committed the powers of determining and controlling the whole system of primary, secondary and continuation education within their respective areas. To aid them in their work a system of school district management committees has been provided, each county being left to determine the number of such committees within its area. At the same time a repre- sentative National Council for Education has been constituted under the Act with the view of advising the Scottish Department of Education an important step in bringing the central admin- istrative organization into more direct touch with a representa- tive body. Locally, also, provision has been made for the estab- lishment of advisory councils, which may stimulate on the one hand public opinion and on the other assist the local education authorities on special questions, particularly such as relate to economic and industrial conditions. The value of such local councils has yet to be proved, but the step taken is significant of the desire to bring the administrative system both centrally and locally as closely as possible into touch with public opinion. In considering the great change which the Act of 1918 has made in the representative machinery of Scottish education, it may be well to point out that the working of the new machinery of government will demand close attention. It is permissible to doubt whether the Act has not gone too far in abolishing the local school boards and in constituting in their place county authorities with school management committees, which latter bodies frequently are concerned with an area larger than that of the former school board. The school management committees are selected in a variety of ways, but they do not have behind them the simple strength and influence of popular election. The measure of the success or failure of this step will be found in the extent to which local interest in educational matters is sustained or weakened. That statutory bodies, exercising wide powers and controlling larger areas, were necessary does not admit of doubt, but the sweeping away of the local school boards may be found to have removed the most effective agency of stimulating local interest in education. The problem of securing the best form of representative machinery to deal with modern educational prob- lems is a matter of very great importance, and its solution is yet by no means reached. For that reason the variety of experience presented in the United Kingdom is of peculiar interest. It may be added that, at the election for the new local education authori- ties in Scotland under the Act of 1918, only some 30% of the electorate recorded their votes. This in itself is a significant and disappointing fact, and indicates the need, even in Scotland, of stimulating local interest in education. Another important constitutional aspect of the Act of 1918 was the change made in respect of financial administration. The Education (Scotland) Fund, as established under the Act of 1908, is by the Act of 1918 so regulated that the distribution of grants will give to the local education authorities greater discretion and flexibility in the expenditure of the moneys entrusted to them by Parliament. Instead of earmarking particular grants for particular services, the earning powers and claims of the local education authority as a whole are assessed by the Department of Education, and great latitude is allowed to the authorities in the disbursements of the sums, provision, however, being required for the maintenance of secondary education. There has resulted thereby a simplification of finance and an increase in the responsibilities of local education authorities. Apart from these important changes in the repre- sentative system and in financial administration the chief fea- tures of the Act are the raising of the full-time school age to 15 years and the requirement of obligatory continuation education up to 1 8 years of age. For the period of three years from the passing of this Act, the compulsory age for continuation educa- tion is limited to 16 years, whereas in England seven years elapse before the full policy of the Act can take place. The 1918 Act carried out to its logical conclusion a development which had been steadily advancing for many years throughout Scotland. Under the Act of 1908 it was lawful for school boards with the consent of the Scottish Department to make a by-law, requiring attendance up to the age of 16 at continuation classes. Already in the session of 1913-14, before the war interrupted normal devel-
opment, 18 school boards in Scotland had availed themselves of this power, and in the Education Report for the year it is observed " that the need is apparent, after a lapse of five years since the Act of 1908 came into force, for more vigorous steps to be taken to interest and make more effective the provision of continuation- class instruction particularly in the rural districts," and it is pointed out that compulsory methods have stood the test well in the few districts where by-laws have been made.
The educational ladder in Scotland is now strongly established. There is an excellent system of primary education for children to the age of 14, and powers have been taken to raise the com- pulsory age to 15, while for those who have the ability to profit, and the desire to do so, there is a generous system of bursaries and maintenance grants from the elementary to the higher grade and secondary schools. It is claimed that any child of ability can now obtain higher education and in turn secure the further opportunity of a college and university education. In 1920 there were 3,019 primary schools in Scotland, with effective accommo- dation for 947,125 scholars, 104 intermediate schools or depart- ments with accommodation for 16,420 scholars, 148 secondary schools or departments and 134 preparatory departments of secondary schools with total accommodation (including that of the preparatory departments) for 108,085 scholars, and 51 special schools for blind, deaf, mute or defective and epileptic children, having accommodation for 6,658 scholars. The total number of scholars in the register at the end of the school year 1919-20 was in primary schools (or departments) 760,343, intermediate schools (or departments) 11,909, preparatory departments of secondary schools 49,159, secondary schools or departments 44,095, special schools and classes 7,266 making a total of 872,772 scholars on a total estimated population of just over five millions. If the table of ages of scholars is examined it appears that rather more than a total of 20,000 pupils of 15 years of age or over were enrolled in the session 1919-20 in these various classes of schools. The proportion of secondary scholars to population is higher than in any other part of the United Kingdom, but it indicates how limited still is the number who, even in Scotland, receive full-time education beyond the age of fifteen. But there has been a steady increase in the total number of pupils attending intermediate or secondary departments. Even in the period of 1913-4 to 1918-9 the number of pupils enrolled in these schools rose from 47,742 to 58,948, and in the year 1919-20 the rate of increase has been fully maintained. As regards continuation classes the number of these in the session 1919-20 was 1,083, with 166,461 students. A feature, particularly of the last sessions, has been the development in Scotland as in England of classes organized by the Workers' Educational Association for adult pupils. As regards financial provision, the income of the education authorities under the Scottish Educa- tion Department was for the year ending May 15 1920 9,629,- 430, in this total the chief items of interest being grants from the Scottish Education Department 5,409,078, local education rates 3,973,531, school fees 119,046. Great as have been these advances in the sphere of education there remains one matter which is always of the highest concern, namely, the training and provision of teachers. Powers may be extended and equipment improved, but the most vital problem is the supply of teachers and of the spirit in which they carry out their work. In the past in Scotland the teachers' training colleges owed their foundation to provision made by the churches. The training colleges have gradually shed their denominational character, and in 1905 they passed under national and undenominational control. There has been a steady requirement of a higher standard of training and, to-day, practically all teachers in Scottish schools under the Department of Education are certificated. In 1920 the number of fully qualified teachers in State-aided day schools was 24,782 the proportion of teachers to pupils being in primary and inter- mediate schools i to 37, in secondary schools i to 23, and in schools and classes for blind, deaf, mute, defective and epileptic children i to 17. A particularly satisfactory feature is that, despite the losses and difficulties of recent years, the proportion of teachers to pupils is considerably higher in 1920 than it was in
