CHAPTER X.
EDUCATION.
Census Statistics—By taluks—By religions. Educational Institutions—Early beginnings—Schools now existing—The Government college, Rajahmundry—The Government training college, Rajahmundry—The Pithápuram Rája's college.
Seventy-seven in every thousand of the male, and 7 per mile of the female, population of the district can read and write. The figures are greatly reduced by the inclusion of the Agency, where education is at a discount and only 30 per mille of the males and three per mille of the other sex are literate. Excluding this tract, they come to 83 and 8 per mille of the two sexes respectively, or about equal to the average in the plains of the east coast districts taken as a whole. Taking the statistics for the taluks separately, it is found that the highest figures in the lowlands are those of Rajahmundry (105 and 15) and Cocanada (103 and 12), while the lowest are those of Peddápuram, namely 51 and 3. In the Agency all the figures are very low, but Bhadráchalam and Pólavaram take a far higher position than Chódavaram and Yellavaram. In this last only II per mille of the males and I per mille of the females can read and write.
If the statistics of literacy among the adherents of the chief religions are examined, it will be found that both the Muhammadans and Christians are far better educated than the Hindus. Among the Hindus, the literate persons per mille of the male and female population, respectively, number 74 and 6; among the Musalmans, 180 and 20; and among the Christians, 400 and 317. It will be noticed that these last are the only people whose girls have received an education in any way equal to that given to the boys.
Gódávari was the pioneer among the Madras districts in educational matters. As far back as 1826 the Collector, Mr. Bayard, under instructions from Government, established schools at both Rajahmundry and Cocanada; but these were both abolished after a short life of ten years. In 1854, the year when the Court of Directors issued its memorable despatch about education, Mr. George Noble Taylor, who was the Sub-Collector of the district as it then existed, and
