establishing a
school should be largely determined by the nature of the
Natives' occupancy of the land. If the tenancy is of a per-
manent nature, the owner will probably be persuaded that it
is to his advantage to grant a site for school purposes. In any
case, the possession of a school is of such direct and obvious
benefit to the Natives concerned that it does not seem necessary
to make provision for Government financial assistance towards

1 Taxation for education will only be possible for the present in
those parts of the country where a system of local self-government can
be introduced.

- Missionary superintendents should, however, be allowed to accept
a certain proportion of free pupils.

256 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

the purchase of a school site. The suitabiUty of the site,
especially for the teaching of agriculture, is a more difficult
matter ; but when it is pointed out that the Government is
prepared to assist towards the cost of the building if erected
on a suitable site, this difficulty can generally be overcome.
If a suitable site cannot be obtained without extra cost, this
cost should be borne by the people who are themselves going
to benefit from the improved school, i.e. the Natives themselves.

2. Buildings. — ^The expense involved in the erection of the
necessary school buildings is the first financial difficulty con-
fronting the missionary. Building material is by no means
cheap in South Africa, and the expense is increased by the
difficulties of transport. A plan which has worked satis-
factorily in Natal is for the Government to contribute one-
third of the cost of the building up to a stated maximum, on
condition that : (a) an approved site of at least five acres of
land is vested for school purposes in the name of the Minister
of Education or approved trustees ; (b) the applicants enter
into a bond to conduct a school satisfactorily for ten years,
and in the event of the school being closed before that period,
to repay to the Government 10 per cent, of the grant for each
year or part of a year during which the school has not been
conducted ; (c) the plans are approved by the Department of
Education, and adequate provision made for a water supply,
sanitary arrangments, and accommodation for the teachers ;
and (d) that the building erected is properly insured. If this
plan is adopted, the balance of the money could be provided
by the mission society and the Natives themselves. Here is
an excellent way to make use of voluntary contributions, as
the building may well be used as a church or community centre,
provided always that it has been planned primarily as a school.^

3. Equipment. — Another expenditure in which the Govern-
ment should share is that for the necessary equipment. A
grant of one-third of the cost of the necessary and approved
furniture and apparatus would be reasonable, and the Inspector
of Schools would satisfy himself that adequate care was being

* The Department of Native Education might well distribute ap-
proved plans of school buildings, with specifications and an estimate
of cost, among missionary superintendents, Native councils, and others
interested.

THE FINANCING OF NATIVE EDUCATION 257

taken of it.* The manufacture of the special type of school
furniture suitable for Native schools would be a very suitable
undertaking for Native industrial schools.

4. Teachers. — The principal item of expenditure is, of course,
the payment of teachers' salaries ; and here the Government
contribution should be greater. In suggesting two-thirds of
the salary paid to the teacher up to certain stated limits,
varying with the importance of the school and the qualifications
of the teacher, the writer has been influenced by the follow-
ing considerations : — The maximum Government grants,
together with the capitation grant, are almost, if not entirely,
sufficient to pay the customary salary of the grade of teacher
employed. The balance of the salary, if any, will be met from
school fees, which will also be sufficient to pay for consumable
apparatus. There will be funds then for some kind of teacher
for every school. The better qualified the teacher and the
more effective the collection of school fees, the larger the
amount of the Government grant .^

5 . Capitation Grants. — ^To encourage regularity of attendance,
yet not to penalise the teacher for events outside his control, a
capitation grant, payable on the average daily attendance, and
increasing in value with the grade of the school, is proposed.'

6. Boarding Grants. — ^The expense of conducting boarding
schools, which are rendered necessary by the scattered nature
of the Native population and the necessity for consolidation
of schools for other than elementary work, is one which should
be shared by the Government. The proposed grant of forty
shillings per annum on behalf of boarders in intermediate and

^ The Department of Native Education would generally have in
stock a quantity of substantial but old-fashioned furniture discarded
by the European schools. Much of this would be very suitable for
Native school, especially if the school is used as a church or community
centre.

* This is a more satisfactory arrangement than that obtaining in
Natal, where the grant in elementary schools is paid solely on the
average daily attendance. There bad weather, epidemics, strict
discipUne often render the payment of the teacher's salary a precarious
matter.

• The superiority in attendance of the Natal Native schools over
the Cape Mission and Aborigines' schools (89 per cent, as against 82
and 83 per cent.) is due to the existence of the capitation grant system
in Natal.

258 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

high schools is not much, but for the more definitely specialised
and perhaps more useful vocational training higher grants are
offered. The rate of grant proposed for teachers is designed
to meet one-quarter of the students' hving expenses for the
first year, one-half the second year, and the whole the third
year. To encourage apprentices to indenture themselves, the
whole of their boarding expenses will be paid.

Section 7. — Proposed Government Grants-in-Aid

The Government grants in aid of Native education shall be
paid in accordance with the following schedule : — *

(A) Elementary Schools

1. Building Grant. — A grant in aid of necessary and approved
new buildings, limited to one-third of the cost of such up to a
maximum Government contribution of . . . . ;^5o

2. Equipment Grant. — A grant in money or in kind in
aid of necessary and approved equipment, limited to one-
third of the cost of such up to a maximum Government con-
tribution of £20

3. Grants in aid of Teachers. — ^Two-thirds of the salary paid
to each necessary and approved full-time teacher. The grades
of teachers and the maximum Government grant to be paid
on behalf of each are as follows : —

{a) Head teacher holding a first- or second-class

teacher's certificate £36

{b) Head teacher holding a third-class teacher's

certificate 24

(d) Assistant teacher , . . . . .16

(e) Pupil teacher 10

4. Capitation Grants. — A capitation grant, to be based on the
average daily attendance, will be paid on behalf of each pupil
at the rate of four shilUngs per annum. In "standard"
schools and in " superior " schools the rate will be increased to
six shillings and eight shiUings respectively. ^

^ For an explanation of the several types of schools proposed, see
infra, p. 273 et seq.

• For the meaning of these terms see Appendix D.

THE FINANCING OF NATIVE EDUCATION 259

(B) Intermediate Schools

1. Building Grant. — A grant in aid of necessary and approved
new buildings, limited to one-third of the cost of such up to a
maximum Government contribution of . • . £100

2. Equipment Grant. — A giant in money or in kind in
aid of necessary and approved equipment, Hmited to one-third
of the cost of such up to a maximum Government contribu-
tion of £40

3. Grants in aid of Teachers. — Two-thirds of the salary paid
to each necessary and approved full-time teacher. The grades
of teachers and the maximum Government grant to be paid on
behalf of each axe as follows : —

(a) Native head teacher holding a first-class

certificate, or certificated European head
teacher , £64

(b) Native head teacher holding a second-class

certificate, or uncertificated European head
teacher . . . . . . . 48

4. Capitation Grant. — A capitation grant, to be based on the
average daily attendance, wiU be paid on behalf of each pupil
at the rate of twenty shillings per annum in the case of a
" standard " school, and thirty shillings in the case of a
" superior " school,

5. Boarding Grant. — ^A maintenance grant at the rate of
forty shilUngs per annum for each boarder in residence the
whole school year.

1. Building Grant. — A grant in aid of necessary and ap-
proved new buildings, limited to one-third of the cost of such
up to a maximum Government contribution of . . £200

2. Equipment Grant. — A grant in money or in kind in aid of
necessary and approved equipment, hmited to one-third of the
cost of such up to a maximum Government contribution
of :^8o

3. Grants in aid of Teachers. — ^Two-thirds of the salary paid
to each necessary and approved full-time teacher. The grades

26o THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

of teachers and the maximum Government grant to be paid on
behalf of each are as follows : —

{a) European head teacher holding the necessary

academic and professional quahfication . £150

(fe) Native assistant holding a first-class certi-
ficate, or certificated European assistant . 56

4. Capiiaiion Grant. — A capitation grant, to be based on the
average daily attendance, will be paid on behalf of each pupil
at the rate of sixty shiUings per annum.

5. Boarding Grant. — A maintenance grant at the rate of
forty shilUngs per annum for each boarder in residence the
whole school year.

(D) Training Institutions

1. Building Grant. — A grant in aid of necessary and ap-
proved new buildings, limited to one-third of the^cost of such
up to a maximum Government contribution of , . ^^300

2. Equipment Grant. — A grant in money or in kind [in aid
of necessary and approved equipment, limited to one-third
of the cost of such up to a maximum Government contribution

of . . . • £75

3. Grants tn aid of Instructors. — ^Two-thirds of the salary
paid to each necessary and approved full-time instructor. The
grades of instructors and the maximum Government grant to
be paid on behalf of each are as follows : —

{a) European principal academically and professionally
quaUfied £200

(6) Assistant instructor ^ academically and profession-
ally qualified £120

' No grant will be paid unless there is at least one assistant instructor

in addition to the principal. Grants for additional assistant instructors

will be paid cis follows : —

For two assistant instructors when the enrolment is from 30 to 59

„ three ,, ., „ „ 60 to 99

„ four ,, „ „ „ loo to 150

and an additional instructor for each 50 students.

THE FINANCING OF NATIVE EDUCATION 261

4. Capitation Grant. — ^A capitation grant, to be based on the
average daily attendance, will be paid on behalf of each pupil
at the rate of £^ per annum.

5. Boarding Grant. — A maintenance grant will be paid for
each student who completes ^ the courses of study. The rates
will be :

(a) For first-year students ..... £3

(b) For second-year students .... 6

provided that before the grant be paid the appUcant bind him-
self to teach in a Government-aided school for a period of two
years in the case of a holder of a third-class certificate, three
in the case of the holder of a second-class certificate, and five in
the case of the holder of a first-class certificate.

(E) Industrial Schools

1. Building Grant. — A grant in aid of necessary and ap-
proved new buildings, hmited to one-half of the cost of such up
to a maximum Government contribution of £300 in any one
year, or ;^iooo in all to any one institution.

2. Equipment Grant. — A grant in aid of necessary and ap-
proved equipment, Umited to one-half of the cost of such up to
a maximum Government contribution of £100 in any one year,
or £300 in all to any one institution.

3. Grants in aid of Instructors. — ^Two-thirds of the salary
paid to each necessary and approved full-time instructor. The
giades of instructors and the maximum Government grant to
be paid on behalf of each are as follows : —

{a) European principal properly qualified . . £200
{b) Assistant properly qualified ^ ... 120

* I.e. attends regularly and receives satisfactory reports. Boarding
grants will not be paid for students repeating a course.

* No grant will be paid for an assistant unless there are at least
fifteen trade students (including at least five apprentices) who are taking
the trade or trades taught by such instructor.

As a rule grants will not be paid for more than three assistants
at any one institution.

262 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

4. Capitation Grant. — A capitation grant, to be based on the
average daily attendance, will be paid on behalf of each pupil
at the rate of £3 per annum.

5. Boarding Grant. — A maintenance grant of £12 per annum
will be paid for each properly indentured apprentice who suc-
cessfully completes the prescribed courses.

For industrial school students, other than apprentices, the
rate of grant for high school boarders will be paid.

CHAPTER XIII

PROPOSED ADMINISTRATION OF NATIVE
EDUCATION

As we have shown, the administration of Native education
has hitherto been conducted solely by the Education Depart-
ments. While we agree that the Departments, as voicing the
views of the State, must have the greatest share and the final
word in administration, yet in order to arouse a general interest
in the education of Natives, and in view of the fact that the
State does not assume the total responsibihty for Native educa-
tion in the same way it does for European education, official
recognition should be given to the two other administrative
factors in Native education, viz. the missionaries and the
Native councils.

Section i. — ^The Three Factors in Administration

(A) The State. — ^The right of the State to predominance will
be readily admitted. Education has become a State function
in all civilised countries, as these have come to realise that
their very existence depends upon it. In a country such as
South Africa, where only a fraction of the population is carrying
on the Government, the need for State paiamountcy becomes
all the greater. So much so, that in the writer's opinion the
time has come to require the State licensing of all schools. At
present it is possible for anyone to open a school for Natives
without notifying the authorities. Not only is there a great
deal of incompetent teaching being carried on, but it is quite
possible for political doctrines at variance with those of the
ruling classes to be taught in such schools. The State rightly
requires the licensing of physicians and lawyers ; in the interests

263

264 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

of the community it should exercise an oversight over the
activities of teachers, and especially of teachers in Native
schools. It is not intended that the activities of private schools
should necessarily be restricted. The object of the Ucence is
that the State should know who are engaged in teaching
Natives, and that the schools should be open to the inspection
of Government officials.

(B) The Missionaries. — ^The existence of a system of Native
education is due to the missionaries. They are to-day, and
must for some time continue to be, the agency which is carrying
on the work ; they are charged with certain duties by the
State, and yet they have no share in the administration of
Native education.^ It is in the interest of all concerned that
definite recognition should be given to the missionaries. This
could be effected in two ways : (a) by the establishment of a
Missionaiy Board of Advice ; and (6) by the recognition of
certain missionary superintendents as managers of Native
schools,

(«) The Missionary Board of Advice. — This Board of Advice
should be composed of representatives from the chief missions,
who should meet in conference annually with the Chief
Inspector of Native Schools, the Inspectors of Native
Schools, and a representative from the Department of Native
Affairs.

The functions of this body should be purely advisory, and
the result of their dehberations should be transmitted to the
Superintendent of Education to be published in extenso in his
annual report, ^

1 Except in Natal and Basutoland. where there are Advisory Boards
of representative missionaries.

* The danger in the appointment of Advisory Boards is that such
boards are tempted to interfere in administration. The powers and
duties of the boards should be clearly defined. Their function is
to be purely advisory, to meet with the officials of the Department
of Native Education to discuss critically the policy of the Depart-
ment, and to offer suggestions for its improvement. The result of the
dehberations are forwarded to the Superintendent of Education and
are printed in his report. If the missionary members of the Board
of Advice are not satisfied with the actions of officials or with the
treatment afforded to their recommendations, they can lay their com-
plaints before Parhament. The meetings of the board are not the
place for discussion of such matters.

PROPOSED ADMINISTRATION OF NATIVE EDUCATION 265

(b) The Missionary Superintendent. — Certain of the mission-
aries should be recognised as missionary superintendents or
managers of Native schools, with specified duties, powers, and
rights.'

To simpUfy the administration, no manager should, as a rule,
be recognised who is in charge of fewer than ten or more than
a hundred schools. The manager would be responsible to the
Education Department, through the District Inspector of
Native Schools, for the appointment and payment of teachers,
and for seeing that the regulations of the Department were
carried out ; but to avoid friction resulting from dual control,
questions of curriculum, method, and the teaching generally,
should be referred to the inspector.

All grants in aid of Native schools should be paid to him, and
he should be required to submit liis accounts for audit by an
official appointed by the Government. He should be required
to visit all the schools under his management at least twice
a year.

(C) The Native Councils. — Wherever a form of local self-
government has been given to Natives, some share in the ad-
ministration of Native education through representation on
the Governing Council has followed as a matter of course, and
the practice is working satisfactorily.^ Seeing, however, that
these councils are but learning the art of government, it is
desirable that there should be on them a European official or
missionary,* and that, in any case, their proposals regarding
education should be subject to the revision of the Department
administering Native education

The comparative want of finish in the work done, and in-
efficiency in the administration of institutions conducted by
Native missionaries, has induced a feeling that supervision by
a European missionary should be made a condition of Govern-
ment assistance. The writer does not share that view. The
Native must learn to stand by himself ; he must ultimately

1 This was strongly advocated by the Cape Native Education Com-
mission. See section 7 of the Report.

* See Evidence of Cape Native Education Commission, section 680
et sea., and Report, section 7.

• The presence of a European seems to be necessary to prevent
the meetings from degenerating into ineffective debating societies.

266 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

administer his own local affairs ; and a beginning in Native
administration of schools must some time be made. The
cautious extension of power to approved Native missionaries
and Native councils must be part of our scheme of Native
self-government .

Section 2. — ^The Department of Native Education

(A) Special Staffs for Native Education. — Natal is the only
province which maintains a separate department for Native
education. In that province there are three inspectors solely
for Native schools. In the other provinces the same officials
inspect both European and Native schools. In Basutoland,
of coiurse, in view of the paucity of Europeans, the inspection
of Native schools is the chief function of the Department
of Education.

If efficient and sympathetic supervision of Native schools is
necessary, a separate department of Native education, or at
least a separate set of officials, as in Natal, seems also to be
necessary. Elsewhere in this volume ^ we have shown that
the supervision of Native schools in all the provinces is in-
adequate. The position in Natal is the least unsatisfactory,
owing to the separate staff, for in the other provinces, where
the same official has to supervise both European and Native
schools, it is almost impossible that the Native schools should
not be neglected. A further argument for separate officials is
that the inspection of Native schools requires special qualifica-
tions. In addition to the hardships of a country school
inspector's life in South Africa, the inaccessibility of the schools,
the length of the journeys, the long absences from home, the
want of comfort at the country hotels and stores, there is in
Native work the constant dealing with a backward people, the
very elementary character of the work, and the monotony of
doing the same work every day. The inspection of Native
schools should only be undertaken by enthusiastic educators in
fuU sympathy with the Native people, and, if possible, imbued
with something of the missionary spirit. The strongest argu-
ment, however, for separate inspectors for Native schools is

1 P. 106.

PROPOSED ADMINISTRATION OF NATIVE EDUCATION 267

the necessity for a knowledge of the Native language and
customs. Under our reformed scheme of supervision, one of
the most important functions of the inspector of Native schools
will be to hold meetings with Native chiefs and headmen, and
to secure their co-operation with the schools. For this a know-
ledge of the Native language and customs is necessary.

(B) The Officials of the Department. — The Department of
Native Education should consist of a Chief Inspector of Native
Schools directly responsible to the Superintendent or Director
of Education, district inspectors of schools. Native super-
visors, and the necessary clerical staff.

(«) Chief Inspector. — ^The Chief Inspector of Native Schools
should be the chief administrative officer, and might also have
the supervision of all training colleges and higher institutions
in the province. Under him would be the district inspectors
of Native schools.

(h) District Inspectors. — ^The number of these would depend
on the number of schools. Under the present system of indi-
vidual examination, the maximum number of schools which
should be allotted to an inspector is 100, according to the
opinion of the Superintendent-General of the Cape.^ As there
are not less than 2500 Native and Coloured schools in South
Africa, and as these are so widely scattered, considerably more
than 25 special Native school inspectors would be required.

Under a reformed system in which the inspector would
content himself with a general oversight of the schools in the
district, leaving the personal contact with pupils in the ele-
mentary schools to the Native teachers and supervisors, and
making use of the co-operation of the missionary managers,
an inspector could probably efficiently administer 150 schools.
As a working basis we may then conclude that in addition to
the Chief Inspector, an inspector of Native schools for every
150 schools would be necessary.

(C) Supervisors. — Acting under the general directions of the
district inspectors of Native schools would be the corps of
Native supervisors. The duties of these officials would be
to visit the schools in turn, improving the instruction and
bringing inspiration and knowledge of new methods to the
teachers. A knowledge of the industrial training possible in

^ Report, 1912, p. 4.

268 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

elementary day schools would be a necessary qualification for
supervisors. One supervisor for every 50 Native schools would
be necessary.

In view of the reduction in the number of inspectors, and
the comparatively low price at which Native supervisors can be
obtained, the increase in cost of this system would not be very
great, while the gain in efficiency would be immeasurable.^

Section 3. — ^The Functions of the Department of
Native Education

The Department of Native Education will be the chief ad-
ministrative and executive body to carry out the general poUcy
of the State with regard to Native education. The determina-
tion of the general policy should be the duty of Parliament ;
the rules and regulations for the general conduct of Native
education should represent the combined knowledge and
experience and skill of the Superintendent of Education, the
officials of the Department of Native Education, and the
Missionary Board of Advice. In the preparation of syllabuses
the officials of the Department of Native Education should
consult with a committee of principals of Native training
colleges and institutions, to be selected jointly by the Advisory
Board and the Chief Inspector of Native Schools. In this way
all the parties concerned will be represented in the preparation
of the scheme of Native education. The administration and
execution of this scheme, when completed, should be the sole
task of the Department of Native Education. Included in the
Department's functions will be the hcensing and certification
of teachers in public and private schools ; the requirement of
uniform recor(^ and reports from all educational institutions
for Natives, both State and private; the classification and
standardisation of schools ; the deUmitation of the spheres of
action of State-aided schools in cases of unnecessary over-

1 Under present system of individual examination — One district in-
spector per 100 schools for 2500 schools at ;£40o per annum=;^io,ooo.

Under proposed system of inspection and supervision — One district
inspector per 150 schools for 2500 schools at ;^4 00 per annum =■ ^6800.
One supervisor per 50 schools for 2500 schools at £120 per annum ==
;{6ooo. Total, £'12,800.

PROPOSED ADMINISTRATION OF NATIVE EDUCATION 269

lapping ; the determination, subject to the approval of Parlia-
ment, of the nature and amounts of grants-in-aid ; the framing
of minimum requirements regarding building and equipment ;
the preparation and publication of a syllabus of instruction,
and of handbooks for use in Native schools ; the allowance of
modifications of the syllabus on good cause shown ; the pre-
paration of estimates and reports for Native education ; the
pubUcation of text-books for use in Native schools ; and any
other functions which may be assigned to it by the Superinten-
dent of Education.

Section 4. — ^The Powers and Duties of the Chief Inspector
of Native Schools

The Chief Inspector of Native Schools should be the chief
executive officer of the Department of Native Education, and
should carry into effect the pohcy of the Department. He
should be responsible to the Superintendent of Education for
the proper administration of his department. He should select
and nominate for appointment aU inspectors of Native schools
and supervisors, and have general supervisory control over
them. He should authorise the appointment of all principals
and teachers recommended by the missionary superintendents
and a,pproved by the district inspectors. He should prepare
and publish courses of study, and rules and regulations, and
also periodical bulletins of information for Native teachers.
He should conduct the examinations for teachers and recom-
mend the issue of certificates. He should be responsible for the
inspection and supervision of all training institutions, industrial
and other secondary schools. He should hold conferences
with the inspectors of Native schools and the Mission Board of
Advice, and should prepare a full report, with figures and tables,
for the annual report of the Superintendent of Education.

Section 5. — ^The Powers and Duties of the Inspectors
of Native Schools

The inspector of Native schools should be the executive
officer of the Department of Native Education in the district
to which he is appointed, and should be responsible to the

270 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

Chief Inspector of Native Schools for the administration of
education in his district. He should visit all the schools in
his district at least once a year, and report to the Chief Inspector
on their efficiency, as shown by their condition, organisation,
classification of pupils, methods of instniction, and attainments
of pupils. He \vill conduct general class examinations, but the
promotion of pupils will be the duty of the principal. He
should hold teachers' meetings, and also confer with the
missionary superintendents, missionaries, magistrates, chiefs
and other representative Natives regarding the extension of
education. He should be responsible for the work of the Native
supervisors in his district. He should submit an annual report
to the Chief Inspector on the work of his district, and make
recommendations for the improvement of the system. No one
should be appointed an inspector of Native schools who does
not possess a working knowledge of the language, hold a
teacher's certificate, and have had at least two years' experience
of teaching.

Section 6. — ^The Powers and Duties of Supervisors

The supervisor of Native schools should be a Native of
unimpeachable character, executive ability, tact, and sympathy.
He should hold a teacher's certificate and should have demon-
strated his abihty as a teacher in an elementary school. He
should also have a competent knowledge of the industrial
training possible in an elementary Native school. He will be
required to visit the schools in his supervisory district at least
twice a year, spending a day or two at each school to hold
teachers' meetings, to assist the teachers in the organisation
of their schools, to criticise the teaching constructively, to
give model lessons, to improve the method of teaching, to
introduce suitable manual and industrial training, and generally
to foster the development of the schools in every way.^ The
supervisor will also interview Native chiefs, headmen, and
clergjmien, and will urge the establishment of new schools.
At the beginning of each week he will forward to the district

* He must be made to understand clearly that he is not an inspector,
and he must be strictly non-denominational in his relation to the schools.

PROPOSED ADMINISTRATION OF NATIVE EDUCATION 27 1

inspector of Native schools his itinerajy, and at the close of
the week will give an account of his activities.

Section 7. — ^The Reorganised System of Administration

At present the control of all Government-aided schools for
Natives, except the recently established Inter- State Native
College, is in the hands of the Provincial Councils. How long
this arrangement will continue cannot be foreseen, but in the
following resume of the proposed reorganisation an attempt has
been made to provide for the possibility of Native education
being taken over by the Union Government.

At the head of the sytem comes the Union or Provincial
Legislature, representing the European section of the South
African people, who must in the last analysis control Native
education. The executive power of the Legislature is vested
in the Minister of Education in the case of the Union Govern-
ment, or in the Executive Committees in the case of the Pro-
vincial Councils. Under and in close touch with the Minister
or Committee is the permanent head of the Department of
Education — ^the Superintendent of Education. The Super-
intendent of either the Union or Provincial Departments will
delegate the control of the Department or Division of Native
Education to a Superintendent or Chief Inspector of Native
Schools, who will be responsible to him for the carrying out
of the policy of the Legislature with regard to Native education.
Under the Superintendent or Chief Inspector of Native Schools
will be the district inspectors of Native schools, and, in the
case of a Union system, the inspector of Native secondary
schools,^

The district inspectors will be responsible to the Chief
Inspector for the administration of the system of Native
primary education and the inspection of schools. They will
be assisted by Native supervisors in the case of the elementary
schools, but will themselves undertake the supervision of the
intermediate schools. The missionary superintendents and
the Native councils should be responsible to the district in-

* In a provincial system inspectors of Native secondary schools
will not be necessary, the duties of this office being carried out by
the Chief Inspector of Native Schools himself.

272 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

spector for the carrying out of the functions allotted to them
by the Department or Division of Native Education in so far
as they relate to elementary and intermediate schools ; in
matters pertaining to secondary education they will be an-
swerable to the inspector of secondary schools or to the Chief
Inspector.
The relationship of the different officials and parts of

UNION OR PROVINCIAL
LEGISLATURE

MINIVTCR or
COUCATION on

PROVINCIAL execuTwe

SUPT or COUCATION

AtVJc e<5LLeoi <— »jc*inr insp native scHOOi»f»
ceuMcii. >f

MiaSIONARV
BOARD OF ADVICC

TeACMER6
COMMlTTtt

INSP NAIIVt StC SCHOOtS

OR CHIEF INSP

NATIVE SCHOOIS

MISSIONARY
S0PT5.

NATIVE
COUNCIU

HIGH
5CMOOL5

TRAINING
INSTITUTION*

INDUSTRIALJ
SCHOOIS 1

Fig. 16. — Showing the relationship of the different officials and parts
of the proposed system.

the system is shown on the accompanying diagiam. To
facilitate administration, communications should ordinarily
pass as there shown, but it should always be competent
for any parent, teacher, missionary, Native council, or Govern-
ment official to refer any matter direct to the Chief Inspector,
the Superintendent of Education, or to the Minister of
Education.

PROPOSED ADMINISTRATION OF NATIVE EDUCATION 273

It remains to speak of the position of the three independent
or semi -independent bodies included in our scheme : —

(a) The Council of the Inter-State Native College should
come under the control of the Superintendent of Education, and
should include a representative from the Union Department of
Education under a Union system, or one from each of the con-
tributing Provincial Departments in the case of a provincial
system.

(b) The Missionary Board of Advice should include the Chief
Inspector of Native Schools, district inspectors of Native
schools (one from each province in the case of a Union S5rstem,
or all in the case of a provincial system), and a representative
from the Department of Native Affairs.

(c) The Committees of Teachers in Native Schools should for
the present consist of experienced teachers in Native schools
and institutes, half to be chosen by the Missionary Board of
Advice, and half by the Department of Native Education.
These committees should not only consider such matters as are
laid before them by the Department of Native Education, but
should be allowed and encouraged to approach the Department
on matters affecting the curriculum and methods of Native
education.

Section 8. — ^The Reorganised School System

As we have already shown, there exist to-day the following
types of Native schools : elementary day schools, elementary
and secondary boarding schools, a high school and high
school classes, industrial schools, and training institutions.
The nomenclature varies in the several provinces, and there is
a good deal of overlapping.

Before attempting to propose a reorganised scheme, it is
necessary to differentiate between primary and secondary
education.

The purpose of primary education is to develop in the child
such habits, interests, and character, and to supply him with
such knowledge and skill, that his " set " may be in the direction
approved by society, and that he may possess a right and sound
foundation on which to build the further education which he
must receive in the world or in the school. It is a period when

274 THE EDUCATION OF THE .SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

the school should seek to give the knowledge and skill which
are needed by all of the childi'en for whom it is estabhshed,
when hkenesses rather than differences should be stressed, and
when specialisation is untimely. Broadly speaking, elementary
education may well be uniform for all pupils.

Secondary education is the conscious development in schools
and institutions of the habits, interests, character, knowledge,
and skill of the pupils in the hght of their physical and mental
maturity, their individual differences and capacities, and their
future occupations, all conditioned by the opportunities and
needs of the society into which they will enter. It should take
place at the period when the physical, mental, and spiritual
changes are occurring, and when the pupils begin to show
particular aptitudes and inclinations. Secondary education,
then, should be specialised to a greater or less extent.

In the case of our Native children the society which is
directing their destiny through education is at present, and
must for a long time continue to be, composed of members of
another race. It will be many years before the Native people
are competent to condition the development of their children.
This tremendous responsibility has been, and must continue
to be, assumed by the Europeans, and throughout this
study the writer has attempted to bear that patent fact
in mind.

What kind of schools, then, are necessary for the develop-
ment of the Native people in present-day South Africa ?

(A) Elementary Schools

The necessity for elementary schools has been recognised, as
is shown by their establishment, Government recognition, and
support throughout the country. Two kinds of elementary
schools are needed — ^the small rural elementary school proper,
and the central consolidated or intermediate school.

{a) The Elementary School. — The one- or two-teacher
elementary rural school is necessary to supply the elements of
education to the mass of the people; but because of the scattered
nature of the population, these schools will generally be small,
poorly staffed, and inadequately equipped. They can do little
more than teach the three R's and a few forms of manual or

PROPOSED ADMINISTRATION OF NATIVE EDUCATION 275

industrial education. The course of study for the normal child
should therefore not extend over five years, i.e. one year in the
infant class and four in the standards.

(6) The Intermediate Schools. — Instead of allowing the
elementary niral school to attempt more than it can possibly
accompUsh, it will be necessary to establish intermediate
schools at convenient centres to which the pupils from the
elementary rural schools may be drafted after they have com-
pleted the work of Standard IV. For the most part these
schools should be boarding schools, for it is highly desirable
that for the present, at anyrate, young Native boys and girls
should be brought into a better atmosphere than that of the
average " raw " Native home. At the intermediate school
the work of the elementary school will be continued ; but with
the larger and better-trained staff, and the more adequate
apparatus, a more complete programme both on the academic
and industrial sides can be accomplished. For some of the
older and bigger boys and girls it might be better if they passed
direct from the elementary school to the industrial school.

(B) Secondary Schools

The purpose of these schools is to offer some specialised
training for the future vocations of Native pupils. As the
opportunities and needs of the people increase, the number
of these schools will have to be increased, but for the
present only three types of secondary schools appear to be
necessary.

(a) Training Institutions for Teachers. — ^To supply the schools
with trained teachers a plentiful supply of training institutions
is needed. A three- years course should be offered, but to meet
the pressing demand for teachers, and the economic necessities
of the students, the course for each year should be fairly well
rounded off, so that those students who are compelled to leave
at the end of the first or second year should have a knowledge
of the elements of teaching. To enable this to be done, the
work of the first year at the training institution should be
largely professional, the academic part of the work having
been almost completed in Standard VI. of the intermediate
school.

276 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

(6) High Schools. — The three-year high school course should
be designed for the following types of students : —

(i.) Those who, by leason of their immaturity, are not able
to take up the hard physical work of the trades school,
or to enter the training institutions.

(ii.) Those who wish to be prepared for entrance to the Inter-
State Native College, particularly on the academic
side.

(iii.) Those who wish to be prepared for the lower ranks of
clerical employment.

(iv.) Those who, for any other reason, wish to continue a wider
general education.

(c) Industrial Schools. — These special schools will offer one-,
two-, and three-year courses in any or all of the following trades
and industries : farming, carpentry, cabinetmaking, black-
smithing, waggonmaking, masonry, brickmaking, shoe and
harness making, tailoring, cookery, laundry work, dress-
making, millinery, and any of the occupations in which Natives
may participate. The object of the trades school is to train
apprentices and others for special vocations. The period of
instruction will vary in the case of the different occupations.
Apprentices, of course, must remain to complete the period of
their apprenticeship; but while the other students will be
induced in every possible way to complete their course, it
should be recognised that some will be compelled to leave
earlier, and provision should be made accordingly.

For social and economic reasons it is highly desirable that
the three kinds of secondary institutions should be conducted
at one and the same institution. All branches of secondary
education deserve the same honourable treatment ; the in-
dustrial students should receive the same recognition as the
student -teachers, and the teachers should feel that they are as
good as the high-school pupils. The student-teachers and the
high-school students will make use of the industrial workshops
for their manual training, and the industrial students will use
the classrooms at night for their academic continuation work.
To encourage this socialised conception of secondary education,
it is suggested that only institutions with the three kinds of

PROPOSED ADMINISTRATION OF NATIVE EDUCATION 277

secondary work should be officially recognised by the honour-
able title of " Native Institutes."

The apex of the system of Native education is the South
African Native College. No system of Native education can be
satisfactory either to the Europeans or Natives of South Africa
which does not hold out to the Native boy or girl in the infant
class the opportunity of progressing through the various stages
up to the institution of collegiate rank at which he may be
prepared for the professions or for the higher forms of industrial
and technical work.

The accompanying diagram will illustrate the progression of
a pupil from the infant class to the college. An attempt has
been made to co-ordinate the schools, but at the same time
the nature of the work of each has been designed so that the
pupil who is compelled to leave any of the schools permanently
may find himself endowed with a certain definite amount of
knowledge and skill, and prepared to take up some form of
honourable employment.

To make such a system of Native education possible, not
only are Government recognition and Government assistance
necessary, but means must be devised whereby the poor but
deserving Native boy may progress from grade to grade, and
from school to school, by means of bursary, loan, or by " work-
ing his way through." ^ The nucleus of such a co-ordinated

' For a fuller treatment of this important subject see p. 296.

*■ One of the most praiseworthy features of the American system of
education is the provision made by high-school and college authorities
whereby a poor but deserving student is enabled to support himself
either by a loan or, more commonly, by working at some employment
part time. Most of the colleges maintain a bureau to find employment
for such students. Many of the writer's fellow-students at Columbia
University partly supported themselves by waiting at restaurants,
tending house furnaces, coaching backward pupils, acting as nurse-
girls, and similar part-time jobs. At Hampton and Tuskegee no
student is refused on the score of poverty. Any student who can
satisfy the entrance requirements may work his way through by doing
manual labour during the daytime at a fixed rate of remuneration
to pay for his board and by receiving his education at nights. The
writer recently met some South African Natives at Tuskegee who
were thus working their way through.

278 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

scheme of Native elementary and secondary education already
exists in all the provinces but the Orange Free State, and the

Fig. 17. — Showing proposed reorganisation of the system of
Native schools in South Africa.

recently established South African Native College at Lovedale
crowns the system. What are now needed are definition of the
function of each type of school, a standardised nomenclature,
Mid Government recognition.

CHAPTER XIV

PROPOSED COURSES OF STUDY

In accordance with the principles already laid down, the
determination of the detailed courses of study should be the
joint work of the officials of the Education Department and
of representative teachers actually engaged in Native work.
All that the writer has attempted to do in the following pages
is to outline a scheme which will make provision for certain
fundamental considerations.

1. Completeness. — ^The course of study in each type of school
will represent a definite amount of training and knowledge,
which, while leading up to the work of the school of higher
grade, will offer a well-rounded-off course for those pupils who
are unable to proceed further.

2. Utility. — The subjects chosen have been included because
of their definite and demonstrable utility. No subjects have
been included because of their traditioncd or discipUnary value.
Throughout the criterion has been, " Is this training or know-
ledge which will definitely function in the life of the pupil ? "

3. Grading. — An attempt has been made to grade the work
so that the standards are of equal difficulty. It is expected
that the elimination of subject-matter of traditional value only,
and especially the reduction of the work required of the lower
classes, will reduce the present excessive amount of retardation
through non-promotion.

4. Applicability. — ^The requirements throughout have been
determined by the nature of the educational machinery at
present available. No new subjects of study have been in-
cluded, nor should any of the requirements be beyond the
capabilities of the average teacher in the average Native
school.

279

280 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

5. Temporary Nature. — ^These courses of study, and indeed
all courses of study, have temporary value only. Further
experience with Native education as reported by supervisors
and teachers' committees, the changing educational needs as
they are determined by the changing social conditions of the
Natives, a more abundant supply of better-trained teachers,
will render any course of study unsuitable in less than a decade.

6. Recognition of the Vernacular. — The vernacular is officially
recognised and prescribed in all parts of the course. In the
Sub-Standard and Standard I., which we may call the Ver-
nacular Period, the mother-tongue is the chief subject and
medium of instruction ; in Standards II., III., IV., the Mixed
Period, both the vernacular and Enghsh or Dutch are used ;
but in Standards V. and over, the English or Dutch Period, the
non-mother-tongue is the chief subject and medium, though the
use of the vernacular never ceases entirely.

Section i. — The Elementary School Course of Study

This course of study, which is planned for five years, but
which may be taken in less time by the brighter and better-
taught pupils, is designed for the special needs of that large
number of pupils who will not be able to proceed further with
their studies. The pupil who completes the course should be
able to speak, read, and write his Native language well. He
should also be able to carry on an ordinary conversation in
English or Dutch, write a simple letter correctly in one of these
languages, and read a simple book. He will know enough
arithmetic to be able to make his simple purchases and sales
at the country store correctly. The work in nature study
should give him a general knowledge of the commoner wild
and domestic animals, and of the way in which the articles of
his diet and clothing are manufactured. It will also teach him
the origin of simple natural phenomena, such as thunder,
lightning, the seasons, etc., so that he may not attribute these
to spirit agencies. The course in practical hygiene will show
him how to take care of his health. His geographical know-
ledge will extend as far as the topography of South Africa. In
history he will have been taught the elements of the history
of South Africa, together with an outUne of the rights and

PROPOSED COURSES OF STUDY 281

duties of Natives. The course in industrial training should
have taught him the simpler Native crafts, the useful European
art of sewing, and the elements of practical agriculture, while
proving that there is nothing lowering in manual work.

The subjects suggested and their location in the course of
study are indicated in the syllabus on pp. 282, 283.

In connection with this proposed syllabus the following
points may be noted : —

1. The course of study in rehgious and moral training should
be drawn up by a committee of the Advisory Board. It
should not be impossible for the several denominations to
devise a common non-doctrinal syllabus, at least for the
elementary schools.

The great advantage in a common syllabus is that the
subject of religious and moral training might then receive
official recognition, and could become a subject of inspection
and examination. At present the Government inspectors do
not deal with the subject of religious instruction, with the
result that the teacher is apt to neglect it in favour of the
other subjects. Missionaries report that this important subject
is often neglected because it is not formally examined by the
inspectors. Instruction and examination in religious and
moral instruction should be conducted in the vernacular.

2. There are at present no suitably graded reading books in
Zulu and Kafir ; but once the vernacular is given official recog-
nition, the publishers will be prepared to supply suitable books.
In view of the fact that the vernacular readers will be the only
books used by a large number of pupils, it is important that
the greatest care should be taken in its preparation. A mere
story reader is not wanted. An inspirational, informative
reader deahng with South African topics, intelUgible and
interesting to the Natives, is what is needed.

3. The nature of the EngUsh or Dutch and the vernacular
grammar taught should be different. The latter might be
analytical and corrective, the former should be constructive
and instructional.^

* The difference may be illustrated thus : what is wanted for the
vernacular is a grammar similar to the Latin grammars in use to-day.
For Enghsh and Dutch a book of the " Language Lesson type " is
needed.

282 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

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PROPOSED COURSES OF STUDY

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284 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

4. In English spelling, which, as we have seen, is a great
stumbling-block, the words in the ordinary English readers are
altogether unsuitable. The pupil needs only to be able to
spell the words he will have to write. Lists of common words,
and especially those used in letter-writing, should be prepared
and prescribed. The same practice should be followed in the
case of Dutch.

5. The greatest importance should be attached to oral com-
position or speech exercises in English or Dutch. To attempt
to teach English or Dutch through the medium of formal
grammar is a waste of time. The method used should be the
so-called " Reformed Method," as illustrated in the text-books
of the Gouin or Berlitz series.^

6. The necessary information for the instruction in Native
study and hygiene, with suggestions as to the methods to be
employed, must, for some time at least, be supplied by the
Department of Native Education. The best channel through
which this information could be conveyed would be by the
monthly official educational journal.^

7. The syllabus in industrial training is suggestive only.
The nature of the instruction will depend so much on the
locality in which the school is situated that each school should
be required to submit its own scheme for the approval of the
district inspector. A period of from thirty to sixty minutes
in industrial training per diem should be required of all
elementary schools.

Section 2. — ^The Intermediate School Course of Study

The Intermediate Schools, which will generally be centrally
situated boarding schools, are intended to continue the work
of the elementary schools. They will, however, be able to
attempt a more ambitious programme, since the pupils will be
a more selected group, the teachers will be more competent,
and the equipment will be better.

^ The excellent system employed in the schools of the Fourth
District, Manila, Philippine Islands, is reproduced in Appendix C of
English for the Non-English.

* One of the duties of the Department of Education will be to publish
monthly a journal which will contain official announcements and articles
on educational topics. The same journal could be used for both
European and Native teachers if necessary.

PROPOSED COURSES OF STUDY

285

INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL CURRICULUM.

Subject.

Standard V.

Standard VI.

Religious and
moral training
' Reading

5 (^

g I Composition

h Gramma

''Reading

Spelling

Speech and

composition

Grammar

Drawing
Singing

Arithmetic

Geography
History

Nature study
and science.

Hygiene
/^ Agriculture

Industrial
work.

Daily instruction in vernacular on special syllabus.

Vernacular reading once a week.

Themes and letters. Trans-
lation.

Accidence and simple
syntax.

Readers III. and IV.

From lists.

Conversation on matter of

reading books, current

events. Themes and

letter-writing.
Language Lessons III. and

IV.

Themes and letters. Trans-
lation.
Accidence and syntax.

Readers V. and VI. or Con-
tinuous Reader.

From lists.

Conversation as before ; de-
bates, themes, and letter-
writing.

Analysis and synthesis, cor-
rection of sentences, use
of words.
In connection with manual work.

The Elementary School Course continued and extended.
Part songs. The school choir.

Square measure and simple
mensuration, biUs of par-
cels, addition, subtrac-
{tion, multiplication, and
division of fractions i,

h i, i-
Descriptive geography of
British Empire.

The story of the British
Empire.

Household bookkeeping,
percentages, simple

interest, insurance.

Detailed geography of
South Africa, physical
and industrial.

History of South Africa,
with special reference to
past and present history
and condition of Natives.

Principles of physical geo-
graphy, general ele-
mentary science.

Origin and manufacture of

articles of food, clothing,

furniture. The physics,

chemistry, andmechanics

of everyday life.
Outlines of physiology. First aid to the injured, (For

Girls.) Rroper treatment of infants.
Cultivation of gardens, food plots, manuring, draining,

choosing seed, local market prices, pruning o^fruit

trees, care of animals.
(Boys.) Manipulation of tools, woodwork, mending

chairs and other furniture. (Girls.) Canning fruit,

jam making, domestic work, sewing, and dressmaking.

286 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

It should be borne in mind that an intermediate school is
not a secondary institution, and does not offer anything in the
way of specialised training. The only specialisation which could
be undertaken by the pupils from the elementary schools is indus-
trial work, and that is provided for in the industrial schools.

The principles followed in the framing of this curriculum are
the same as those used in the elementary school course of study.
The vernacular is retained for religious and moral instruction,
and is taught as a subject of instruction, but the medium in
general use is now English or Dutch. A good deal of English
or Dutch reading is attempted, two ordinary reading-books
being completed in each year. Spelhng is taught from the
prepared lists of words most frequently needed by pupils.
Speech and oral composition are emphasised, and the grammar
continues to be constructive.

Writing has been dropped as a special subject of instniction
since the maximum school efficiency has probably been attained
and the time thus saved devoted to other work. Arith-
metic is still thoroughly practical, and need not occupy more
than two-thirds of the time previously devoted to it.

Nature study now splits into two parts : (a) a course in
physical geography designed to explain natural phenomena ;
and [b) a course on the nature and origin of the foodstuffs,
clothing, and furniture, etc., found in the home of an educated
Native : the object being to interest the pupils in these aspects
of the new civilisation, and to make them more discriminating
purchasers.

The geography for Standard V. is the topography of the
British Empire, an account of the different peoples who com-
prise it, and an account of the objects of exchange between
the several parts. In Standard VI. we turn back again to an
intensive study of our own country, and consider its physical
features, agricultural and industrial achievements and pro-
spects. The trade relations of South Africa with other countries
receive special consideration.

History is closely correlated with geography. In Standard
V. it consists of an account of the chief historical events con-
nected with the founding of the Empire ; and in Standard VI.
a course in South African history with special reference to the
past and present condition of the Native peoples is suggested.

PROPOSED COURSES OF STUDY 287

In hygiene a course in elementary physiology with special
reference to personal and public health is given, and physical
exercises to counteract the natural sluggishness of the people
are continued.

Industrial work consists of agriculture, gardening, wood-
work, sewing, dressmaking, and domestic work. As inter-
mediate schools will generally be located at important centres of
Native education, ample opportunity for industrial work will be
found in the shops of the industrial schools.

Section 3. — The Native High Schools

The Provincial Native High Schools will consist of several
departments, e.g. : — ^

(A) The Academic Department, offering preparation for the
entrance examinations of the South African Native College,

(B) The Commercial Department, preparing students for
positions as clerks, bookkeepers, and storekeepers, and at the
same time preparing students for admission to the Commercial
Department of the Native College.

(C) The Industrial Department, preparing students for posi-
tions as mechanics, nurses, housekeepers, etc., and also making
provision for those students who wish to proceed to the South
African College.^

Each department will follow its own specialised curriculum.

(A) The Academic Department

The course of study in the Academic Department will be
based on the requirements of University examinations. While
the syllabuses of the University junior certificate and the
matriculation examinations are not suitable for Native students,

* A little duplication with the work of the South African College is
unavoidable, since there will be a number of students requiring special-
ised training who will be unable to proceed to the central institution.
There is no reason why pupils from the commercial and industrial
departments of the high school, who proceed to the College, should not
take their place with the second-year students, if their previous training
has been adequate.

* The number of these departments can be increased as the need
arises. Departments for agriculture and household arts will soon be
needed. To obtain Government recognition and support, a Native high
school will not be required to offer courses in all departments.

288 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

the great importance attached to these examinations in South
Africa makes it impossible to avoid them, and the only way
to improve the course of study in the Academic Department
of the Native high schools is to endeavour to persuade the
University authorities of the unsuitability of the studies, and
induce them to offer optional subjects of more practical value,
and to arrange their questions in such a way that a narrow
method of preparation and cramming may not be necessary.

The course of study will be based on the requirements of the.
junior certificate examination, which will be the chief qualify-
ing examination for entrance to the Academic Department of
the Inter-State Native College. The subjects of that examina-
tion are : —

Group I.

English (two papers)
or Dutch (two
papers).

Arithmetic.

Group II.

English! if not taken

Dutch /under Group I.

Latin.

Greek.

History.

French.

German.

Kafir (Xosa or Zulu).

Sesuto.

Group III.

Mathematics.

Physics.

Chemistry.

Elementary

physical

science.
Botany.

Candidates are required to take the two subjects in Group I.,
and not less than three or more of the subjects in Groups II.
and III. When three subjects are taken from Groups II. and
III., two must be selected from one group and one from the
other group. When four subjects are taken from Groups II.
and III., two may be selected from each group, or one may be
selected from Group III. and three from Group II., provided
that one of the three subjects taken in Group II. is either Latin
or Greek or history.

(B) The Commercial Department

The course of study will consist of the following subjects : —

Enghsh. Bookkeeping.

Dutch. Business methods.

Commercial geography. Shorthand.

Arithmetic. Typewriting.

PROPOSED COURSES OF STUDY 289

English or Dutch. Building construction.

Mathematics. Design.

Science. Manual training.

Mechanical drawing. Agriculture.

Section 4, — ^The Training Institution
The Training Institution will offer a three-years course lead-
ing to the Native teachers' first-class certificate. Efforts will be
made by means of bursaries and higher salaries to induce the
students to complete the three-years course of training, and
at a later date the complete course may be made compulsory ;
but it must be frankly recognised that the pressing need for
teachers with even a modicum of training is so great, and the
financial condition of the students such, that it will be necessary
for a considerable number of the students to leave the training
institutions at the end of the first or second year. Provision
for these has accordingly been made in the following scheme.

Three grades of teachers' certificates will therefore be issued,
the third, second, and first for the satisfactory completion
of one, two, and three years' training respectively. Teachers
who leave the Training Institution at the end of the first year,
and are unable to return, will be encouraged to continue their
studies privately and at vacation courses for the higher certifi-
cates, but at least one year's study at an approved institution
should be a requisite for the issue of any certificate.^

1 The following clause from the regulations governing the second-
class teachers' certificate examination will show how the interests
of these students have been cared for : —

The following classes of candidates only are eUgible to sit for the
examination :

(a) Candidates from recognised training colleges who have com-
pleted at least one year's training after having passed both parts
of the Native teachers' third-class certificate examination, and
who are recommended by the principals of such training colleges.
(6) Teachers in Government-inspected schools who have passed both
parts of the Native teachers' third-class certificate examination
from a recognised training college, and who have taught for two
years in a Government-inspected school to the satisfaction of the
district inspector. Such teachers will be required to forward
with their appUcation form a recommendation from the district
inspector that they be allowed to sit for the examination.

290 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

The drafting of the regulations and the preparation of the
syllabus of examination are matters in which the Committee
of Teachers in Training Institutions should be consulted ; but
the following draft regulations for the third-class certificate
will illustrate the writer's point of view. Similar but more
advanced courses will be presented for the second- and first-
class certificate examinations.

Regulations governing the Native Teachers' Third-
Class Certificate Examination

1. The examination for the Native teachers' third-class
certificate is held annually in December. The date is stated
on the School Calendar, which is issued by the Education
Department annually in January.

2. Only candidates from recognised training colleges, who
have completed at least one year's training, and who are recom-
mended by the principal of such training colleges, are ehgible
for the examination.^

3. Entries must be made on the prescribed form, which may
be obtained on application to the Superintendent of Education.

4. All entries must be sent in to the Superintendent of Edu-
cation not later than the last day of February.

5. The examination consists of two parts — Part L, Academic;
Part II., Professional. Candidates are allowed to take the two
parts of the examination separately, but in that case Part I.
must be taken first. ^

6. Candidates who satisfy the examiners in both parts of the
examination will receive a provisional third-class certificate,
which will be exchanged for a final third-class certificate on

^ This secures the co-operation of the teachers in the training in-
stitutions, who must know the candidates much better than the
examiners, and who will not present candidates who they know do not
deserve to pass, as is sometimes done under the present system.

* The one year at the training institution is too short a period for
much academic work. There is no reason why the academic work
required should not be begun in the high school by the brighter
pupils. This appUes particularly to the pupils who are too young
to take up professional work. Most of the time in the training insti-
tution will be required for professional work and practice teaching
if the students are to profit much from their one year's training.

PROPOSED COURSES OF STUDY 29I

the completion of one year's teaching in a Government-aided
school to the satisfaction of the missionary superintendent
and the district inspector. No candidate can receive a final
certificate until he or she is eighteen years of age. No certifi-
cate will be issued for Part I. of the examination.

7. Holders of final certificates must produce their certifi-
cates for endorsement by the district inspector once in every
two years. The following endorsements will be used : — Excel-
lent— Good — Fair — Unsatisfactory. The endorsement " Un-
satisfactory " appearing twice will disqualify the holder from
employment in a Government-aided school.

8. To satisfy the examiners, candidates must obtain the
minimum number of marks in the obhgatory subjects (see
schedule below), and must in addition obtain 40 per cent, of
the aggregate number of marks .1

9. The subjects and standard of examination are as
follows : —

Part I.

(i.) English (two hours) : —

Section A . — Questions on the matter of a prescribed
book.

Section B. — {a) Paraphrasing of a simple prose
passage ; (h) analysis and synthesis ; (c) correc-
tion of sentences to test knowledge of accidence,
S5mtax, and the proper use of words ; {d) the
making of sentences illustrating the use of specific
words.

Section C. — An oral test of the candidates' abiUty to
speak the language correctly and fluently.

(11.) Composition (one hour) : — A letter and an essay,
(iii.) Dictation (half an hour) : — A piece of about 15 lines

selected from a Standard VI, reader, and 20 words

from the school speUing-lists,
(iv.) Handwriting : — ^To be judged from the dictation paper,

and in addition tests in text, half-text, and figure

writing and printing.

* In awarding marks the examiners will take into account the year's
work of the students as shown in the quarterly examinations conducted
by teachers of the training colleges.

292 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

(v.) Zulu (two hours) : — (a) Accidence and simple syntax ;
{b) translation from Zulu of (i.) some detached
sentences, (ii.) a simple continuous passage ; (c)
translation into Zulu of (i.) some detached sentences,
(ii.) a simple continuous passage ; {d) a composition
of about 100 words in length.

(vi.) History (one hour) : — The outlines of South African
history; civics.

(vii.) Geography (one hour) : — Man and his markets, an ele-
mentary course in human and industrial geography.
(viii.) Nature Study : —

(A) Plant and animal studies : the keeping of

nature calendars, and direct observational and
simple experimental work.

(B) The elements of physical geography.

(ix.) Arithmetic (two hours) : — Notation and numeration ;
simple and compound rules ; weights and measures
(avoirdupois, lineal, square, capacity, and time) ;
reduction ; prime and composite numbers ; simple
decimal and vulgar fractions ; bills ; simple propor-
tion ; easy percentages and simple interest ; easy
mensuration of rectangles, parallelograms, and
triangles,
(x.) Mental arithmetic (half an hour) : — Easy questions on
the above, together with questions involving the use
of shortened methods.

Part II.
(xi.) School method (two hours) : —

(a) The reasons for and the methods of teaching the
subjects of the Native school syllabus up to
and inclusive of Standard IV.

(6) The Departmental rules and regulations govern-
ing the conduct of Native schools, including
the correct use of admission book, register,
log-book, etc.

(c) An inspection of the notes-of-lessons book kept
by the candidate, such notebook to contain
full notes of at least six lessons, including one

PROPOSED COURSES OF STUDY 293

for each class or standard given before the
supervising teacher.^ These notebooks are to
be submitted to examiners on the occasion of
the examination in practical teaching,
(xii.) Practical Teaching : — ^The candidate will be required to
teach a class of at least ten pupils to the satisfaction
of the examiner. The examiner will choose one of
the lessons from the book submitted (see (xi.) (c)
above), and will also require the candidate to give an
additional lesson or lessons,
(xiii.) Blackboard Work (half an hour) : — The candidate will
be required to demonstrate his ability to use the
blackboard by : (a) rapid writing ; (b) setting a copy
for writing ; (c) setting out a sum ; {d) drawing maps
and plans from copies ; (e) setting a copy for drawing
for pupils up to and inclusive of Standard IV.
(xv.) Drawing (one hour) : — {a) A simple freehand copy ;
(b) a simple object or collection of objects {e.g. a cup
and saucer, a spray of leaves, etc.).
(xvi.) Singing,
(xvii.) Manual training (two hours) : —

(A) For all candidates :

(a) The candidate will be required to manu-
facture any of the objects prescribed for
the manual training of the elementary
schools ;

{b) To produce ten articles manufactured
by the candidate in the course of his
training. The articles must be shown
to the examiner at the time of the
examination in practical teaching.

(B) For boy candidates :

Simple carpentry, including the use and care
of tools. The candidate will be required to
make any of the objects prescribed in the

* The object of this is again to find out what the Master of Method
in the training institution thinks of the candidate's ability as a teacher.
At present, owing to the large number of students at the training institu-
tions and the paucity of practising schools, six formally criticised
lessons is all that can be required of candidates.

294 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

elementary school course of study, and to pro-
duce in addition the useful articles (with the
related drawings) manufactured by him during
the course of his preparation.
(C) For girl students. — Needlework.

(fl) A theoretical and practical knowledge of

the needlework prescribed for Native

schools up to and inclusive of

Standard IV.
{h) A practical test in the teaching of needle

work.

(xviii.) Elementary Agriculture : — ^The teacher of agriculture
at each training college will be required to present
for the approval of the Superintendent of Education,
not later than the last day of April of each year, in
triplicate, a scheme in practical elementary agri-
culture for {a) boy and {h) girl students. At the
time of the examination in practical teaching the
examiner wiU assess the value of the work as a whole,
and the teacher of agriculture will be required to
allot marks to each individual student for his or her
work throughout the year.

For girls. — Elementary domestic science.

Section 5. — The Industrial Schools

In the industrial schools courses for apprentices and others
will be offered in any or aU of the following trades and occupa-
tions : — Blacksmithing, bookbinding, carpentry, farming,
gardening, housework, masonry, printing, shoemaking, tailor-
ing, waggon-making, and any others for which a demand may
arise.

The training will be thoroughly practical, the object being
to train competent practical mechanics, farmers, domestic
servants, and homemakers. The industrial school will differ
from the industrial department of the high school in that
the latter offers the theoretical knowledge required for a proper
understanding of the trade and necessary for those who intend
to take the higher positions in industries, while the former aims
at turning out the rank-and-file of industry, the semi-skilled

PROPOSED COURSES OF STUDY

295

workmen who will be competent to do the rough work at
present required by the Natives, but who must work under
close direction if anything more ambitious is to be attempted.

SCHEDULE OF MARKS
Part I

Subject.

Hours.

Maximum.

Minimum.

English, section A

100

English, section B

150

EngUsh, section C

Composition

100

Dictation .

Handwriting

Zulu .

200

History and civics

100

Geography

100

Nature study

150

Arithmetic

200

Mental arithmetic

Aggregate for Part I.

1275. Minimum required for a pa

ss, 510.

Part II

School method .

200

Practical teaching

100

Blackboard work

Drawing .

Singing

Manual work

200

Elementary agricultu

re "

- .

150

Domestic Science

Aggregate for Part II

., 800. Minimum required for a pa

ss, 320.

The marks for manual

work will be subdivided as follows :-

Native crafts, 50.

Carpentry and needlewo

rk, 100.

In connection with the industrial schools, evening schools of
a continuation character will be conducted. The students who
are working at their trades all day will be instructed at nights
in the essentials of an elementary education.

CHAPTER XV
THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE COLLEGE

Section i. — ^The History of the Movement for Higher
Education ^

The idea of the establishment of an institution for the higher
education of Natives has been long in the minds of missionaries
and educators in South Africa. The first step towards the
realisation of the idea was taken in 1841, when Lovedale
Institution was opened as a seminary of higher learning, and
a College Department, which has been continually in existence
up to the present day, was established. The great pro-
tagonist of the movement was the late Dr Stewart, the famous
and revered Principal of the institution at Lovedale, who more
than any other man has fostered the progress of education
among the South African Natives.

In 1872 the course of study in the College Department
included history, English literature, mathematics, mental and
moral philosophy, political economy, Latin, and Greek. This
course was taken both by Europeans as well as by a few
Natives, and some of the most distinguished European states-
men in South Africa received their education at Lovedale,
which at the time was offering a more complete course than was
to be found in other parts of the Eastern Province of the Cape
Colony. Few of the Natives remained to complete the course,

^ The sources from which this account has been derived are : — (a) The
minutes of a Conference of Representatives of the money guaranteed
towards the founding of the Inter-State Native College, held in the
Chamber of Commerce, King William's Town, October 2, 3, 4, 1907.
(6) The account of the Convention of Representative Natives from all
parts of South Africa to discuss the present position of the scheme,
held at Lovedale on July i, 2, 3, 1908, as reported in The Christian
Express, August 1908. (c) The prospectus of the College.

296

THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE COLLEGE 297

bfut the influence of the training received there was all for good,
and many of the most influential and respected leaders of the
Native peoples owe much to this institution.

Although the idea received the support of such men as Sir
George Grey and Sir Langham Dale, the Government did not
think the time was ripe for anything more than the estabUsh-
ment of a State-aided and State-controlled school for Natives
at Lovedale, and Natives desirous of more than what was
offered in an institution of this nature were compelled to pro-
ceed overseas for their further education. The comparative
non-success of the State-controlled high school is evidenced
by its results in the University examinations,^ and by the
admission of the present Principal of Lovedale, who, at the
Native Convention held at Lovedale in 1908, declared that the
present situation was one of miserable failure at Lovedale.
Out of sixty or seventy young men who had joined the school
higher classes that year, not so many as five would ever reach
even matriculation, and of course matriculation was only the
beginning of a University course ; not one of them could hope
to reach the true goal. That was not due to lack of ability
on the part of the pupils, nor to want of application. It was
not due to want of effort on the part of the teachers. Class
work was an increasing drive from opening to closing day. The
extraordinary efforts made by many of the pupils were
pathetic, but they were mostly in vain. The pupils' educa-
tional career was wrecked before they reached the College
Department, and the College classes themselves were of the
nature of a forlorn hope.^

The next landmark in the history of higher education for
Natives was the publication in 1905 of the famous Report
of the South African Native Affairs Commission of 1903-1905.
Section 347 of the Report reads as follows : —

* See ante, p. 130.

* Reported in The Christian Express, August i, 1908. Mr Henderson
attributes the non-success of the College Department to the unsym-
pathetic attitude of the Cape Education Department. The writer's
opinion is that the state of affairs so truly described by Mr Henderson
is due to the imposition of a hard-and-fast curriculum, designed for
European pupils, upon the children of another race differing in
environment, institutions.'mental development, and future occupations.

298 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

" The Commission has received much evidence pointing
to the necessity for some improvement in the f aciUties for
the methods of higher education for Natives, who them-
selves are strongly desirous of such advanced instruction,
and setting forth the view that it is the duty, and should
be the policy, of the South African States to provide such
opportunities. The evidence of education officers is to
the effect that the supply of Native teachers is far from
equal to the demand, and that many of those whose
services are available are of inferior attainments. The
Commission is impressed with the advisability of establish-
ing some central institution or Native college which might
have the advantage of the financial support of the different
colonies and possessions, and which would receive Native
students from them all. The immediate advantages of
such a scheme appear to be, the creation of adequate
means for the efficient and uniform training of an increased
number of Native teachers, and the provision of a course
of study in this country for such Native students as may
desire to present themselves for the higher school and
university examinations."

The promoters of the scheme were much impressed with the
unanimity of opinion displayed by the members of the Com-
mission, who represented all the colonies in South Africa,
Rhodesia, and Basutoland, and lost no time in launching the
scheme. In October 1905, on the initiative of Dr Stewart, a
meeting of the leading Natives of King William's Town district
was called, at which an executive committee was formed to
bring before the Natives of South Africa the recommendations
of the Native Affairs Commission. To test the opinion of the
Natives of South Africa, a great convention was held at
Lovedale on December 28 and 29, 1905, at which 152 Natives,
representing 65 districts and countries, were present. The
Convention was unanimous in supporting the scheme, and it
was suggested that Lovedale should be acquired for the site
of the College, and that the Natives should endeavour to
collect a sufficient sum of money to found the institution.
The executive committee was empowered to carry out the
project, and to negotiate with the Governments and Churches.

THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE COLLEGE 299

As the result of an active propaganda, moral and financial
support was received from the Natives, the Churches, and
Europeans. The Basutoland Natives, through their chiefs,
promised ^^6000, on condition that the scheme was supported
by at least one of the self-governing colonies of South Africa.
The Transkeian General Council gave £10,000 unconditionally,
and friends of the scheme in Scotland ;^i5,ooo on certain con-
ditions. These, with other contributions from European and
Native sources, led the promoters to believe that they would
have a capital sum of between £40,000 and £50,000 with which
to start the College.

In 1908 additional but carefully guarded support was given
to the scheme by the Report of the Cape Select Committee
on Native Education, which says with reference to the pro-
posed College : —

" The estabUshment of a Native College has been recom-
mended, partly in order to provide for the higher educa-
tion of Natives, and partly to prevent Natives from going
out of the country in search of it. The evidence shows
that upwards of a hundred South African Natives have in
recent years gone to colleges in the United States and
elsewhere ; that there may be some opening for Natives
with a college education as professional men among their
own people, and as headmen ; and that there is a demand
for higher education, but that it is not large. It also
appears that many Natives enter the normal course solely
because there is no alternative course beyond the element-
ary standards. Your Committee regard this as undesir-
able, since the normal course is designed only for training
teachers. In view of all the circumstances, they consider
that the demand for higher education should not be
artificially stimulated, but that when shown to be genuine
it should not be refused, and recommend that after
Standard V. there should, where necessary, be alternative
courses (leading up to secondary, normal, and industrial
work) ; that the scale of fees be similar to those of the
fees charged in European colleges ; that grants for
secondary and higher work be made to the Native College
on terms similar to those on which grants were made to

300 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

other colleges in the earlier days of higher education in
South Africa ; that the Government be adequately repre-
sented on the governing body of the Native College ; that
the work up to and including the matriculation course be
subject to the usual Government inspection ; that manual
training be an integral part of the College course, and that
the university standard of work be strictly maintained,"
(Section i8.)

In the same year a Convention of representative Natives
was held at Lovedale, where the outlines of the scheme were
again discussed. At this meeting it was announced that for
certain reasons the proposal to purchase Lovedale as the
nucleus for the College had been given up, and it was now
proposed to estabhsh the College at Fort Hare, about a mile
from Lovedale. 1 The Convention was a success, and the pro-
spects for the College were bright, but the Governments of
the several colonies did not come forward with the necessary
financial support. The question of the union of the four
colonies was under consideration, and there was a tendency
to relegate matters affecting Native pohcy to the new Govern-
ment, The promise of financial support from Basutoland was
accordingly withdrawn, and many of the Native promises of
contributions proved to be nothing but promises. Many of
the promises of support from Europeans, which had been condi-
tional on adequate support from the Natives, were also with-
drawn. The net result has been that at the time of writing
the capital of the CoUege is not more than half of the ^^50,000
expected.2 The Executive Committee determined to open
the College on a less ambitious scale, and in July 1915 the
College opened with a class preparing for the Cape matricula-
tion, a class in agriculture, and a class in theology.

* The writer believes that a serious mistake was here made. The
arguments that the grant of ;^ 15, 000 from the United Free Church
of Scotland was inclusive of the value of the Fort Hare site, and that
if the present work at Lovedale ceased there would be one important
institution the less to support the new College, do not outweigh the
advantages of having Lovedale with its traditions, equipment, and
many-sided activities as the nucleus of the new College.

• Included in this is an appropriation of ;^6oo from the Union
Government.

THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE COLLEGE 3OI

Section 2. — ^The Objections to the Scheme

That there are objections to the proposed scheme is evidenced
by the guarded report of the Cape Select Committee on Native
Education, 1908, and by the withholding of the promised
subscriptions.

Neglecting the objections of those who withdrew their
support because of the proposed location of the College at
Lovedale instead of in the Transkei, and the seemingly un-
avoidable odium theologicum which prevents some rehgious
organisations from sending their pupils to an inter-denomina-
tional school, we may summarise the objections under two
heads : (A) PoUtical, and (B) Educational.

(A) Political Objections

The fear of ultimate Black supremacy, which looms large
in the eyes of many of the European inhabitants of South
Africa, has made them incUned to scrutinise closely any
attempts at the higher education of the Natives. This fear,
natural enough in a country where the Whites are so greatly
outnumbered, has been fostered in the past by Native wars
and rebellions, and more latterly by the appearance in South
Africa of more or less secret religious and political organisations
among the Natives, which are supposed to be preaching the
doctrine of independence for the Negro peoples, or " Africa for
the Africans."

What basis of fact there is for the existence of a widespread
" Ethiopian Movement," as it is called, in South Africa, is
difficult to say. It is certain that there have been several
secessions of Christian Natives from the European-controlled
missionary societies, such as that of Rev. J. M. Dwane in 1894 ;
but it is not apparent that there was anything more in these
than the natural desire of a growing people to be free from
the apron-strings of European control. It is also certain
that this movement was fostered by Negro missionaries from
the United States, connected principally with the African
Methodist Episcopal Church, and that the political opinions
of these men regarding Native questions were not in har-
mony with the views of the European Government in

302 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

South Africa.^ The appearance, again, within recent years
of Native political associations founded and officered by
educated Natives has not tended to allay the suspicions of
the Europeans that higher education and political aspirations
are indissolubly connected. When, therefore, the proposal
for an Inter-State Native College was so enthusiastically
taken up by the South African Natives, there was a distinct
feeling among a large section of the Europeans that this
movement was due, in a considerable part, to the teachings
of " Ethiopianism."

The writer's opinion is that there is a distinct connection
between education and movements towards social and political
improvement. This has proved to be the case in France and
England, and is to-day apparent in Russia. South Africa can
be no exception. To deny the Natives education for fear of
the appearance of these movements would be fatal if it were
possible. As we have attempted to show in an earlier part of
this study, the safety of the European lies in the provision
of suitable educational facilities for the Natives, and any
legitimate demands of the Natives for further education
must be met.^

(B) Educational

A further set of objections towards the establishment of an
Inter-State Native College came from those who felt that the
Native was not yet ready for higher education, and that the
alleged demand was not real but had been artificially fostered.

The upholders of this view point to the non-success of Native
students at the Cape University examinations. As we have
already shown, the number of passes from Lovedale during
the period 1904-1913 was 12 in the matriculation, 5 in the
senior certificate, and 60 in the junior certificate. During
the seventeen years from 1892-1908, the number of Native

1 To this is due largely the objection which the Europeans in South
Africa hold towards the education of South African Natives in the
United States, which in turn is a reason why Government Commissions
have urged the estabUshment of an institution of higher learning for
Natives within the confines of South Africa.

* In this connection it will be remembered that in the Natal
Native Rebellion of 1906 the educated Natives remained loyal to the
Government.

THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE COLLEGE 303

pupils who passed the school higher examination was exactly
50, or an average of 3 per annum. During the same period
the number of individual students in the class preparing for
this examination was 233. That means that out of every five
candidates preparing for this examination, which is a school
and not a university examination proper, one passed and the
remaining four either failed or abandoned the course. Even
the Principal of Lovedale himself could not but admit that the
present situation was one of miserable failure at Lovedale.

Figures such as these cause a certain section of the people
of South Africa, and among them educationists well disposed
towards the Natives, to declare that " the Native must not
merely express his desire after, but more satisfactorily prove
his fitness for, higher education, before the States of South
Africa can undertake the outlay for the establishment and
support of the proposed college. They cannot justly be ex-
pected to provide for the exceptions ; they must first make
due provision for the needs of the mass." ^ The conclusion,
therefore, seems unavoidable that if we are to judge of the
capacity of the Natives for higher education by their abihty
to pass the examinations of the Cape University, and if we
mean by higher education only the courses presented by the
University, then the Native is certainly not yet ready for
higher education.

The weakness of this argument lies in its premises. Two
questions arise at once : {a) Are the school and entrance
examinations of the University a fair test of ability for higher
education ? and {b) Must we restrict the term " higher educa-
tion " to the existing courses of the University ? To both of
these contentions the writer would dissent, in part as far as
European pupils are concerned, and entirely as f ar £is Natives
are concerned.

{a) Are the school and entrance examinations of the University
a fair test of ability for higher education ? In the year 1909, of
the 2336 candidates who sat for the school higher examination,
1661, or 71-1 per cent., passed ; and of the 1520 who entered for
the matriculation or university entrance examination, 891,

* Rev. J. du Plessis, General Mission Secretary, Dutch Reformed
Church, Appendix to Report of the Cape Select Committee on Native
Education, p. xvii.

30^ THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVVE

or 58-5 per cent., passed. All but a negligible few of these candi-
dates were Europeans. Would it be fair to contend that out
of every 10 candidates, who, after satisfactorily completing the
elementary curriculum and three or four years of the high
school course, sat for the school higher, only 7 were fit to
prepare for the matriculation, and that, after spending two
more years at the high school, only 4 of these 7 were fit to
proceed to a university college ? Candidates for the matricu-
lation examination are a highly selected group, and it is hard
to believe that not more than 58*5 per cent, of these are fit for
college. Rather than to say outright that only a little more
than half of our sixth-form boys and girls are fit for higher
education, would it not be better to examine a httle more
closely the selective power of the courses of study and
examinations of the university ?

As far as Native pupils are concerned the university ex-
aminations are altogether unsuitable. For the matriculation
the compulsory subjects are Latin, mathematics (arithmetic,
algebra, and geometry), English or Dutch, a second modern
language (English, Dutch, French, German, Portuguese, Kafir,
Sesuto, or Sechuana), a science (physics, chemistry, element-
ary physical science, botany, zoology, elementary natural
science), and either Greek or history. The subjects generally
selected by Natives are Latin, mathematics, English, Kafir,
physics or chemistry, and history. It is impossible to enter
into the details of the requirements under each subject, but it
is generally conceded that the examination is difficult and that
a high standard of attainment is required.^

The utility or interest of these subjects for Natives can well
be questioned ; the absence of such subjects as manual training,
drawing, practical mathematics, civics, will be noticed ; but the
greatest disability is that the preparation and examination of
Native pupilsls conducted on what is to them a foreign language.
The Principal of Lovedale is undoubtedly right in attributing the
failure of his pupils largely to their poor knowledge of English.''

^ This is borne out by the fact that the annual percentage of failures
on the part of European pupils is from 35 to 50 per cent.

• It is interesting to note that Mr Henderson is speaking chiefly
of boys from schools in the Cape Province, where English is the medium
of instruction from the sub-standards.

THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE COLLEGE 305

Not only do the pupils have the greatest dif&culty in under-
standing the subjects which must be taught through the medium
of English, but in the examination itself they are required to
possess a knowledge of EngUsh which to them is as difficult
as the B.A. standard in German and French is to the
Enghsh-speaking student. The same pecuhar difficulties
confront Native pupils in the school higher (the present
junior certificate) examination. We cannot therefore safely
conclude that failure to pass the Cape University examina-
tions is in itself proof of the Native's incapacity for higher
education.

(6) Must the term " higher education " be restricted to the exist-
ing courses of the university ? The restrictive dominance of the
university over secondary education has already been referred
to, and to-day higher education and university courses have
become synonymous in South Africa. Yet there are already
existing courses of higher education which do not come under
the control of the university. The South African College at
Cape Town conducts medical and higher technical classes
which are independent of the university. Stellenbosch has
theological courses, and Cape Town and Durban engineering
courses which are of university standard, but which are un-
controlled by the Cape University. There is, then, no necessity
to have university control in order to offer courses in higher
education, and the sooner this is fully recognised the better
for education in South Africa.

There is nothing to prevent the South African Native College
from offering courses in higher education other than those
examined by the university ; and in view of the admitted un-
suitabiUty of the university courses for Native students it
should be the endeavour of the College authorities to avoid the
university courses as far as possible, at any rate until such
time as the university offers courses of study suitable for
Natives. To escape university control altogether is impossible,
for the glamour of the university's certificate has affected the
Natives, and to attract students it will be necessary to offer
at least one course leading towards the B.A, degree. The
objections of those who hold that in the absence of university
control a proper standard will not be maintained can be met
by the appointment of a representative body of examiners

306 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

consisting of the College instructors and outside educationists
of recognised standing.

Section 3. — ^The Need for the College

So far the arguments used in favour of the College have been
negative. It would appear as if the Europeans in South Africa
said, " We cannot help giving the Natives facihties for higher
education, for unless we provide an institution the Natives
will proceed overseas and return with ideas detrimental to
our interests."

A much more potent argument in favour of the College is
that through its work the whole Native people, and not only
the few who study there, can be uphfted. The tendency among
the educationists to-day is to neglect the gifted pupils and to
devote their time to the children of average attainments.^ We
forget that the civihsation which we enjoy is not the carefully
worked out efforts of thousands of individuals, but the work
of the few, the Harveys, Arkwrights, Stevensons, Bessemers,
Hudsons, Darwins, Edisons, and Marconis. Through the
efforts of such men we have advanced by leaps and bounds.
The progress of a nation is largely the result of the efforts of
the great men of its own and other races. The South African
Native Question must, to a large extent, be solved by the
Natives themselves through the efforts of their leaders ; and if
the European section of the community is wise, it will hasten
the day of this solution by affording the very best education
in its power to the talented few, who will not only be able to
transfer to their own people the results of European civihsation,
but will, by their example, influence, and studies, effect a rapid
uplift of the Native people.

Section 4. — ^A Suggested Scheme

It is now proposed to indicate shortly the nature of the
institution of higher education which we believe would be in
the interests of both races in South Africa. The topics dealt

^ This is a common fault of democracies, and is fostered in our
South African educational world by the systems of Government and
university examinations.

THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE COLLEGE 307

with will be control, location, entrance requirements, and
departments of study.

(a) Control. — ^The proper authority to control the Native
College is undoubtedly the Government. If, as we have
attempted to show, the prosperity of both races, and certainly
the safety of the Europeans, depends on the Government-
controlled education of the mass of the Native people, a fortiori
the control of the education of the future leaders of that race
should be in the hands of the Government. The absence of
any settled pohcy with regard to the Natives has, however,
prevented any of the states from undertaking the duty and
seizing the opportunity. The following extract from the
official Gazette of April i, 1906, represents the attitude towards
the education of the Native people of the Cape Government,
which has always been more liberal than any of the other
Governments in its treatment of the Natives : —

" The Native population is the problem of Africa ; and
the crux of that problem, if it is rightly considered, is the
question of the proper educational policy to pursue. In
Cape Colony this question was never formally dealt with.
The early missionaries, who, of course, were not educa-
tionists, felt first the need for teaching reading to the
children of their converts, and, having begun this, added
in time a Uttle of the other R's. As for the State, it may
be said to have simply refrained from interfering. As a
consequence of this policy of drift two general principles
came to regulate State action in this matter : first, that
aU Native schools should be under the management of
one of the missionary societies ; second, that the instruc-
tion given should follow the Unes of the elementary course
prescribed for European schools, but that no assistance
should be given in aid of the work higher than the Fourth
Standard, except in the case of candidates preparing for
the teaching profession." ^

With such views held by those in authority, a Native College
directed and financed by the Government was obviously im-
possible, and it is to the credit of the promoters of the CoUege

^ Quoted in The Christian Express, August i, 1908.

308 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

that they proceeded with the scheme and did not follow the
usual South African practice of waiting for the Government
to take the initiative. None of the provinces has contributed
to the scheme, but in 1915 the Union Government appropriated
;f6oo for the College, and secured two representatives on the
Governing Council. This move rectifies partially what was
an initial blunder, but steps should be taken to secure for the
Government a much larger say in the poUcy of the institu-
tion. This could perhaps be done by each of the provinces
contributing towards the funds of the College, and thus secur-
ing representation. Since the establishment of the College
will reUeve the provinces of the necessity of conducting similar
institutions, it also would seem the part of economy for them
to support the College.

(b) Location. — ^As has already been pointed out, in our
opinion a mistake was made in not securing Lovedale itself
as the nucleus for the College. However, the mistake is not
irremediable. Fort Hare is but a mile or two from Lovedale,
and it will still be possible, at a little inconvenience, for the
students at Fort Hare to make use of the workshops at
Lovedale.^

(c) Entrance Requirements. — For the academic department
of the College the possession of the matriculation or senior
certificate, or the passing of a special examination after a two-
years high-school course, is being required for admission.^ The
requirement of university school certificate is unfortunate, but
unavoidable — unfortunate because it will set many Natives in
the provinces working on an unsuitable curriculum,^ unavoid-
ablebecause of theholdwhich the universityexamination system
has on South Africa. For the other departments of the College
the condition for entrance should be, not the possession of a

1 As a matter of fact, that is being done. Until 1916, at any rate,
the agricultural work of the College will be conducted at Lovedale.

• Until 1918 certain teachers' certificates, and until 1920 the Cape
junior certificate, Avill be recognised for admission. AppUcants for
the agricultural course are specially considered.

• It is all the more unfortunate because many of the Natives
who start preparing for the junior certificate examination will leave
school without completeing the course. As we have already seen,
of the 233 individuals who entered the junior certificate class, only
50 succeeded in passing the examination.

THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE COLLEGE 309

certain amount of reproducible information, as in the university
school examinations, but the ability to profit by the instruction
offered,^ To this end the College authorities should examine
the courses of study of the several provinces, and decide on
the standard from which admittance to the College could be
obtained. The College should not set up an entrance examina-
tion of its own, for that would interfere with the courses of
study in the provincial schools.

(d) The Departments of the College. — A good deal of the
criticism of the proposed College is due to the fact that its
academic side has been emphasised to the exclusion of the
other and more practical sides. The object of the promoters
was to establish a college with theological, agricultural, teacher-
training, and academic sides .^

The writer would suggest the addition of commercial and
industrial departments.^ If it could be made clear to the
Europeans that the College aims at a practical education, one
that can actually be made use of by the Native, the institution
would receive much more support. Mr E. B. Sargant ex-
pressed the feelings of White South Africa when he said : " But,
before all, its aims should be practical; all higher education
without any definite outcome must be discouraged. Natives
who do not soon find a market for their knowledge and skill
tend to revert to the habits and mode of life of their ancestors,
and the discontent that may be thus introduced among their
neighbours and kin is not easily overestimated. Therefore
such a college should not begin by attempting any ambitious
programme of study." * Further, the College should not
restrict itself to what is commonly called professional work.
The setting up of a distinction between manual and professional
work has done much harm to European education ; it would
be more harmful still in Native education where the Native is
already too ready to despise manual occupations.

^ This is actually the case for students entering the agricultural
course.

• Up to the present only Arts and agricultural courses have been
provided.

» A commercial course is arranged for in the prospectus.

* From an address before the South African School of Mines,
Johannesburg.

310 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

Section 5. — Successful Institutions for tlie Higher Education
of Negroes in the United States

In 1915 the writer investigated school conditions among the
Negroes in the Southern States of the United States of America,
All types of Negro schools were visited, but reference is here
made to the two types of higher educational institutions —
the Negro universities, and the normal and agricultural in-
stitutes of the type of Hampton and Tuskegee.

(a) Negro Universities. — The Negro universities ^ serve a
very definite and useful purpose. The social conditions of
the Negroes in the United States are such that there is a
constantly increasing demand for Negro preachers, high-school
and college teachers, lawyers, doctors, dentists, pharmacists,
and other professional men. These demands the Negro uni-
versities are suppl5nng ; and although many of the institutions
do not deserve the name of university, and the standards
required for graduation are considerably lower than those of
the White colleges and universities, the services rendered by
their graduates to the Negro people are very veiluable. The
Negro university is giving the American Negro the kind of
professional service he wants and needs, and in doing so
sets us an example in South Africa, Instead of aiming at a
university standard which is difficult for the Europeans and
almost impossible for the Natives to attain, we need to meet
the present requirements of the Native people ; and as these
increase in number and in thedegree of skill required, the courses
of instruction could be changed accordingly. The work of the
Negro universities is almost entirely academic and professional.
The need for such institutions has not yet made itself felt in
South Africa, and we should take cognisance of the danger (so
apparent in India and Egypt) of educating any considerable
number of individuals beyond the requirements of their race.

(b) Normal and Agricultural Institutes. — The inclusion of
Hampton and Tuskegee under this heading does not do justice
to the scope of these institutions. Much more than normal
and agricultural work is attempted and accomphshed, as the

1 According to the Negro Year-Book, 1914-1915, there are 57
universities and colleges for Negroes in the United States, with an
enrolment of 21,409 students.

THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE COLLEGE 31I

writer has satisfied himself by personal observation. Tuskegee
Institute, for example, offers the following courses : —
I, The Academic Department : —

1. Day preparatory courses.

2. Night-school continuation courses.

3. Advanced courses (EngUsh, mathematics, book-

keeping, drawing, economics, history, geography,
science, physical training).

4. Teachers' professional courses.

5. Special courses (vocal and instrumental music,

pubhc speaking).
II. Bible Training School.

III. Department of Mechanical Industries : — Architectural

drawing, mechanical drawing, carpentry, wood-turning,
sawmilling, carpentry repair, brickmasonry, plastering
and tile-setting, tinsmithing, house and sign painting,
coach and furniture painting, plumbing and steam-
fitting, wheelwrighting, blacksmithing, horse-shoeing,
harness-making and carriage-trimming, shoemaking,
machine-shop practice, steam engineering, founding,
automobile repairing, applied electricity, tailoring,
printing, brickmaking, butchering, and baking.

IV. Department of Women's Industries: — Sewing, dressmak-

ing, ladies' tailoring, miUinery, cooking, laundry, soap-
maldng, domestic training, mattress-making, basketry,
broom-making, child nursing and nmlure, gardening.
V. Hospital and Nurse Training School: — Nursing, chemistry,
anatomy and physiology, materia medica and thera-
peutics, massage, hygiene, bacteriology.

VI, Department of Agriculture : — ^Theoretical and practical

agriculture, landscape gardening, fruit-growing, can-
ning, dairy husbandry, dairjdng, care and management
of horses and mules, veterinary science, poultry-raising.

VII. Department of Research : — Consulting chemist and ex-

periment station.
VIII. Department of School Extension : — Farmers' conferences,
farm demonstration work, mothers' meeting, settle-
ment work, ministers' association, town night-school,
rural school extension, rural school Ubraries, teachers'
conferences.

312 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

Hampton and Tuskegee do not offer academic courses leading
to degrees, because these are supplied by other institutions ;
but there is no other reason why a college course should not
be added. Indeed, Tuskegee and Hampton would be very
desirable places in which to establish college courses for
Negroes. There the academic students would see the practical
appUcation of many of their studies, and would be taught to
respect manual labour.

Much more valuable, however, than all the courses offered
is the spirit which animates the work at Hampton and Tuskegee.
A visitor to these institutions feels the presence of an unseen
force pervading all the work. The spirit does not bear analysis,
but it shows itself in the respectful but dignified bearing of the
pupils, the earnestness and thoroughness of their work, and the
uprightness and usefulness of their after lives. ^ This spirit is
not born in a day. It is the combined product of the high
ideals of the founders, the devotion of the teachers, the suit-
ability of the instruction, all tempered with the spirit of religion
and social service.

Lofty ideals, devotion to duty, and the spirit of religion we
have in our South African missionaries in abundance. It
remains to inculcate among our Native students the ideals of
social service, and to frame our courses of study, untrammelled
by tradition and outside authority, on the present needs of the
South African Natives.

^ " The articles of the Hampton creed may be, I suppose, summed
up in three words : it is a school of labour, and of love, and of Ufe.
Its religion is first a gospel of work, and then a gospel of service, and
finally a gospel of consecration. Its education is first of the will to
labour, then of the heart to love, and then of the soul to Uve. Its
salvation is first from idleness, and then from selfishness, and then
from lifelessness." (" Founders' Day at Hampton," an address by
Francis Greenwood Peabody.)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. Official Reports regarding Native Affairs in
South Africa

1. Report of the South African Affairs Commission, 1903-5.
Cape Town : Cape Times Limited. (This valuable document
has become a locus classicus on Native matters. AU the colonies,
Rhodesia, and Basutoland were represented. The Commission
held 169 sittings in seventeen centres, and examined 256 witnesses.
The report itself is a model of clearness and succinctness.)

2. Report of the Natal Native Affairs Commission. 1906—7.
London : His Majesty's Stationery Office. (Outspoken criticism
of the administration of Native affairs by the Government of
Natal. Gives cause of 1906 Rebellion. Valuable as giving clear
expression to Natives' grievances.)

3. Report of the Select Committee of the House of Assembly of
the Cape of Good Hope, Native Education, 1908. Cape Town :
Cape Times Limited. (Limited to education in the Cape Pro-
vince, but valuable as giving the opinion of experienced educators.)

4. Report of the Education Commission of the Cape of Good Hope,
1913. Cape Town : Cape Times Limited. (Fullest and most
scientific Gk»vemment report on education issued in South
Africa. Deals mainly with system of European education, but
has a chapter on the education of the Coloured people.)

5. Report of the Education Commission of the Colony of Natal,
1909. Pietermaritzburg. (Useful as representing views of thought-
ful laymen. Recommends establishment of two Government in-
stitutions for the training of the sons of Native chiefs.)

6. Report of the Under Secretary of Education of the Union of
South Africa, 1913. Cape Town : Government Printers. (The
best statistical summary of the position of Native education.)

7. Education Department, Natal : Reports of the Superintendent
of Education. Pietermaritzburg : Government Printers. (Each
report contains a chapter on Native education. Statistical in-
fQrn^ation incomplete.)

313

314 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

8. Education Department, Cape Province : Reports of the Super-
intendent-General of Education. Cape Town : Government
Printers. (No adequate treatment of Native education. Statis-
tical information incomplete.)

9. Education Department, Transvaal : Reports of the Director
of Education. Pretoria : Government Printers.

10. Education Department, Orange Free State : Reports of the
Director of Education. Bloemfontein : Government Printers.

11. Basutoland : Colonial Reports. London: His Majesty's
Stationery Office.

12. Report of the Commission of the Union of South Africa
appointed to inquire into Assaults on Women, 1913. Cape Town :
Government Printers. (Very valuable as showing social condi-
tion of Natives employed in towns.)

13. Report of the Economic Commission of the Union of South
Africa. Pretoria : Government Printers. (Chairman, Professor
S. J. Chapman, Professor of Political Economy, University of
Manchester, England. Very valuable as showing condition of
Native labourers in the mining centres. Discounts fear of econo-
mic competition between Europeans and Natives.)

14. Bluehook on Native Affairs, 1910. Cape Town : Govern-
ment Printers. (A useful compendium showing the position of
Native affairs in each province at the time of Union.)

15. Reports of the Native Affairs Commission of the Cape Colony,
1910. Cape Town : Government Printers. (Valuable as showing
satisfactory working of Glen Grey Act. Recommends its exten-
sion to the Cis-Kei.)

16. Annual Reports of Native Affairs Department, Union of
South Africa.

17. Annual Reports of Department of Native Affairs, Colony of
Natal.

18. Proceedings of Transkeian Territories General Council,
Session 1913 ; Annual Reports and Accounts, 1912 ; and Estimates
of Revenue and Expenditure, 1913-14. Umtata : The Territorial
News Limited.

19. Proceedings of Pondoland General Council, Session 1913; and
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, 1913-14. Umtata: The
Territorial News Limited.

B. General Works on the Native

I. Evans, Maurice S., Black and White in South-East Africa.
London : Longmans, Green & Co. (The best general account of
the Native problem by a Colonial who has made the Natives his

BIBLIOGRAPHY 315

life-study, and who has had exceptional opportunities of learn-
ing their point of view. Constructively critical of European
poUcy.)

2. KiDD, Dudley, The Essential Kafir. London : A. & C.
Black, 1904. (A general account by a missionary observer.
Illustrated with excellent photographs.)

3. KiDD, Dudley, Kafir Socialism and the Dawn of Indi-
vidualism. London : A. & C. Black. (An introduction to the
study of the Native problem.)

4. KiDD, Dudley. Savage Childhood : a Study of Kafir Child-
ren. London : A. & C. Black.

5. Lagden, Sir Godfrey Y., The Basutos : the Mountaineers
and their Country, being a Narrative of Events relating to the Tribe
from its formation early in the 19th century to the present day.
2 vols. London : Hutchinson & Co. (The authoritative work
on the people.)

6. Theal, George McCall, History and Ethnography of Africa
south of the Zambesi, 1505-1795. 5 vols. London : Swan
Sonnenschein & Co., 1907. (The authoritative history of South
Africa, by the late Cape Historiographer.)

7. Caldecott, a. E., The Government and Civilisation of the
Native Races of South Africa. Cape Town : Saul Solomon & Co.
(The prize essay for the Chancellor's Gold Medal, 1883. A learned
and philosophical essay advocating spread of Christianity and
education.)

C. Books, Pamphlets, and Articles on Native Education

1. Sargant, E. B., Report on Native Education in South Africa :
Part III. Education in the Protectorates. London : Longmans,
Green & Co. (Mr Sargant was educational adviser to Lord Milner
when the latter was High Commissioner of South Africa, and was
engaged in reconstruction work in the Transvaal and Orange
River Colonies after the war. Mr. Sargant paid an extensive
visit to the territories, interviewed European missionaries and
Native chiefs, inspected schools and institutions, and in this
volume summarises his conclusions and advocates a policy. The
opinions of a shrewd and trained educationist. Wanting in
statistics and sources of evidence, but undoubtedly the best
existing account of Native education.)

2. Sargant, E. B., Report on Education in Basutoland, 1905-6.
London : Longmans, Green & Co. (A companion volume to the
above.)

3. Sargant, E. B., Native Education : a Paper read before the
Educational Section of the South African Association for the Ad-

3l6 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

vancement of Science. (A short outline of the present position,
with suggestions for a constructive policy.)

4. Le Roy, Rev. A. E., The Educated Zulu : Foci v. Theory :
a Paper read before the South African General Missionary Con-
ference, Johannesburg, July 9, 1906. Dundee, Natal : The
Ebenezer Press. (A study of prison statistics and employers'
reports to test the truth of theory that education renders the
Natives criminal and unfit for work. Valuable as being the only
scientific contribution to the subject of Native education.)

5. Moravian Mission, Proposal of a New System of Native
Education : a Paper written by order of the Moravian Missionaries
in the Eastern Province and Native Territories. Genadendal
Printing Works. (A plea for a reformed course of study and
system of examination based on many years' experience of the
present system in the Cape Province.)

6. Tatham, F. S., The Race Conflict in South Africa : An In-
quiry into the General Question of Native Education. (The writer's
conclusions are that " education, pure and simple, ought to be
withheld from him [the Native]." ... " Force him to work as
an agricultural labourer." ..." The establishment of agri-
cultural schools with a view to encourage the culture of the soil
would be of more lasting and telling effect than all the book learn-
ing and training in handicrafts which could be given them.")

D. Works on the American Negro

1. Du Bois, William Edward Burghardt, editor : —

The Negro American Artisan.

The Negro American Family.

The Negro Church.

The Negro in Business.

The Negro Common School.

The College-bred Negro.

Economic Co-operation among Negro Americans.

Efforts for Social Betterment among Negro Americans.

The Health and Physique of the Negro American.

Some Notes on Negro Crime.
(A series of monographs prepared at Atlanta (Negro) Univer-
sity, and published by the University Press. The most rehable
source of information for facts regarding the American Negro.)

2. Baker, Ray S., Following the Colour Line. New York :
Doubleday, Page & Co., 1908.

3. Miller, Kelly, Race Adjustment. New York: The Neale
Publishing Co.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 317

4. Odum, Howard W., Social and Mental Traits of the Negro.
New York, 1910.

5. Thomas, William H., The American Negro. New York,
1 90 1. (A pessimistic outlook on the future of the race by one of
its own members.)

6. OviNGTON, Mary White, Half a Man : the Status of the
Negro in New York. New York : Longmans, Green & Co., 191 1.

7. Du Bois, William Burghardt, The Philadelphia Negro : a
Social Study. Philadelphia : published for the University.

8. Murphy, Edgar G., The Basis of Ascendancy. New York :
Longmans, Green & Co., 1909. (" A discussion of certain prin-
ciples of public policy involved in the development of the
Southern States." A statesmanlike discussion of such questions
as Race Aggression, Repression, Negro Race Integrity, Coercion,
etc. Perhaps the most philosophical consideration of the Race
Question in America.)

9. Murphy, Edgar G., The Present South. New York : Long-
mans, Green & Co., 1904. (" A discussion of certain of the educa-
tional, industrial, and political issues in the Southern States.")

10. Washington, Booker T., Up from Slavery. New York :
Doubleday, Page & Co. 1907. (Booker Washington's famous
autobiography. )

11. Washington, Booker T., Working with the Hands. New
York : Doubleday, Page & Co., 1904. (An account of the early
work at Tuskegee, and a strong plea for industrial education.)

12. Washington, Booker T., My Larger Education. New York :
Doubleday, Page & Co. (An account of Mr Washington's world tour
and speeches.)

REFERENCES

1. WoRSFOLD, W. Basil, The Union of South Africa. London :
Sir Isaac Pitman 8c Sons, 191 2. (An authoritative account of
the position of the country at the Union by a distinguished South
African journalist.)

2. Hosking, W. W., The South African Year-Book, 1914.
London : George Routledge & Sons. (The first issue of what
promises to be a most useful compendium.)

3. Board of Education, London, Special Reports on Educa-
tional Subjects. Vol. 5. (This volume contains the authoritative
history of education in the Cape Province.)

4. Work, Monroe N., ed., Negro Year-Book, 1914-1915. Pub-
lished by the Negro Year- Book Publishing Co., Tuskegee Institute,
Ala. (" An annual encyclopaedia of the Negro." Inaccurate and
biased as far as South African items are concerned.)

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

SPECIMENS OF THE TEST CARDS USED FOR THE
INSPECTION OF NATIVE SCHOOLS IN NATAL AND
THE CAPE

(i) English Grammar for Standard IV. (One hour)

1. Analyse : — The five small boys caught the horse easily.

2. (a) Break up the following words into syllables : — sentences,
porridge, impossible, crocodiles, {b) Write four words with three
syllables each.

3. (a) Write two sentences showing two commas in each.

(b) What is the punctuation mark (') called ? When is it used ?
Give an example.

4. (a) Write one sentence containing two pronouns, (b) Write
a suitable noun after each of the following adjectives : — thick ,
ferocious , next , fertile , ripe , tardy

(2) History for Standard IV. (One hour)

1. Write a short essay on Vasco da Gama.

2. (a) To what tribe did Tshaka belong ? (6) Explain how he
became chief of the Umtetwa.

3. [a) What took place (i) on December 16, 1838, and (2) on
January 22, 1879 ? (fe) What caused the rebellion of the Hlubi
tribe ?

4. Say what you know about (a) Gert Maritz, (6) Sikunyela,

(3) Geography for Standard V. (One hour)

I. Of what countries are the following towns the capitals : —
Berne, Christiania, Vienna, Rome ? .

3|8

APPENDIX A 319

2. (a) What mountain range contains the liighest peak in
Europe ? (6) Name three large rivers in Austraha.

3. Where is Tasmania ? Name two of its chief towns.

4. What and where are : — Kingston, Hong Kong, Perth,
Toronto, Hudson, Himalaya ?

5. Draw a map of Africa and show on it only : — Nile, Cameroon,
Tehad, Bon, the boundaries of the Union of South Africa.

(4) Grammar for Standard VI. (One hour)

1. (a) Name three ways of forming the plural of nouns, and
give an example of each, (b) What is the meaning of gender ?
Classify the following words in their correct genders : — " princess,"
" syllabus," " chicken," " soldiers."

2. (a) What is the difference between " finite " and " infinite "
verbs ? (&) Write three sentences to illustrate the use of three
difierent " moods," and say what moods the verbs are in.

3. (a) Name the prefix, and give its meaning, in these words : —
" forbid," " antecedent," " bicycle." (6) Name two suffixes, give
their meaning, and examples of each in a sentence.

4. (a) Analyse : — " Therefore, I beg you, listen to what I have
to say." (6) Parse the words in itahcs.

(5) Arithmetic for Standard VI. (One hour)

1. If ;^35o amount to ^£397, 5s. in three years, what was the
rate per cent. ?

2. A cyclist rode 37 miles 3 furlongs in 2 hours 50 minutes : —
(a) Find his average rate per hour. (6) Find his average time
per mile.

3. Find the cost of painting the four sides and bottom of
a tank 3 J yards long, 4 feet wide, and 6 feet deep, at 4d. per
square foot.

4. Make out and receipt a bill, deducting 10 per cent, for cash,
for : — 56 lb. of sugar @ 7d. for 4 lb. ; 2 J dozen packets arrowroot
@ 8 Jd. per packet ; 25 pots marmalade @ 3s. 6d. per dozen pots.

(6) Arithmetic for Standard IV. (Cape)

1. Divide 24 tons 12 cwt. 72 lb. by 16.

2. Find by " practice " the value of 621 articles at i6s. j\d.
each.

3. Multiply 5 acres 3 roods 1080 square yards by 70.

4. If 91 pairs of boots cost £126, find the cost of i dozen and
I pairs.

320 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

5. A boy's step is 27 inches, and he takes 120 steps a minute.
How far does he walk in one hour ? (Give your answer in miles
and yards.)

(7) Arithmetic for Standard VI. (Cape)

1 . Simplify without converting decimals into vulgar fractions : —

0-0625
4-63-2-I25 + 675XO-02-— ^•

2. Find, correct to the nearest penny, the value of ;^26-o94 x i -62.
' 3. Sugar is bought at ;^2o, i6s. 8d. per ton, and sold at 2jd. per

lb. (English weight). Find the gain per cent.

4. What will it cost to cover the floor of a room 18 feet long
and 16 feet broad, with carpet 2 feet 6 inches wide, and worth 5s.
a yard.

5. A man invests ;^400o in four sums of ;^8oo, ;^900, /iioo, and
;^i2oo to produce 2 J, 3, 3 J, and 3 J per cent., respectively, per
annum. Find what would be the increase in income if the whole
had been invested to produce 3^ per cent, per annum.

APPENDIX B

EXAMINATION OF NATIVE CANDIDATES FOR DEACON'S
ORDERS, 1916, DIOCESE OF NATAL ^

Epistle to the Romans

1. Who were the Romans ? What led St Paul to write an
epistle to the Romans ?

2. How came there to be a Christian Church in Rome ?

3. How does St Paul say that the judgment of God will punish
Jew and Gentile alike ?

4. Why does St Paul especially speak of this faith of Abraham
as an instance of what our faith may do for us ?

5. Show the difference between " works of the flesh " and
" works of the spirit."

6. How does St Paul answer this question, " Hath God cast
away his people ? "

^ These questions indicate the nature of the theological examinations
which Native candidates are required to pass (see ante, p. 130). Five
students took this examination, and their average mark is given at the
end of each paper.

APPENDIX 6 521

7. Show how in Chap. 14 the Romans are warned not to judge
uncharitably those whose religious customs are not exactly the
same as their own.

8. Explain : —

(a) Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and

whose sins are covered.

(b) So by the obedience of one shall many be made

righteous.

whom he called, them also he justified ; and whom he
justified, them also he glorified.

(d) Be not wise in your own conceits.

(e) But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the

saints.

Average marks gained, 67.

Isaiah 40-65

1. Show how the victories of Cyrus helped to prepare for the
return of the Jews to their country.

2. What does the prophet mean when he speaks of the " servant
of Jehovah " ?

3. Why does the prophet begin his prophecy with these words :
" Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God " ?

4. Explain : — For your sake have I sent to Babylon, and have
brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in
the ships.

5. What does the prophet say about idols that have been made
(a) by a workman in iron ; (b) by a workman in wood ; (c) the
downfall and removal of the idols of Babylon ?

6. Explain : —

(a) He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be

satisfied.
{b) And the Gentiles shall come to thy light and kings to

the brightness of thy rising.

shall never hold their peace day nor night.

(d) I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the people

there were none with me.
{e) For the child shall die an hundred years old. But the
sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

Average marks gained, 72.
21

322 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

Church History to 325

1. Show how the Church began to spread even before the con-
version of St Paul.

2. Describe the first persecution of Christians in Rome.

3. Give an account of either St Ignatius or St Polycarp.

4. What do you know about the services of the early Church ?

5. Explain the heresies of (a) Montanism ; [b) Gnosticism.

6. What causes led to the calling of the First General Council ?
Who summoned the council ? Who presided over the council ?

Average marks gained, 81.

XXXIX Articles

1. Distinguish the XXXIX Articles from the " Articles of the
Christian Faith " mentioned in the Catechism.

2. When and by whom were the Articles drawn up ? What
were their number at first ? Give an account of changes made
until they became 39.

3. Explain these words in Article 3 : — " So also it is to be
believed that he went down into hell."

4. What sacred books do we read " for example of life and in-
struction of manners " ? Mention two days in the year when parts
of such books are read.

5. What does the Article, " Christ alone without sin," say about
the sinlessness of Christ ?

6. What does Article 19 mean by these phrases : — " visible
church," "Sacraments duly ministered according to Christ's ordi-
nance," " faithful men " ?

7. Explain these words in Article 28 (of the Lord's Supper) : —
" And the means whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten
in the Lord's Supper is faith."

8. What kind of swearing is forbidden by Article 39, and what
kind of swearing does it allow ?

Average marks gained, 78.

Prayer Book

1. Explain what these parts of the Prayer Book are : — (a)
Kalendar, (b) Preface, (c) Tables of Lessons.

2. On what six days in the year are special Psalms appointed
in the Prayer Book ?

3. Give the rule for finding Easter in any particular year.

4. Why is the Lord's Prayer sometimes set out in the Prayer
Book with the words at the end, " For Thine is the Kingdom,"
etc., and sometimes without them ?

APPENDIX B 323

5. Why are the Psalms called the Psalms of David ? How
often are the Psalms said in the course of a year ?

6. What is a collect ? When is the collect for a Sunday first
said ?

7. What do these words mean in connection with the Holy
Communion : — epistle, comfortable words, preface, prayer of
humble access, prayer of consecration ?

8. On what days does the Prayer Book say baptisms should
take place ? At what point in morning and evening prayer are
children baptised ?

y. Explain : —

(a) Cherubim and seraphim continually do cry.

(6) Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.

charitable task of ours in bringing this infant to this

Holy Baptism.

Average marks gained, 87.

Creeds

1. What does the word " creed " mean ? Mention any short
confessions of faith you remember in the New Testament,

2. State what you know about the Nicene Creed. Is the Nicene
Creed in the service of Holy Communion the same creed exactly as
was drawn up at Nicaea in 325 a.d. ?

3. How does the world as we see it, apart from the Bible, tell
us of the existence of God ?

4. Give an account of our Lord's Resurrection. What two
Christian customs in general use to-day are special witnesses to
our Lord's Resurrection ?

5. "I believe in . . . the forgiveness of sins." How does God
declare His forgiveness of sins in His Church to-day ?

6. " Above all things it is necessary that we hold the CathoUc
Faith." What do we mean by (a) "A Catholic," (6) " the Catholic
Church," and (c) " the Catholic Faith " ?

7. Explain : —

(a) Commonly called the creed of Athanasius.

(6) Inferior to the Father as touching his manhood.

[d) They that have done good shall go into everlasting

life, and they that have done evil into everlasting
fire.

Average marks gained, 80.

324 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

History oj the Church of England

1. What part did each of these men take in building up the
Church of England : — St Augustine of Rome, St Aidan of Scot-
land, Theodore the Greek ?

2. What were the Constitutions of Clarendon ? Why was it
necessary to draw them up ?

3. What do you mean by the Reformation ? Mention some
great change brought about at the Reformation ?

4. Show how at the first the Puritans were different from
modern dissenters. What did they especially object to in the
Church's system of worship ?

5. When and under what king was the Society for the Propa-
gation of the Gospel founded, and the Society for Promoting
Christian Knowledge ? Note any ways in which these bodies
help the Church in Natal to-day.

6. What do you know about John Wesley and the Wesleyan
Revival ?

7. Who are the leaders of the Oxford Movement ? Mention
some results of the Oxford Movement.

Average marks gained, 64.

Bible, General, Part I. (O.T.)

1. Give a life of Abraham, and show how God's promises to
him were fulfilled.

2 . Describe the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.

3. Who was Balaam ? What did he prophesy ? What was
his end ?

4. What happened to the five kings who made war against
Gibeon ?

5. What is meant in the Old Testament by the word " judge " ?
Give a short account of one of the judges.

6. {a) How was David anointed ? (b) How did he become
king ? (c) How did he become king in Jerusalem ?

7. Describe the call of Elisha.

8. W^hat book was discussed in the Temple in the time of King
Josiah ?

9. How was it that the Jews were allowed to come back from
exile ?

10. Explain these : — Passover, Tabernacle, city of refuge, Baal,
Levite, Philistine.

Average marks gained, 79.

APPENDIX B 325

Bible, General, Part II. (N.T.)

1. Give a list of the twelve apostles. Give a short life of St
Peter and of St James, the brother of John.

2. What is meant by the " Sermon on the Mount " ? Give
the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount on {a) almsgiving,
(6) murder, (c) adultery, {d) prayer.

3. What is a parable ? Give in your own words and explain
the parable of the " Unmerciful Servant," or the parable of the
" Talents."

4. Describe the burial and resurrection of our Lord.

5. What does the word " deacon " mean ? Give an account of
the call of the first deacons.

6. Write down something that happened to St Paul at the follow-
ing places : — Troas, Ephesus, Caesarea, Corinth.

7. What Epistles of St Paul were written after he was set free
for the first time ?

8. What important doctrines are specially treated by St Paul
in (a) the Epistle to the Romans, (b) the First Epistle to the
Corinthians ?

9. What does the " New Testament " mean ? In what language
were the books of the " New Testament " first written ?

Average marks gained, 76:

Constitution and Canons

1. What does the word " province " mean when used of a
church ? Mention other provinces of the English Church besides
the Province of South Africa.

2. Mention the name of the Archbishop of Cape Town. Where
does he live ? How many diocesan bishops does he rule over ?

3. What is Provincial Synod ? How are the members of Pro-
vincial Synod chosen ?

4. What is meant by a vestry ? Who go to the vestry
meetings ? What is done at vestry meetings ?

5. If the bishop of a diocese leave his diocese or dies, how is
a new bishop appointed ?

6. What is meant by the " Provincial Clergy Widows' and
Orphans' Fund " ? What payment have the clergy to make to
this fund ?

7. If a man's wife died and he asked you to marry him to his
dead wife's sister, what do the canons say you ought to reply ?

Average marks gained, 87;

326 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

APPENDIX C

SPECIMEN EXAMINATION PAPERS FOR NATIVE
TEACHERS' CERTIFICATES

A. — Cape

1. When I am forgotten, as I shall be,

And sleep in dull cold marble, where no mention
Of me must be heard of, say I taught thee ;
Say, Wolsey, that once trod the ways of glory.
And sounded all the depths and shoals of honour.
Found thee a way, out of his wreck, to rise in :
A sure and safe one, though my master missed it.
Mark but my fall.
{a) Give a general analysis of the above passage.
(b) Explain the use of the infinitive to rise, and of the word
but in the last line. (13)

2. {a) What auxiliary verbs and what parts of the principal
verb are used to form the passive voice, the perfect tense, the
progressive form and the emphatic form of an English verb ?

(b) How would you parse the word reading in each of the
following sentences : —

(i) He excels in reading poetry.

(2) By the reading of good literature we are improved.

(3) I heard someone reading aloud. (9)

3. (o) What is the force of the prefix in infinite ? Show by three
or four examples how it is changed in composition, and give, with
examples, the corresponding prefixes in old English and Greek.

(b) What are the force and derivation of the suffixes in head-
long, honorary, asterisk, and songster ?

(c) Break up two of the following three words into their parts,
giving the derivation and meaning of each part : — sympathetic,
colloquial, beggarly.

{d) Write short sentences to show the use of compliment and
complement, or of assent and ascent. (12)

4. Put into indirect speech the following advice given by Wolsey
to Cromwell : —

Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace.

To silence envious tongues. Be just and fear not :

Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's.

Thy God's, and truth's ; then if thou fall'st, O Cromwell,

Thou fall'st a blessed martyr ! (5)

APPENDIX C 327

5. Correct where necessary, giving your reason in each case : —

(a) Now, children, put out your foot, hke I do.

(b) If I was in your place, I would not go.

Or,

State what were the periods of English history during which
Latin words came, directly or indirectly, into the English language,
and give one or two examples of words introduced during each
period. (6)

English Dictation

Philosophy has rescued the old myths from ridicule ; their ex-
travagances, even the most grotesque of them, can now be seen
to have their root in an idea, often a deep one, representing
features of natural history or of metaphysical speculation, and
we do not laugh at them any more. In their origin they were
the consecration of the first-fruits of knowledge, the expression of
a real reverential belief. Then time did its work on them ; know-
ledge grew, and they could not grow ; they became monstrous
and mischievous, and they were driven out by Christianity' with
scorn and indignation. But it is with human institutions as it
is with men themselves ; we are tender with the dead when their
power to hurt us has passed away.

B. — Natal

School Method for Native Teachers' Third-Grade

Certificate, 19 IS

1. Which is the first " letter " to be taught in writing to the
children in Class A ? Give three examples of the longest com-
bination of letters the Class A pupils should be able to write at
the end of the term.

2. Explain fully how you will teach (a) " You saw a boy " as
an English conversational lesson, and (&) the first reading lesson
from English Chart No. i. Mention the class to which the
lesson would be given.

3. (a) In which class is spelling to be taught ? Describe the
best methods of teaching spelling in the infant department.

(b) Explain briefly and illustrate how tables should be taught,
taking 4x3 and 3 x 4 as your examples.

4. (a) Make a full scheme of the arithmetic work to be taught
to Class B during each of the five months.

328 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

{b) Set three sums to test Class B at the end of the term for
promotion.

18 — 7 + 11+6x3.

5. {a) Give a short illustration of how Zulu composition is to
be taught to pupils in Class D.

{b) Describe briefly how you will teach the drawing of a hut.

6. Draw up a time-table for 39 pupils in the four infant classes
for Mondays.

7. (a) Name the registers a head teacher has to keep.

(b) (i) How often are the infant classes to be examined ?
(ii) When are pupils to be promoted from Class C to D ? (iii)
How can a teacher find the average attendance for a quarter ?

Algebra and Geometry for Third-Grade Certificate, 1913

1. (a) Explain what is meant by a negative quantity, and give
a practical illustration in support of your answer.

{b) In the expression ax + by = c, which letters are generally
considered as denoting the known values ?

2. (a) Add together 4a + 5a — 3a +6(Z — 7a.
(6) Find the sum of 2a— 3a + 4a — 7fl.

[d) Add together 25^ — is^'+r; 13^ — io^ + 4y; —p-\-2oq
— r+s.

3. (a) Subtract from Sx^-'rTx—g the difference of the quanti-
ties 7^;*— 9;)?- 5 and 8Ar* + ii;r + i2.

(6) (i) Explain whya— (& — c) and a — 6 — c do not mean the
same thing, (ii) Find their respective values when a=i2, b=g,
and c = I .

(c) In a class there are / children 8 years and 2 months old,
m children 8 years and 6 months old, and n children 7 years and
5 months old. What is the average age ?

4. (a) What is meant by : — (i) obtuse angle ; (ii) supplement-
ary angle ; (iii) isosceles triangle ; (iv) quadrilateral ?

[b) (i) Define an axiom. State any two axioms, (ii) Write
down the symbols which may be used for because and right angle.

5. In A ABC, AB = AC. Prove (i) that <ABC=<ACB, and
(ii) if AB, AC be produced to D, E respectively, that <DBC =
<ECB.

6. With centres A and B two circles are drawn intersecting in C

APPENDIX C 329

and D. If AB and CD meet at E, prove that the triangles AEC,
AED are equal in all respects.

Drawing for Third-Grade Certificate, 1911
(The drawing is to be done with a pencil or pen, and without a ruler) .

1. (a) Draw four straight Unes (about 2 inches long) in three
different directions.

(b) Explain how you will set about to teach the children to
draw" straight " lines.

2. How will you teach the drawing of " the face of a book " ?
What points will you give special attention to ?

3. Draw a " door," and then write brief notes of a lesson on it.

Grammar for Second-Grade Certificate, 1910

1. {a) Explain the meaning of monosyllable, sentence, analysis.
(6) Correct and punctuate : — What what have he done Well it

cannot be help now we must try again to-morrow.

2. [a] What is the difference between " relative " and " in-
terrogative " pronouns ? Give sentences as examples.

{b) Name the possessive and objective cases, singular and
plural, of " /, she, it."

3. [a) Form adverbs from like, day, some, in a sentence.
(6) What is the imperative mood of " am " ?

4. Write a letter to Mr Robert Plant, Maritzburg, and tell him
what the word " have " can be in grammar.

5. Analyse and parse the words underlined.

Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us

Footprints on the sands of time.

C— Transvaal. (Old Syllabus)
Geography for Native Teachers' First- Year Certificate, 1913

1. Explain the following geographical terms : — cape, lake,
plateau, mountain, river basin. (15)

2. (a) What is meant by a continent ?

(b) Name the continents.

3. (a) What oceans wash the shores of the continent in which
you live ?

330 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

(6) Give the names of the oceans around the North and
South Poles ?

(lO)

4. (a) Name three important rivers of the Transvaal. State
where their source is. Of what rivers are they tributaries ?

(6) Name three mountain ranges in the Transvaal, and state
as nearly as you can in what part they are. (15)

5. Draw a map of South Africa and mark the position of the
Transvaal. (20)

6. Give the names and positions of : —

{a) Two towns of the Transvaal connected with the gold-
mining industry ;

(fe) Two towns of the Transvaal connected with the coal-
mining industry ;

7. (a) When you walk towards a mountain which is a long way
off, you see the top before you see the bottom. Why is this ?

(6) How many miles would you have to travel to go once
round the world ? (5)

N.B. — Ten marks will be allotted for neatness and style.

Arithmetic for Second-Year Certificate, 1913

1 . (a) Convert K- into an equivalent fraction having 208 for its
denominator.

(6) Write down three common measures of 24 and 60.
(c) What is the largest sum of money which is contained
an exact number of times in both £1 and lis. 4d. ? (16)

2. How often must 4 be added to 16 that the sum may be
128? (14)

3. Find the value of f of ;^3f 4-7f guineas -f J of f of 6? half-
crowns. (15)

4. Make out a bill for : —

i cwt. salt @ ijd. per lb ;

39 lb. starch @ gjd. per lb. ;

12^ pints vinegar @ is. 8d. per gall. ;

J gross packets matches @ 13^-d. for 3 packets ;

5J lb. cheese @ id. per oz. (15)

5. Simplify ^^\\'. ;^ of 3 guineas. (15)

/ — 3 ^^ 34-* — 3'§'

6. Find by practice the weight of 560 miles of wire, when i mile
weighs 2 tons 11 cwt. 48 lb. (15)

APPENDIX C 331

7. If 42 boys can write 180 pages in an hour, how many more
boys would be required to write the same in 45 minutes. {15)

8. If a labourer receives {ji, 5s. 6d. for 5 days' work, find how
much he will receive in a year if he is absent from work 13 days
besides Sundays. (15)

English Grammar for Second-Year Certificate, 1913

1. Analyse the following sentences : —

(a) The sound of bells came softly from the distant kraals.

(b) Give me three shilUngs instantly.

{c) The birds singing in the trees made very pleasant music.
(d) There are, on the lonely veld, few pleasant trees or
shrubs. (18)

2. Parse the words underlined in question No. i. (12)

3. Give the feminine form of each of the following nouns : —
horse, bull, ram, man, boy, drake, prince, king. (8)

4. Correct the following sentences : —

{a) Men like you and I cannot always agree.
{b) He was the happiest child of the two.

(d) The new teacher have come at last.

(e) Sit the book on the desk at once. (15)

5. Change the following simple sentences into complex ones,
without altering the meaning : —

(a) The window being raised the paper blew out of the room.

(b) He came to the people in the market-place.

APPENDIX D

ORDINARY, STANDARD, AND SUPERIOR SCHOOLS

To foster a proper sense of pride in the schools, and to recognise
the efforts of the more progressive missionaries, Native com-
munities, and teachers, a plan of grading schools, which has
worked admirably among rural communities in some parts of the
United States, might well be followed in South Africa.

Any elementary or intermediate school which can meet the
minimum requirements of the Department of Native Education
in respect of site, building, equipment, qualifications of teachers,
and progress of pupils, might be regarded as an " ordinary "

332 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

Native school. A school which is able to supply more than meet
these minimum requirements might be regarded as a " standard "
school, and would then become entitled to a higher rate of
capitation grant, while a school excellent in all these respects
would be graded as a " superior " school, and would receive the
higher rate of capitation grant.

In addition to the increased rate of capitation grant, a device
which would encourage all concerned would be to supply a plate

engraved

STANDARD SCHOOL

SUPERIOR SCHOOL

to the schools which had earned them. After the Native super-
visor has reported, and the inspector has satisfied himself that
the school has deserved such recognition, the inspector would
personally visit the school, arrange for a function, and, in the
presence of parents, teachers, and pupils, declare the school a
" standard " or " superior " school, and have the plate affixed to
the door of the schoolhouse.

This device should not be despised because of its simplicity.
It is a recognition of effort which would appeal strongly to the
Native, and would almost certainly be as successful in South Africa
as it has been in the United States.^ A suggested outline of the
requirements for each grade of school follows.

Requirements for a " Standard " School -
I. Grounds

1. Ample playground, fenced in.

2. Good approaches to the school building.

3. Grass cut regularly, and cleared space round the school.

4. Two well-kept, widely separated outhouses.

5. Trees planted and properly tended, and (where possible) a
school garden.'

2. The School Building

6. Approved building, in good repair and painted,

7. Well lighted and ventilated.

8. At least one blackboard for every two classes or standards.

9. Floor and interior clean and tidy.

* For a report on its success in Illinois see The Twelfth Year-Book of
the National Association for the Scientific Study of Education, p. 65.

* Suggested by the plan in use in Illinois, U.S.A.

' Suitable trees and flower seeds will be supplied free on application
to the Department of Native Education.

APPENDIX D 333

3. Furnishings and Supplies

10. A seat and desk for each child.

1 1 . Good teacher's table and chair.

12. Set of maps and globe.

13. Necessary English and Zulu reading charts.

4. Organisation

14. School well organised.

15. Pupils well classified.

16. Registers and other records properly kept.

17. Good time-table regularly observed.

1 8. Regular attendance and good discipline.

19. Satisfactory industrial work.

5. The Teachers

20. Fully staffed.

21. Certificated head teacher.

22. Favourable reports from supervisors and inspector.

23. Receiving Government maximum grant.

6. The Children

24. Clean and tidy.

25. Making good progress.

26. Each child with all the prescribed text- books and writing
materials.

Requirements for a "Superior" School
I. Grounds

1. Grounds ample for play, and for school gardens or farm,
properly fenced,

2. Good approaches, hardened where necessary.

3. Grass cut regularly, and cleared space round the school.

4. Well or cistern for drinking and washing.

5. Two well-kept, widely separated outhouses.

6. Trees planted and properly tended, and, wherever possible,
a school garden.

2. The School Building

7. Approved building, in good repair and painted.

8. At least two separate classrooms.

9. Properly lighted {i.e. from one side or from one side and
the rear).

ID. Good ventilation and adjustable windows.

334 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

1 1 . Boarded floor kept clean and tidy.

12. At least one blackboard for every two classes or standards.

3. Furnishings and Supplies

13. Seats and desks of assorted sizes for all children.

14. A good table and chair for each teacher.

15. A good bookcase.

16. At least thirty library books, some for children of each
standard.

17. Writing materials for class work.

18. A separate examination book for each child in and above
Standard II.

19. Two good wall-pictures.

20. Set of maps and a good globe.

21. Adequate drinking and washing arrangements.

4. Oyganisation

22. School well organised.

23. Pupils well classified.

24. Registers and other records properly kept.

25. Good time-tables regularly observed.

26. Adequate provision for instruction in elementary agri-
culture, or other industrial work, for boys, and sewing and domestic
work for girls.

5. The Teachers

27. School fully staffed.

28. Head teacher and at least one other member of the staff
certificated.

29. Favourable reports from supervisor or inspector.

30. Receiving Government maximum grant-in-aid.

6. The Children

31. Clean and tidy.

32. Regular in attendance and diligent.

33. Possessing all the prescribed text-books and necessary
writing materials.

34. Making " excellent " progress.

APPENDIX E 335

APPENDIX E
MAIZE COMPETITIONS FOR NATIVE SCHOOLS

A VERY effective method of fostering an interest in agricultural
pursuits would be the establishment of maize and gardening com-
petitions for individual students in training institutions and board-
ing schools, and for elementary day schools. Some such condi-
tions as the following might be set up.^

Maize Competitions for Students in Training
Institutions and Boarding Schools

1. A competition open to all male students in Government-
aided Native training colleges and institutions will be held in
the month of June in each year.

2. The amount of ground used shall be one quarter of an acre
for each boy.

3. All the work except the ploughing must be done by the
student. Seed will be supplied by the Department if desired.

4. Students must keep a record of the time spent in doing the
work, and of the expenditure (if any) for seed, fertiliser, etc.

5. The maize grown on the half acre shall be the property of
the student whether it wins a prize or not, and will, if desired, be
purchased by the Department at current local rates. The decision
of the Department as to the current local rate shall be final.

6. The following prizes will be awarded by the Department : —

£ s. d.
One First Prize of ;^5 . . . .500
Five Second Prizes of £2, los. . . 12 10 o

Ten Third Prizes oi £1 . . . 10 o o

Fourteen Consolation Prizes of los. . 700

;^34 10 o
7. The following basis shall be used in awarding the prizes : —

Per cent.
Greatest yield per acre . . . . -50
Best showing of profit . . . -30

Best written account of history of crop . . 20

Total . . 100

^ The conditions are based on those of the well-known Corn Clubs
in the United States.

336 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

Gardening Coinpetitlon for Female Students

1. A competition open to all female students in Government
and Government-aided training colleges, institutions, and
boarding schools will be held in the month of December of each
year.

2. The amount of ground used shall be an eighth of an acre
for each girl.

3. The crops sown shall include at least three of the following : —
beans, ground nuts, amadumbi, sweet potatoes, round potatoes,
amabeU, pumpkin.

4. All the work except the ploughing must be done by the
student.

5. An allowance of 5s. per candidate will be paid to the prin-
cipal of the institute for seed.

6. Students must keep a record of the time spent in doing the
work, and of the expenditure (if any) for seed, fertiliser, etc. '

7. The crops produced on the quarter acre shall be the pro-
perty of the student whether she wins a prize or not.

8. The following prizes will be awarded by the Department : —

One First Prize of ;^3 l^

Five Second Prizes of ;^2 . . . . .10
Ten Third Prizes of ;^i . . . . .10
Fourteen Consolation Prizes of I OS. ... 7

9. The following basis shall be used in awarding the prizes : —

Per cent.

Best crop 50

Best showing of profit . . . . -30
Best written account of history of crop . . 20

Total . . .100

N.B. — In awarding the prizes the judges may take into account
(a) age of competitor, (6) relative native fertility of ground, (c)
local seasonal conditions.

Maize Competitions for Native Day Schools

1. A competition open to all Government-aided Native day
schools will be held in June of each year.

2. The amount of ground cultivated shall be not less than one
and a half acres.

APPENDIX E 337

3 . All the work except the ploughing must be done by the pupils.
Sufi&cient seed for the amount of ground cultivated will be for-
warded by the Department to the nearest railway station.

4. The teacher must keep a record of the time spent in doing
the work, and of the expenditure (if any) for seed, fertiliser, etc.

5. The maize grown on the plot shall be the property of the
pupils whether it wins a prize or not. The grantee of the school
shall arrange for the sale of maize, and the products shall be used
for the direct benefit of the pupils, e.g. in school prizes, pictures,
or sports apparatus.

6. Each school wishing to enter for the competition shall nomi-
nate for the approval of the Department a trustworthy person to
supervise the weighing of the produce of the plot, and to submit
to the Department the certificate of weight, etc.

7. The following prizes will be awarded : —

£ s. d.
One First Prize of ;^5 . . . .500
Five Second Prizes of ;^2, los. . . 12 10 o
Ten Third Prizes of ;^i . . . . 10 o o

£^7 o o
8. The following basis shall be used in awarding the prizes :-

Per cent.

Best crop 50

Best showing of profit . . . . -30
Best written account of history of crop (ten
accounts required) 20

Total . . . 100

APPENDIX F

PROPOSED SCALE OF GRANTS TO NATIVE
INSTITUTIONS IN THE TRANSVAAL

The following scale of grants-in-aid recommended by the
Transvaal Council of Education awaits the endorsement of the
Legislature : —

338 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

I. Training Institutions

1. A grant for land or buildings.

2. Grants for general equipment, consisting of —

(a) An initial or development grant not exceeding ^^300.
(6) An annual grant not exceeding 5s. for each pupil
enrolled.

3. Grants for industrial equipment, consisting of —

(a) An initial or development grant not exceeding ;£ioo.
(&) An annual grant not exceeding 5s. for each pupil
enrolled.

4. Salary grants for teachers on the £ for £ principle.

{a) A grant not exceeding ;^ioo per annum for the officer
in charge of the boarding establishment.

(6) A grant not exceeding ;^250 per annum for the prin-
cipal.

5. Salary grants for teachers not on the £ for £ principle.

(a) A grant not exceeding ;^20o per annum in the case of
a man, and £150 in the case of a woman, for a
whole-time industrial teacher.

(6) A grant at the discretion of the Director of Education
for a part-time industrial teacher.

6. Bursaries not exceeding ^^lo per annum on behalf of each
Native student who makes satisfactory progress, and who signs
an agreement to teach in a Government-aided institution for
three years.

II. Industrial Schools

1 . A grant for land or buildings.

2. Grants for equipment, consisting of —

(a) An initial or development grant not exceeding ;^ioo.
(6) An annual grant not exceeding 5s. for each pupil
enrolled.

3. Salary grants for teachers —

(a) A grant not exceeding ;^200 per annum in the case of a
male and ;£i5o per annum in the case of a female
European teacher.

APPENDIX F 339

(6) A grant not exceeding £50 per annum in the case of
a male and £-^o per annum in the case of a female
Native teacher.
4. Bursaries not exceeding ;£io per annum on behalf of each
Native pupil whose admission is approved.

III. Primary Schools

1 . Grants for general equipment —

(a) An initial or development grant not exceeding £5.
{b) An annual grant not exceeding 5s. for each pupil
enrolled.

2. Grants for industrial equipment —

(a) An initial or development grant not exceeding £5.
(6) An annual grant not exceeding 2s. for each pupil
enrolled.

2. Salary grants for teachers —

(a) A grant for a properly quaUfied European principal

or assistant for industrial work, of the amount

paid for similarly qualified teachers in European

schools.
{b) A grant not exceeding ^^84 per annum for an approved

European assistant,
(c) A grant of ;^48 per annum, rising by annual increments

of £^ to ;^6o per annum, for a fully quaUfied Native

assistant. 1
, (d) A grant of ^36 per annum, rising by annual increments

of £^ to ;^48 per annum, for a provisionally qualified

Native assistant.
(e) A grant of ;^i6 per annum, rising by annual increments

of £2 to £24^ per annum, for an unquahfied Native

assistant.
(/) A grant to be fixed by the Director of Education for

a part-time industrial teacher.*

* Grants for assistants are paid as follows : —

(a) For the first assistant when the average attendance is from

thirty-five to sixty-nine.

(b) For the second assistant when the average attendance is from

seventy to ninety-nine.

attendance has increased by thirty.

* In all schools " training " {i.e. religious, moral, physical, and in-
dustrial training) must occupy at least half the school time.

340 THE EDUCATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIVE

IV. Special Instruction Courses for Teachers
already in the Service ^

(a) A grant at the rate of 9s. per hour, and not exceeding ^^36
in all, for each approved instructor.

(6) A grant at the rate of 30s. on behalf of each teacher in
regular attendance at the course.

^ These short courses, lasting about four weeks, are held periodically
for the benefit of teachers already in the service.

PRINTED IN GRSAT BRITAIN BY NEILL AND CO., LTD., EDINBURGH.

i-C

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