Adam's Reports on Vernacular Education in Bengal and Behar/Report 3/Chapter 1/Section 5

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Adam's Reports on Vernacular Education in Bengal and Behar, Report 3, Chapter 1 (1838)
Bengali and Hindi Schools
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Section V.

Bengali and Hindi Schools.

The preceding general view of the number and classes of native institutions of education will serve for the purpose of comparison; comparison of one district with another, and of the different divisions of the same district. But to understand the state of native instruction, a more minute consideration of each ​class is required; and for that purpose I begin with the vernacular schools, because they are upon the whole the most numerous, and because they most directly and most powerfully influence the character of the people. To prevent the repetition of remarks and statements of general application, I shall assume that the readers of this report are acquainted with the two reports by which it has been preceded.

City and district of Moorshedabad.

In 20 thanas of this city and district there are 67 vernacular schools, of which 62 are Bengali and 5 Hindi. The latter are an effect of the residence of natives of the Western Provinces in the city. Some of these settle only for temporary purposes of service and trade, and do not bring their families with them. Another class consists of those who settle permanently, are surrounded by their friends and relatives, and generally engage in the business of shop-keepers, money-lenders, or cloth-merchants, retaining the Hindi language and for the most part the customs and practices of Western Hindus. It is these permanent settlers that have established Hindi schools for the instruction of their children.

There are eleven villages, mohallas, or bazars, containing each two vernacular schools, or twenty-two in all, of which twenty are Bengali and two Hindi. The remaining forty-five are found each in a different village or mohalla.

The number of teachers is the same as the number of schools, and their average age is 44.3 years. The following list exhibits the different castes of the Hindu teachers and the number of each caste:—

Kayastha . . . 39
Brahman . . . 14
Aguri . . . 3
Sunri . . . 2
Kaivarta . . . 2
Vaidya . . . 1
Suvarnabanik . . . 1
Kshetriya . . . 1
Chhatri . . . 1
Sadgop . . . 1
Chandal . . . 1

Besides these, there is one Bengali school taught by a Musalman. To teach reading, writing, and accounts is considered the proper duty of the Kayastha or writer-caste, and a Brahman, a Vaidya, or a Kshetriya, is supposed to degrade himself by engaging in such an occupation; while, on the other hand, any of the castes inferior to the Kayastha acquire by the same means increased respect. Parents of good caste do not hesitate to send their children to schools conducted by teachers of ​an inferior caste and even of a different religion. For instance, the Musalman teacher above-mentioned has Hindus of good caste among his scholars, and this is equally true of the Chandal and other low-caste teachers enumerated.

Of these teachers there are five who give their instructions gratuitously, of whom two are family-priests, one is a weaver, and another a retail-dealer. One of the priests, although he receives no fixed payment either in the form of monthly wages from the parents, or in the form of fees for each scholar, accepts at the period of the great annual festival, or Durga Puja, a present consisting of uncooked rice, pulse, salt, oil, vegetables, wood, cooking utensils, &c.; and the weaver, although he does not exact any fees from his scholars, receives what they offer him. His school was opened only about a month before I visited the district, and he had received within that time ten pice from the different scholars to aid him in bearing incidental expenses. By day he works as a weaver for his livelihood, and teaches in the evening. There are also many cases in which paid teacher instructs a greater or less number of their scholars gratuitously. It gives me great pleasure to mention these instances of unostentatious benevolence in the humblest ranks of native society. They prove both the merit attached to the communication of knowledge, and the readiness to receive instruction on the part of many who can offer no compensation for it. A people amongst whom such disposition are found presents both good materials to work upon and good instruments to work with.

The majority of teachers are remunerated for their services in various ways. Some receive monthly wages which are generally paid by one person, others monthly fees from each scholar varying from one to eight annas; and others, with or without wages or fees, receive perquisites of various kinds, consisting of uncooked food (shidha) in quantity and value at the option of the giver, subsistence-money (khoraki), generally amounting to two or three annas a month from each scholar, or to two or three rupees a month from the whole, weekly presents for making Saturday a holiday varying from one pice to four pice a month from each scholar, or presents at the Durga Puja (parvani) either in money or clothes varying from eight annas to four or five rupees per annum from the whole body of scholars. The following enumeration shows the various modes of remuneration adopted, and the amount of monthly receipts by all the teachers of Bengali and Hindi schools:—

Rs. As. P.
2 Teachers receive monthly wages only . . . 10 15 0
10 Teachers„ receive„ monthly„ fees only . . . 39 4 6
1 Teachers„ receive„ perquisites only . . . 0 3 0
18 Teachers„ receive„ fees and perquisites . . . 87 3 3 ​
Rs. As. P.
1 Teacher receive fees and uncooked food . . . 5 11 6
5 Teacher„ receive„ fees and subsistence-money . . . 38 3 0
1 Teacher„ receive„ fees and weekly presents . . . 2 14 0
4 Teacher„ receive„ fees and annual presents . . . 20 8 0
1 Teacher„ receive„ fees, uncooked food, and subsistence-money . . . 4 14 0
5 Teacher„ receive„ fees, uncooked food, and weekly presents . . . 24 5 3
2 Teacher„ receive„ fees, uncooked food, and annual presents . . . 5 11 3
5 Teacher„ receive„ fees, subsistence-money, and annual presents . . . 23 9 9
3 Teacher„ receive„ fees, weekly presents, and annual presents . . . 13 3 9
2 Teacher„ receive„ fees, uncooked food, weekly presents, and subsistence-money . . . 14 4 3
1 Teacher„ receive„ fees, uncooked food, weekly presents, and annual presents . . . 0 15 0
1 Teacher„ receive„ fees, uncooked food, annual presents, and subsistence-money . . . 5 9 3

It thus appears that 62 teachers receive in all rupees 297-6-9, which averages to each teacher rupees 4-12-9 per month.

The school-house is sometimes built at the expense of the teacher, sometimes at the expense of some comparatively wealthy person whose son attends school; sometimes by general subscription, the teacher contributing a little, the parents a little, the scholars aiding by their labour, and some benevolent person granting a donation of land, of money, or of materials. In a majority of instances there is no school-house, in which case the house of the teacher, a family or village temple, an out-house of one of the parents, the hut assigned for the entertainment of travellers, the corner of a shop, the portico of a mosque, or the shade of a tree, is employed for that purpose.

In 67 schools the total number of scholars is 1,080, giving to each school an average of 16.1. The average present age of 1,080 scholars, that is, their average age at the time when the different schools were visited, was 10.1 years. The average age of 778 scholars at the time when they entered school was 6.03 years, and their average age at the time when they would probably leave school was estimated to be 16.5 years. It would appear from this that they generally pass about ten years at school.

​The total number of Hindu scholars is 998, of whom 18 were absent at the time the schools were visited; and the total number of Musalman scholars is 82, of whom 4 were absent. The following is an enumeration of the castes of the Hindu scholars and of the number belonging to each:—

Brahman . . . 181
Kayastha . . . 129
Kaivarta . . . 96
Gandhabanik . . . 59
Tanti . . . 56
Sunri . . . 39
Teli . . . 36
Mayrà . . . 29
Kshetriya . . . 26
Tamli . . . 22
Goala . . . 19
Mala . . . 16
Napit . . . 15
Vaidya . . . 14
Sutar . . . 13
Osawal . . . 12
Swarnakar . . . 11
Yugi . . . 10
Chhatri . . . 9
Kamar . . . 9
Kumar . . . 8
Rajput . . . 7
Kansyabanik . . . 7
Tili . . . 6
Aguri . . . 5
Luniar . . . 5
Halwaikar . . . 4
Barayi . . . 4
Mali . . . 4
Daibajna . . . 4
Chandal . . . 4
Gaurbanik . . . 4
Kandu . . . 4
Kalawar . . . 3
Kayali . . . 3
Sadgop . . . 2
Kahar . . . 2
Jalia . . . 2
Lahari . . . 2
Bagdhi . . . 2
Vaisya . . . 1
Bagdhi . . . 1
Kalu . . . 1
Pashi . . . 1
Gareri . . . 1
Dhoba . . . 1
Kairi . . . 1
Muchi . . . 1

This enumeration shows in what classes of Hindu society vernacular instruction is chiefly found, and in what classes it becomes increasingly deficient. It would be a mistake, however, to suppose that the latter, as compared with the former, are losing ground. The fact is quite the reverse: they are gaining ground, and are almost imperceptibly acquiring a sense of the value even of that humble instruction which is within their reach, but from which, by the customs of society, they were formerly almost wholly debarred. The time is not distant when it would have been considered contrary to all the maxims of Hindu civilization that individuals of the Mala, Chandal, Kahar, Jalia, Lahari, Bagdhi, Dhoba, and Muchi castes should learn to read, write, and keep accounts; and if some aged and venerable brahman who has passed his life removed from European contamination were told that these low castes are now raising their aspirations so high, he would deplore it as one of the many proofs of the gross and increasing degeneracy ​of the age. The encroachment of these castes on the outskirts of learning is a spontaneous movement in native society, the effect of a strong foreign rule unshackled by native usages and prejudices, and protecting all in the enjoyment of equal rights.

It has been mentioned in former reports that there are four stages in a course of vernacular instruction; but there is this difference between Bengali and Hindi schools, that whereas in the second and third stages of the former the palm-leaf and plantain-leaf are generally used, in the same stages of the latter a wooden-board and brazen plate are employed as the materials on which lessons in writing and accounts are given. Two modes are adopted of writing on the brazen plate,—first, by dissolving chalk in water to a consistence that permits the scholar to rub it on the plate where it dries and receives the impression of a hard pin or reed-pen; and second, by writing on the plate with chalk-ink. The former is the mode chiefly employed in writing on the board, and mud is sometimes substituted for moistened chalk. The following statement exhibits the distribution of the total number of scholars into the four stages of instruction:—

(a) Scholars who write on the ground . . . 71
(b) ⁠ scholars„ who„ write„ on the palm-leaf . . . 525 560
scholars„ who„ write„ on the wooden-board . . . 35
(c) ⁠ scholars„ who„ write„ on the plantain-leaf . . . 3 12
scholars„ who„ write„ on the brazen plate . . . 9
(d) scholars„ who„ write„ on paper . . . 437

It thus appears that nearly the whole number of scholars is employed in the second and fourth stages, the former embracing the commencement, and the latter the completion, of instruction in accounts.

Limited as is the utmost scope of vernacular instruction, there are several gradations in the attainments of the teachers and in the instructions which they bestow. Thus in 4 Hindi schools commercial accounts only, in 14 Bengali schools agricultural accounts only, and in 10 Bengali schools both commercial and agricultural accounts are taught. In 3 schools of which one is Hindi and two are Bengali, written works chiefly in the vernacular language are taught in addition to commercial accounts; and in 36 Bengali schools those works are taught in addition both to commercial and agricultural accounts.

In the only Hindi school in which vernacular works are used, those works are the Dan Lila and Dadhi Lila, both describing the boyish amusements of Krishna, the former his boating pleasures on the Jumna in the neighbourhood of Brindavan, and the latter the tricks he played the milkmen of that place with his youthful companions. In only one Bengali school the Guru Bandana was found in use, a doggerel composition containing an expression of the respect and devotion due from the scholar to his teacher. The ​arithmetical rules of Subhankar were employed in 32 schools. The Guru Dakshina, another doggerel composition which is sung by the elder boys of a school from house to house to elicit donations for their master, was taught in three schools. In addition to these vernacular works, a small portion of the Sanscrit vocabulary of Amara Singh was found to be in use in one Bengali school; in another a work called Sabda Subanta, containing the rules of Sanscrit orthography, the permutations of letters in combination, and examples of the declension of nouns; and in 14 schools the Sanscrit verses of Chanakya, containing the praises of learning and precepts of morality, were read or committed to memory. All the preceding works, both vernacular and Sanscrit, were taught either from manuscripts or memoriter; but in five schools the Shishu Bodh was employed, a modern compilation in print, containing Subhankar, Chanakya, and Guru Dakshina. One teacher I found in possession of the following works in manuscript, which he professed to employ for the instruction of his scholars; viz., the arithmetic of Ugra Balaram, consisting of practical and imaginary examples which are worked; the modes of epistolary address by the same author; Subhankar; Saraswati Bandana; and Aradhan Das’s Man Bhanjan or Anger Removed, and Kalanka Bhanjan or Disgrace Removed, both relating to the loves of Radha and Krishna. In addition to the preceding, which were all in Bengali, he had also in Sanscrit the verses of Chanakya and the conjugation of the substantive verb bhu. Another teacher had the following printed works, viz., Hitopadesh, a Serampore school-book; the School book Society’s Nitikatha or Moral Instructions, 1st Part, 3rd Edition, 1818; the same Society’s Instructions for modelling and conducting Schools, 1819; Do.’s Geography, Chapter III. Introduction to Asia, 1819; Jyotis Bibaran, a Serampore school-book on astronomy; the seven first numbers of the Serampore Digdarsan or India Youth’s Magazine; and a Serampore missionary tract called Nitivakya, This person was formerly in the employment of a European gentleman who supported a Bengali school subsequently discontinued, and the books remaining in the teacher’s hands are preserved as curiosities, or as heir-looms to be admired, not used.

District of Beerbhoom.

The seventeen thanas enumerated in Section IV. comprise the whole of this district and contain 412 vernacular schools, of which 407 are Bengali and 5 are reckoned as Hindi schools, but in fact Hindi is exclusively taught in one only, and in the remaining four both Bengali and Hindi are taught. In one school the Hindi language is written in the Bengali as well as in the Nagari characters. Hindi instruction, even to this limited extent, is in demand only in one thana, that of Deoghur, which is the most north-westerly of ​districts of Bhaugalpoor and contain each three vernacular two, and three hundred and the police divisions, and adjoins the Monghyr, where Hindi prevails.

There are eight villages that contain each three vernacular schools, fifteen that contain each two, and three hundred and fifty-eight containing each one.

The number of teachers is 412, of whom one is a Christian, four are Musalmans, and the remainder are Hindus. The average age of all the teachers is 38.3 years. The following list exhibits the castes of the Hindu teachers and the number of each:—

Kayastha . . . 256
Brahman . . . 86
Sadgop . . . 12
Vaishnava . . . 8
Gandhabanik . . . 5
Suvarnabanik . . . 5
Bhatta . . . 4
Kaivarta . . . 4
Mayra . . . 4
Goala . . . 3
Vaidya . . . 2
Aguri . . . 2
Yugi . . . 2
Tanti . . . 2
Kalu . . . 2
Sunri . . . 2
Swaranakar . . . 2
Rajput . . . 1
Napit . . . 1
Barayi . . . 1
Chhatri . . . 1
Dhoba . . . 1
Mala . . . 1
Chandal . . . 1

The Kalu, Sunri, Dhoba, Mala, and Chandal, castes are of those that were generally deemed to be excluded from the benefits of instruction in letters; but the above enumeration shows that some individuals of those castes have even become instructors of others. The Christian teacher mentioned above is employed in teaching a Missionary school.

There are not fewer than eleven teachers who instruct their scholars gratuitously, and of these there are not less than four in one thana, that of Sakalyapur. The scholars of one are poor, and he is contented to teach them without pay, receiving his subsistence from the other members of his family. Another is the head-man of the village, and from motives of benevolence or piety he instructs the children who please to attend him. A third is a respectable inhabitant of the village in which he resides, who employs his declining age in the gratuitous instruction of the young, having a farm by which he supports himself and family. Five other support themselves and families by farming, of whom one is a paralytic. The paid teachers are remunerated as follows:—

Rs. As. P.
2 teachers receive monthly wages only . . . 9 4 0
71 teachers„ receives„monthly„ fees only . . . 157 7 0
1 teachers„ receives monthly„ perquisites only . . . 0 10 0
2 teachers„ receive monthly„ wages and perquisites . . . 4 4 0
325 teachers„ receives„ monthly„ fees and perquisites . . . 1,125 7 9
​It thus appears that 401 teachers receive in all rupees 1,297-4-9, averaging to each rupees 3-3-9 per month. At the time I visited this district I had not adopted the practice of noting the different sorts of perquisites received by teachers, every thing coming under that denomination being recorded in one sum.

Regarding the school-houses of this district, I shall transcribe only a few of my notes which appear to contain any thing peculiar or characteristic. In one village the school-house was built by the teacher at a cost in money of rupees 1-4, with the aid of his pupils who brought materials from the jungle. In another the school-house was built by the scholars at a cost of rupees 1-8, in addition to their own labour. The house is thatched, and the walls consist of branches and leaves of the palm and sal trees interlaced. In a third the scholars assembled in the village place of worship, and they were engaged in building a school-house with thatched roof, beams and rafters, and mud- walls, which was expected to cost in all about rupees ten, besides their labour. Several school-houses are noted as having been built by subscription amongst the parents. Baithak-khanas, kachahris, store-houses, verandas, shops, and temples, are used here as elsewhere. The temples consecrated to Yama, the Judge of the Departed, the Minos of Hinduism, I have found frequently used as school-houses in this district in consequence of the extent to which the worship of that deity under the title of Dharmaraj prevails.

In 412 schools the total number of scholars is 6,383, giving to each school an average of 15.14, and the average age of the whole number at the time when the different schools were visited was 10.05 years. The age of entering and the probable age of leaving school were not ascertained in this district.

Of the whole number of scholars, 3 are Dhangars, a tribe of Coles; 3 are Sonthals, another forest tribe; 20 are Christians, the children of native converts taught in a Missionary school; and 232 are Musalmans. All the rest, amounting to 6,125, are Hindus, and the number of each Hindu caste is exhibited in the following list:—

Brahman . . . 1,853
Göala . . . 560
Gandhabanik . . . 529
Kayastha . . . 487
Sadgop . . . 290
Kalu . . . 258
Mayra . . . 248
Tanti . . . 196
Suvarnabanik . . . 184
Sunri . . . 164
Vaishnava . . . 161
Tamli . . . 127
Kamar . . . 109
Kaivarta . . . 89
Napit . . . 79
Vaidya . . . 71
Rajput . . . 68
Barayi . . . 62
Swaranakar . . . 53
Kshatriya . . . 52
Sutar . . . 50
Kumar . . . 43 ​
Teli . . . 38
Tili . . . 35
Aguri . . . 28
Dhoba . . . 28
Chhatri . . . 24
Punra . . . 23
Dom . . . 23
Daivajna . . . 17
Keöt . . . 15
Bagdhi . . . 14
Bäiti . . . 13
Hari . . . 13
Mal . . . 12
Vaishya . . . 11
Sankhabanik . . . 9
Kansyabanik . . . 9
Bhatta . . . 9
Net . . . 8
Sarak . . . 7
Kurmi . . . 7
Lahari . . . 5
Mali . . . 4
Bahila . . . 4
Muchi . . . 3
Bhumiya . . . 2
Dhanuk . . . 2
Konra . . . 2
Ganra . . . 2
Matiya . . . 2
Agradani . . . 1
Magadha . . . 1
Sanyasi . . . 1
Halwaikar . . . 1
Baüri . . . 1
Dulia . . . 1
Jalia . . . 1
Byadha . . . 1
Chandal . . . 1

This is the first district in which my arrangements enabled me to obtain a complete view of the amount and distribution of vernacular instruction, with a confidence nearly approaching to certainty that no important omission had been made, from the number of scholars of the brahman caste, we may infer not only the large number of brahman families in the district, but also, in some measure, the extent to which they have engaged in the worldly employments prohibited to their caste. Another circumstance worthy of notice is the comparatively large number of scholars of the Kalu and Sunri castes, which are not only on religious grounds excluded from association with brahmans, but, according to former custom and usage, were generally deemed unworthy of participating in the advantages of literary instruction even in the humblest forms. The appearance also of the Dom, Keot, Hari, and other low castes in the list of scholars, although in less numbers, affords additional and still stronger illustrations of the increasing desire for instruction and of the unforced efforts to obtain it; for those castes are the lowest of the low, and were formerly as undesirous of instruction in letters as they were deemed unworthy of it. In the only Missionary school of this class in the district there are only two Hindu scholars, one of the Dom and the other of the Hari caste, from which it will be seen that all the other scholars of low caste are found in schools of exclusively native origin and entirely under native management.

In the Hindi schools of this district the wooden board is used, but not the brazen plate to write upon; and in the Bengali schools, ​besides the plantain-leaf, the leaf of the sâl tree is used in the third stage of instruction. The following is the distribution of the scholars into the four established grades:—

(a) Scholars who write on the ground . . . 372
(b) ⁠ on the palm-leaf . . . 3,551 3,570
on the wooden-board . . . 19
(c) ⁠ on the plantain-leaf . . . 299 397
on the sâl-leaf . . . 98
(d) on paper . . . 2,044

The former remark applies here also, that nearly all the scholars are in the second and fourth stages of instruction.

In one school Christian instruction is communicated, in 35 schools commercial accounts only, in 47 schools agricultural accounts only, and in 316 schools both commercial and agricultural are taught. In one school commercial accounts and written works, and in 12 schools both commercial and agricultural accounts with written works are taught.

Subhankar was found in use in eight schools, and in one school a Bengali translation from Sanscrit called the Nataka of Jayadeva or Gita Govinda relating to the amours of Radha and Krishna. In one school two works were employed as school books called Ashta Dhatu and Ashta Sabdi, containing, respectively, the conjugation of eight Sanscrit verbs and the declension of eight Sanscrit nouns; and in four schools the verses of Chanakya were taught; in one with, and in three without, a Bengali translation.

District of Burdwan

The thirteen thanas of this district contain in all 629 Bengali schools, of which seven are found in one village, six in another, and five in a third. Nine villages contain three each; fifty-nine two each; and four hundred and sixty-six one each.

The number of teachers is 639, being ten in excess of the number of schools. Nine Missionary schools and one supported by the Rajah of Burdwan are conducted each by two teachers. Six hundred and sixteen common village schools and four Missionary schools are taught by the same number of teachers. The average age of all the teachers is 39·05 years. Three of the teachers are Christians, nine are Musalmans, and six hundred and twenty-seven are Hindus. The following are the castes of the Hindu teachers and the number of each:—

Kayastha . . . 487
Brahman . . . 107
Sadgop . . . 290
Aguri . . . 30
Vaishnava . . . 13
Teli . . . 10
Bhatta . . . 9
Gandhabanik . . . 6 ​
Kaivarta . . . 5
Chandal . . . 4
Kumar . . . 3
Napit . . . 3
Suvarnabanik . . . 2
Göala . . . 2
Bagdhi . . . 2
Daivajna . . . 1
Naga . . . 1
Tanti . . . 1
Vaidya . . . 1
Yugi . . . 1
Barayi . . . 1
Kamar . . . 1
Mayra . . . 1
Dhoba . . . 1
Rajput . . . 1
Kalu . . . 1
Sunri . . . 1

In this list the Sunri, Kalu, Dhoba, Bagdhi, and Chandal, castes are those which the long established usages of the country would have either discouraged or altogether excluded from a knowledge of letters. Two of the teachers are lepers.

In this district I ascertained that there were four teachers who taught gratuitously, of whom one was a Musalman and three Hindus, and of the latter one was a Chandal.

The paid teachers are thus sub-divided according to the nature and amount of the remuneration which they receive:—

Rs. As. P.
26 receive monthly wages only . . . 126 0 0
58 receive„ monthly„ fees only . . . 136 1 9
2 receive„ wages and uncooked victuals . . . 10 8 0
384 receive„ fees and uncooked victuals . . . 1,049 0 6
8 receive„ fees and weekly presents . . . 35 11 0
12 receive„ fees and annual presents . . . 49 9 0
53 receive„ fees, uncooked victuals, and weekly presents . . . 261 14 0
57 receive„ fees, uncooked victuals, and annual presents . . . 217 8 6
1 receives monthly fees, weekly presents, and annual presents . . . 4 1 0
34 receives monthly fees, uncooked victuals, weekly presents, and annual presents . . . 186 0 0

Thus 635 teachers receive in all rupees 2,076-5-9, which averages to each teacher per month rupees 3-4-3. Many of the teachers, who do not acquire sufficient for their livelihood by teaching, eke out their income by engaging in farming, in money-lending, in retail-trade, in weaving, in worldly service, in temple-service, &c.; and all of them have occasional presents from the scholars during the progress of their educaition, and even after they have left school, which cannot be ascertained or estimated. The teachers of the Missionary schools and of the school supported by the Rajah of Burdwan are paid, but not by the parents of the scholars. In the Missionary schools the pupils, besides receiving gratuitous instruction, are also furnished with paper, pens, ink, leaves, and books. In the school of the Rajah of Burdwan similar materials are supplied, together with a daily payment of the one-sixteenth part of an anna (five gundas of cowries, i. e., 20 cowries or 1 buri) to each scholar for refreshments. Three of the Hindu scholars are wholly fed at the expense of the Rajah for a period ​of four years, after which they may continue to prosecute their studies as long as they please, but without that indulgence. In one of the schools under Missionary superintendence one rupee per month is allowed for the hire of a boat to bring some of the scholars over a stream and to convey them back.

The remarks respecting the school-houses in the district of Beerbhoom are generally applicable to those of Burdwan, except that in the latter I have met with more numerous instances in which school-houses have been built by general subscription amongst the parents of the scholars.

In 629 schools conducted by 639 teachers the total number of scholars is 13,190, giving to each school an average of 20.9 scholars. The average age of the whole number at the time when the different schools were visited was 9.9 years, the average age at the time when they entered school was 5.7 years, and the average age at the time when they would probably leave school was estimated to be 16.6 years. The average period passed at school would thus appear to be about eleven years.

Of the whole number of scholars 13 are Christians, 769 Musalmans, and 12,408 Hindus. The following enumeration exhibits the castes of the Hindu scholars and the number of each:—

Brahman . . . 3,429
Kayastha . . . 1,846
Sadgop . . . 1,254
Aguri . . . 787
Gandhabanik . . . 606
Teli . . . 371
Göala . . . 311
Mayra . . . 281
Kamar . . . 262
Suvarnabanik . . . 261
Tanti . . . 249
Tamli . . . 242
Kaivarta . . . 223
Kalu . . . 207
Tili . . . 200
Napit . . . 192
Vaishnava . . . 189
Sunri . . . 188
Kshatriya . . . 161
Bagdhi . . . 138
Yugi . . . 131
Vaidya . . . 125
Sutar . . . 108
Kumar . . . 95
Swaranakar . . . 81
Dom . . . 61
Chandal . . . 61
Chhatri . . . 35
Kansyabanik . . . 34
Daivajna . . . 33
Barayi . . . 32
Jalia . . . 28
Sankhabanik . . . 27
Mali . . . 26
Dhoba . . . 24
Rajput . . . 21
Bäiti . . . 16
Muchi . . . 16
Bhatta . . . 11
Hari . . . 11
Agradani . . . 8
Kurmi . . . 8
Tior . . . 4
Kunyar . . . 3
Lahari . . . 3
Garar . . . 2
Kahar . . . 2
Mal . . . 2
Kandu . . . 1
Matiya . . . 1
Pashi . . . 1
​Compared with the preceding districts there is a much larger number of scholars, and all the castes, both high and low, partake of the increase. There are some low castes also which here appear for the first time as the Tior, Garar, and Mal castes. The number of scholars of low caste is so considerable that, without explanation, it might be supposed that they were chiefly found in the Missionary schools which are more numerous in this district than in any other I have visited, and which, of course, do not recognize distinctions of caste. The fact, however, is otherwise, for the number of scholars belonging to sixteen of the lowest castes amounts to 760, of whom only 86 are found in Missionary schools, and the remaining number in native schools. This fact appears to be of sufficient interest to be exhibited in detail.

Kalu.
Sunri.
Bagdhi.
Dom.
Chandal.
Jalia.
Dhoba.
Muchi.
Hari.
Tior.
Lahari.
Garar.
Kuhar.
Mal.
Matiya.
Pashi.
13 Missionary Schools contains 33 20 21 3 1 . . . 5 . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
616 Native Schools contains 174 168 117 58 60 28 19 16 11 2 3 2 2 2 1

It thus appears that the proportion of scholars of these low castes in Missionary schools is high; but the total number of the same castes in native schools is so considerable as to prove that other and independent causes are in operation, stimulating the humbler classes of native society to the improvement of their condition and to the attainment of those advantages, hitherto for the most part denied to them, that arise from a knowledge of letters.

The following is the distribution of the scholars into the four established grades of instruction:—

(a) scholars who write on the ground . . . 702
(b) scholars„ who write„ on„ wooden-board . . . 7,113
(c) scholars„ who write„ on„ brazen-plate . . . 2,765
(d) scholars„ who write„ on„ plate . . . 2,610

In 13 schools Christian instruction is communicated, in one school commercial accounts only, in three schools agricultural accounts only, and in 186 schools both accounts are taught. In one school commercial accounts and written works, in two schools agricultural account and written works, and in 423 schools both descriptions of accounts and written works are taught.

Most of the written works mentioned as school books under the heads of Moorshedabad and Beerbhoom are also used in this district; and in addition the following works were found in various schools, viz., the Ganga Bandana, describing the virtues of the river-goddess; the Yugadya Bandana, describing those of the goddess Durga; Data Karan, the generous Karna, illustrating the ​beneficence and hospitality of Karna, the prime-minister of Duryodhana, and the Hatim Tai of India , and the Adi Parva, or first chapter of the Mahabarat, translated into Bengali by Kasi Das.

District of South Behar.

The nine thanas of this district contain in all 285 Hindi schools, of which two villages contain seven each, two contain four each, two contain three each, twelve contain two each, and two hundred and thirty-three contain one each.

The number of teachers is the same as the number of schools, and their average age is 36 years. One of them is a Musalman, and the rest are Hindus. The following are the castes of the Hindu teachers and the number of each:—

Kayastha . . . 278
Magadha . . . 2
Gandhabanik . . . 1
Teli . . . 1
Kairi . . . 1
Sonar . . . 1

From this list it is evident that vernacular instruction is almost wholly in the hands of the Kayastha or writer caste, and that the institutions of the country are still in this respect in almost unabated force. There are no brahman-teachers, and only two of a caste considered superior to the Kayastha or writer caste, viz., the Magadha caste, which gave its name to the country when it was under Bauddha rule.

There are no teachers who give gratuitous instruction. The teachers are thus remunerated:—

Rs. As. P.
2 receive monthly wages only . . . 6 0 0
8 receive„ monthly„ fees only . . . 7 5 0
1 receive„ monthly„ wages and subsistence-money . . . 2 8 0
5 receive„ monthly„ fees and uncooked food . . . 11 0 9
10 receive„ monthly„ fees and subsistence-money . . . 17 1 9
10 receive„ monthly„ fees and weekly presents . . . 9 2 6
9 receive„ monthly„ fees and annual presents . . . 0 4 6
2 receive„ monthly„ fees, uncooked food, and subsistence-money . . . 3 0 3
1 receive„ monthly„ fees, uncooked food, and weekly presents . . . 3 15 0
2 receive„ monthly„ fees, uncooked food, and annual presents . . . 2 12 3
11 receive„ monthly„ fees, subsistence-money, and weekly presents . . . 17 5 9
24 receive„ monthly„ fees, subsistence-money, and annual presents . . . 39 14 6
23 receive„ monthly„ fees, weekly presents, and annual presents . . . 59 1 9
1 receive„ monthly„ fees, uncooked food, subsistence-money and weekly presents . . . 0 9 3
1 receive„ monthly„ wages, uncooked food, subsistence-money, and annual presents . . . 1 9 9
3 receive„ monthly„ fees, uncooked food, subsistence-money, and annual presents . . . 7 4 0
1 receive„ monthly„ wages, uncooked food, weekly presents, and annual presents . . . 3 11 6
32 receive„ monthly„ fees, uncooked food, weekly presents, and annual presents . . . 81 6 0
80 receive„ monthly„ fees, subsistence-money, weekly presents, and annual presents . . . 173 2 0
52 receive„ monthly„ fees, uncooked food, subsistence-money, weekly presents, and annual presents . . . 125 0 9
​Thus 285 teachers receive in all rupees 585-12-6, which averages to each teacher rupees 2-0-10 per month.

For school-houses the teachers in this district have recourse to the various expedients adopted in the Bengal districts, and amongst others employ shops, sugar-houses, thresholds, and verandahs of private dwellings, and vacant spaces at the sides of the roads.

In 285 schools the total number of scholars is 3,090, giving to each school an average of 10.8. The average age of the scholars at the time when the different schools were visited was 9.3 years, their average age at the time when they entered school was 7.9 years, and the average age at the time when they would probably leave school was 15.7 years. The average period passed at school would thus appear to be between seven and eight years.

Of the scholars 172 are Musalmans, and 2,918 are Hindus, of whom 14 were absent at the time when the schools were visited. The following are the castes of the latter and the number of each:—

Gandabanik . . . 540
Magadha . . . 468
Teli . . . 371
Brahman . . . 3,429
Kayastha . . . 1,846
Kairi . . . 1,254
Rajput . . . 21
Kahar . . . 2
Halwaikar . . . 1
Sunri . . . 188
Kurmi . . . 8
Swarankar . . . 81
Mahuri . . . 787
Napit . . . 192
Göala . . . 311
Barhai . . . 281
Suvarnabanik . . . 261
Dosad . . . 262
Pashi . . . 249
Aguri . . . 242
Luniar . . . 5
Kansyabanik . . . 34
Kshatriya . . . 161
Kalawar . . . 200
Vaishnava . . . 189
Mali . . . 138
Tamli . . . 131
Vaidya . . . 125
Bhatta . . . 11
Banawar . . . 200
Sanyasi . . . 1
Lohar . . . 108
Lahari . . . 108
Kumar . . . 95
Kandu . . . 61
Yugi . . . 61
Beldar . . . 35
Bundela . . . 33
Patowar . . . 32
Vaishnava . . . 28
Khatki . . . 27
Chhatri . . . 26
Tanti . . . 24
Barayi . . . 24
Bäiti . . . 16
Dhoba . . . 16
Musahar . . . 11
Churihar . . . 8
Kayali . . . 4
Mahla . . . 3

The small number of Kayastha scholars contrasts with the almost exclusive possession by that caste of the business of vernacular teaching; and we meet here also, for the first time, with three inferior castes, each of which furnishes a larger number of scholars than the brahman caste. The very low and degraded castes, as ​the Dosad, Pashi, Luniar, &c., are comparatively numerous, and have begun here also to seek a participation in the benefits of vernacular instruction.

In Behar leaves are not in use as a material for writing on, in the second and third stages of instruction the wooden-board and brazen-plate are exclusively employed. The following is the distribution of the scholars into the four established grades:—

(a) scholars who write on the ground . . . 1,506
(b) scholars„ who„ on the wooden-board . . . 1,503
(c) scholars„ who„ on the brazen-plate . . . 42
(d) scholars„ who„ on plate . . . 39

In 36 schools commercial accounts only, in 20 schools agricultural accounts only, in 229 schools both commercial and agricultural accounts are taught, and in only two schools vernacular works are employed. The works of this description are the Dan Lila and Dadhi Lila already described; Sudam Charitra, an account of Sudam, one of the juvenile companions of Krishna; Ram Janma, an account of the birth of Ram, translated from the Ramayana by Tulasi Das; and the Sundar Kanda of the Ramayana, one of the books of that poem,—all in the Hindi language.

District of Tirhoot.

The 16 thanas of this district contain in all 80 Hindi schools, of which one village contains three, six villages contain two each, and sixty-five villages contain one each.

The number of teachers is also 80, and their average age is 34·8 years. They are all Hindus, and are thus divided in respect of caste:—

Kayastha . . . 77
Gandhabanik . . . 2
Brahman . . . 1

This sufficiently shows that here also the writer-caste is almost exclusively engaged in the business of teaching common schools.

There are no teachers who give gratuitous instruction, and the teachers are thus remunerated:—

Rs. As. P.
1 receives monthly wages only . . . 0 10 0
3 receive monthly„ fees only . . . 0 14 0
1 receives subsistence-money only . . . 1 4 9
1 receives„ monthly wages and uncooked food . . . 2 8 0
1 receives„ monthly„ wages and subsistence-money . . . 2 0 0
6 receive monthly„ fees and subsistence-money„ . . . 9 2 6
1 receives monthly„ fees and weekly presents . . . 0 4 6
9 receive monthly„ fees and annual presents„ . . . 9 10 6
1 receives weekly presents and annual presents . . . 2 11 9
2 receive monthly wages, uncooked food, and subsistence-money . . . 2 4 0
3 receives„ monthly„ fees, uncooked food, „ and subsistence-money„ . . . 3 4 0
1 receives monthly„ fees, uncooked food, and annual presents . . . 0 8 0 ​
Rs. As. P.
4 receives monthly„ fees, subsistence-money, and weekly presents . . . 4 10 0
1 receives monthly„ wages, ditto, and annual presents . . . 3 4 3
11 receive monthly„ fees, ditto, and annual presents„ . . . 30 3 3
7 receive„ monthly„ fees, weekly presents, and annual presents . . . 4 3 9
12 receive„ monthly„ wages, uncooked food, subsistence-money, and weekly presents . . . 21 10 6
5 receive„ monthly„ fees, ditto, ditto, ditto . . . 8 6 6
1 receives monthly„ fees, ditto, ditto, and annual presents . . . 0 13 6
1 receives„ monthly„ fees, uncooked food, weekly presents, and annual presents . . . 1 1 9
1 receives„ monthly„ wages, subsistence-money, weekly presents, and annual presents . . . 1 5 0
4 receive monthly„ fees, ditto, ditto, ditto . . . 7 10 3
3 receive„ monthly„ fees, uncooked food, subsistence-money, weekly presents, and annual presents . . . 4 13 6

Thus 80 teachers receive in all rupees 123-4-3, which averages to each teacher rupees 1-8-7 per month.

Among the 80 teachers there are only two that have school-houses, and those are miserable huts,—one built at a cost of five, and the other at a cost of three, rupees. The others accommodate their scholars in verandahs, shops, out-houses, baithak-khanas, &c.

In 80 schools the total number of scholars is 507, giving to each school an average of 6·3. The average age of the scholars at the time that the schools were visited was 9·2 years; their average age at the time when they entered school was 5·03 years, and their average age at the time when they would probably leave school was 13·1 year. The average period passed at school would thus appear to be about eight years.

Of the scholars, five are Musalmans and 502 are Hindus, all of whom were present when the schools were visited. The following are the castes of the Hindu scholars and the number of each:—

Sunri . . . 72
Rajput . . . 62
Kayastha . . . 51
Kalal . . . 40
Gandhabanik . . . 32
Teli . . . 29
Mayra . . . 28
Brahman . . . 25
Swarankar . . . 25
Magadha . . . 18
Kandu . . . 18
Aguri . . . 17
Kurmi . . . 11
Luniar . . . 9
Göala . . . 8
Kshatriya . . . 7
Mahla . . . 6
Kairi . . . 5
Dhanuk . . . 5
Pashi . . . 5
Tamli . . . 4
Napit . . . 4
Kamar . . . 4
Kansari . . . 4
Kaivarta . . . 2
Chhaipikar . . . 2
Parasua . . . 2
Kahar . . . 2
Lahari . . . 2
Sutar . . . 2
Khatki . . . 1

Of all the districts I have visited vernacular instruction is here at the lowest ebb, denoted both by the small number of schools and ​the small proportion of scholars. As in the preceding district, the number of scholars of the writer-caste is less than even the nunnber of teachers of that caste; and there are not fewer than seven castes, each yielding a greater number of scholars than the brahman caste, to which they are inferior in social estimation. It will be seen from the list that the very low castes—as the Luniar, Mahla, Kairi, Dhanuk, Pashi, &c.—have here also begun to seek the advantages of instruction in the common schools.

The following is the distribution of the scholars into the four established grades of instruction:—

(a) Scholars who write on the ground . . . 250
(b) Scholars„ who„ on the wooden-board . . . 172
(c) Scholars„ who„ on the brazen-plate . . . 55
(d) Scholars„ who„ on plate . . . 30

In three schools commercial accounts only, in four agricultural accounts only, and in fifty-eight both accounts are taught. In one school commercial accounts and vernacular works, in four agricultural accounts and vernacular works, and in ten both accounts and vernacular works are taught.

The vernacular works read are Dan Lila, Gita Govinda, and Ram Jamna formerly described; and Surya Purana, a translated extract from the Purana of that name. Sundar Sudama is another native work which was stated to be occasionally read in the common schools, but I did not meet with it, nor could I ascertain whether it was the same with Sudam Charitra formerly mentioned. Those productions are written in the Hindi language and Nagari character; but in the northern and eastern parts of the district the Trihutiya is prevalent, which, as a character, is nearly identical with the Bengali, and as a language differs from the Hindi and Bengali chiefly in its inflections and terminations.

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