EDUCATION 657 education, especially those which affect the relation of the State last half-hour of each school attendance, children whose parents to religion and the Church. Its history dates from 1831, when, desired being excused. It further required that the inspection on its separation from the kingdom of the Netherlands, it received so of religious instruction shall be exercised by the ecclesiastical its constitution under King Leopold. At that date its population authorities. effect of this change has been to cause a large was 2,800,773. In 1897 the numbers had reached 6,586,593. diminution inThe number of communal schools and a considerThe rate of annual increase in the population is 14 per thousand, able increase in the influence of the clergy. There is no immediate as compared with Germany, 11 ; Holland, 13; Austria, 9 ; Great prospect of anythe reversal of the policy which has thus made the Britain, 8 ; Switzerland, 7 ; Hungary and Sweden, 10 ; Italy and Belgian system of public education essentially denominational, Spam, 4; and France, -09. The density of its population is although the proportion Catholics has somewhat declined. The remaiKable, there being 224 inhabitants 'par kilometre carrd as general election of 1900 of in the return of 85 Catholics, 33 compared with Great Britain, 126 ; Germany, 96 ; France 71 • Liberals, and 34 Socialistsresulted Representative Chamber, and of Italy, 109 ; Spain, 36 ; Sweden, 11 ; and Norway, 6. (See article 47 Catholics and 29 Liberalsto tothe the Senate or Upper House. Belgium. ) The returns for 1899 show that a total of 940,370 children, or One of the articles of the Constitution of 1831 asserts definitelv one-sixth of the population, are in attendance in primary the principle of the liberty of instruction. Private or individual nearly schools. Of these, 475,487 (292,382 boys and 183,105 girls) are in enterprise and initiative are therefore not forbidden ; but owing to communal schools, 168,397 (57,310 boys and 111,087 girls) in the completeness of the State provision for primary, secondary, schools, and 120,416 (46,513 boys and 73,903 girls) in academic, and technical instruction, there is little room for such adopted private or confessional schools, besides 176,070 infants in dcoles enterprise, and, except on the part of clerical authorities desirous gardiennes. will be observed that the proportion of girls to secure provision for religious instruction, hardly any private under direct It clerical influence is greater than that of boys. In schools can be said to exist. But this exception is important. the staff of teachers the effect of the new law has been very marked. Its history has shown in Belgium since 1831 successive changes were in 1894 in the communal schools 9275 lay schoolin popular opinion on the relations between Church and State There masters and 200 members of religious orders, and in the denomwhich have from time to time profoundly modified the educa- inational now “adopted” 1252 lay schoolmasters and 411 tional system. At first the law, as it was consolidated in religieuses.schools of the 7418 mistresses, 3419 (of whom 3225 are 1842, required every commune to maintain a school or schools employed in Out schools) are religieuses. There are in the for primary instruction, that is to say, for children of ages from whole countryadopted 19 training colleges for men and 34 for women and 6 to 14. The cost of building was to be defrayed by the com- the aggregate number of normal students is 3585, who furnish mune, and the annual maintenance was to be provided partly annual supply of certificated teachers [diplomas) of 915. The by a subvention from the State, in addition to a nearly equal an total annual cost of primary education is 33,318,328 frs., of which sum ft om the commune, partly and to a much smaller extent the State contributes 13,868,045 frs; ; the communes, 15 402 204 about 3 per cent, of the total revenue—from the fees paid by fr?;;0J;he; and feestheofbureaux parents,de 1,314,410; parents. Practically primary education was gratuitous in all the 226,801 bienfaisance, charitable 334,372. endowments, large towns and in many rural districts ; and provision was made Some light is thrown on the degree of attained in that in all cases the children of indigent parents could claim, primary education by the official returns ofefficiency the examination of either fiom the local charity bureau or from the commune, the young drawn annually for military service. These show means of exemption from the payment of fees. “The law of that themen unable to read and write was in 1*870 29*23 per 1842 made religious instruction obligatory, and placed it under the ceut. ; in number 21*66 per cent. ; in 1890, 15*92 per cent. ; and in direction of the minister of the faith professed by the majority of 1898, 12*831880, cent. In 2116 continuation schools, held for the the pupils in the school, children not belonging to the denomina- most part in per evening and for adults, there were 91.269 scholars. tion of that majority being dispensed from attendance at the The provisionthe for secondary instruction may be regarded as ample! religious lessons. Supervision of this religious teaching, including In the special normal for higher or intermediate teachers inspection of its methods and results and the choice of text-books, there were in 1898, 56schools men and 92 women students. The High was entrusted to the ecclesiastical authorities, who were represented Schools or Athendes Royales were attended in 1897 by 5657 (m a consultative capacity) in the Central Office, and were required ff*e State intermediate schools {ecoles moyennes) by to make an annual report to the Minister ” (see “ Recent Legislation fholars, 13,923 boys and 5497 girls, and the communal secondary schools vo i1897). this compromise ^ Special Reports on years Educational Subjects, by 1518 boys and 14.40 girls. Academic education {enseignement lasted thirty-seven
- but meanwhile
m connexion with the four Universities of Brussels, there was a steady growth of one section of public opinion hostile supeneur)^ Ghent, Liege, and Louvain is provided for a total number of 4951 to any „ association of the State with the action of a favoured students, or 75 for every 100,000 of the entire population. Of Church, on the ground that it violated the spirit of the Belgian these, 536. are entered in the Faculty of Arts and Letters, 1028 in Constitution. The law of 1879 accordingly prescribed that religious that of Science, 921 in Law, 1172 in Medicine, and 54 in Theology. education should be left wholly to the care of the families and to the For special instruction in the Fine Arts there are in the kingdom clergy of different faiths. The system of religious inspection was 87 academies and schools of design with 15,958 pupils, and 53 abolished, religious instruction ceased to be included in the conservatoires or Scales de musique with 13,063 pupils. Thus the curriculum of the communal schools, and in its place instructors country may be said to possess, in proportion to its population, a were enjoined to give moral precepts and to inculcate sentiments very complete equipment of primary, secondary, technical, and of duty, of love for country, respect for national institutions, and academic or university education. a tachment to constitutional liberty.” This provision was not Dutch law of 1857 established throughout the Netherlands tound to satisfy the educational requirements of a nation in which anAexcellent system of national education. Secular teaching alone the Roman Catholic Church exercises an exceptionally powerful was to be endowed with public funds. No schoolmaster influence. The purely secular, or rather non-religious, character in the national schools was allowed to give religious Holland. ot the State schools was from the first distasteful to the authorities or “to say, do, or tolerate anything disrespectful of that Church ; parents were exhorted to withdraw their children instruction, from the communal schools, and private and denominational i0c+ wholly l of care any of class of pupils.” to the religious bodies, Religious who were teaching permittedwas to schools were established by the efforts of the congregations and the leit it m the schoolrooms, outside the regular school hours. clergy These schools received no subventions from the State, yet provide 1 Ins system was confirmed by the law of 1878. But it proved year ear a i qqo athere i te<i number schools of scholars. In unsatisfying to the large and earnest minority of religious persons 1883. were m the ypublic larger or communal 320,709, and m the private or Catholic schools 479,280 scholars. It was who had set up at their own expense schools for the denominational computed that in that year there were for every 100 inhabitants in education of their children. In 1888 no fewer than 480 of these •7u 11 schools were found to be maintained by voluntary gifts, tliekmgdom 14 children in elementary schools, of whom 8'47, or 1 59-9 per cent., were taught in ecoles confessionelles, and only 5'67 .Yiberty,n. ., 11,000p.teachers and law 79,000 (of. Lecky, Democracy 72). The haspupils since 1889 been so altered asand to or 40 per cent., in the schools provided by the State. A strong permit these schools, on fulfilling certain conditions of efficiency, Catholic majority at the general election of 1884 led to the enact- to receive regular subsidies and inspection from the State. The ment of a new law which, though not relieving the communes result is in Holland a mixed system which, while leaving the torn,the responsibility of providing schools, gave liberty to place public secular schools undisturbed, recognizes voluntary and religious and moral instruction at the head of the curriculum, and also to accept as Scales adopUes, and to assist by public funds and religious schools, and offers to aid them with grants of public recognition the confessional schools which had since 1879 been money. The following statistics show the latest returns respecting maintained by the private efforts of the Church. Provision was primary education in Holland. Further details will be found in urther made entitling any twenty parents of children of school a ge to demand either a school of the normal communal type or the important report of Mr. Balfour in the fourth volume of Special issued by the English Board of Education. one which gave separate religious instruction in the tenets of the Reports In the school year 1898-99, 730,688 pupils were receiving Church. Subsequent legislation in 1895 took a further step in the primary in Holland. This figure includes both girls same direction, gave additional subsidies to private or confessional and boys.education The total population on 31st December 1898 was, sctiools, and made religious instruction obligatory in the first or according to the communal population returns, 5,074,632. S. III.— 83
