Page:Adam's reports on vernacular education in Bengal and Behar, submitted to Government in 1835, 1836 and 1838.djvu/219

Rh 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:—