Page:Adam's reports on vernacular education in Bengal and Behar, submitted to Government in 1835, 1836 and 1838.djvu/218

158 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.

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:—

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