Page:Adam's reports on vernacular education in Bengal and Behar, submitted to Government in 1835, 1836 and 1838.djvu/233

Rh the Dosad, Pashi, Luniar, &c., are comparatively numerous, and have begun here also to seek a participation in the benefits of vernacular instruction.

In Behar leaves are not in use as a material for writing on, in the second and third stages of instruction the wooden-board and brazen-plate are exclusively employed. The following is the distribution of the scholars into the four established grades:—

In 36 schools commercial accounts only, in 20 schools agricultural accounts only, in 229 schools both commercial and agricultural accounts are taught, and in only two schools vernacular works are employed. The works of this description are the Dan Lila and Dadhi Lila already described; Sudam Charitra, an account of, one of the juvenile companions of Krishna; Ram Janma, an account of the birth of Ram, translated from the by ; and the Sundar Kanda of the Ramayana, one of the books of that poem,—all in the Hindi language.

The 16 thanas of this district contain in all 80 Hindi schools, of which one village contains three, six villages contain two each, and sixty-five villages contain one each.

The number of teachers is also 80, and their average age is 34·8 years. They are all Hindus, and are thus divided in respect of caste:—

This sufficiently shows that here also the writer-caste is almost exclusively engaged in the business of teaching common schools.

There are no teachers who give gratuitous instruction, and the teachers are thus remunerated:—