Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/898

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FRANCE

instruction. Each is under a Rector, and each is provided with academy inspectors, one for each department except Nord which has two (one being for primary instruction), and Seine which has eight (one being director of primary instruction), besides primary inspectors of schools, usually one for each arrondii.iement, 20 inspectors (male or female) for the department of the Seine. Each department has a council for primary educational matters, the prefect being president, and this body has large powers with respect to the inspection, management and maintenance of schools and the opening of free schools.

The law of August 9, 1879, rendered obligatory for each department the maintenance of two primary normal schools, one for school-masters, the other for school-mistresses ; there are two higher normal schools of primary instruction: one at Fontenay-aux-Roses for professors for normal schools for school -mistresses, the other at St. Cloud for professors for normal schools for school-masters. The law of Juno 16, 1881, made instruction absolutely free in all primary public schools; that of March 28, 1882, rendered it obligatory for all children from 6 completed to 13 years of age. The law of October 30, 1886, is the organic law of primary instruction now in force ; it established that teachers should be lay ; for infant schools it sub- stituted 6coles maternelles instead of salles d'asile ; it fixed the programmes of instruction, and established freedom of private schools under the supervision of the school authorities. The laws of July 19, 1889, and July 25, 1893, March 1 and Dec. 30, 1903, and April 22, 1905, determined the payment of the teachers, who are nominated by the prefet on the recommendation of the Academy inspector under the authority of the minister, and who (except in towns of more than 150,000 inhabitants) are paid directly by the State, which itself receives the eight 'additional centimes ' for primary instruction, formerly collected on behalf of the communes and departments.

The following table shows the condition of primary instruction in 1918-19 and 1919-20: —

Description ofSehools

France anrl Algeria (excluding Alsace Lorraine} 1918 \A 1919-20

Schools

Teachers

Enrolled

Pupils

Schools ; Ttaouer. 'jjjSJ 1

Infant Schools :

Public

Private

2,078 855

4,942 J.069

1 '.>.-), 071 4*5,07*1

2,081

786

5,242 18'.'. 762 37,391

Total Primary and Higher

tehooli : Lay ....

Clerical

•_7.':i3

0,011

241,150

2,849

6,241 227,160

50,278 11,740

} 99,408

8,086.068

56,503 11,512

Il0-'4W 3,IHI2,«W 1 102,43.5 gSjlflO

Total

03,018

99,408

3,892,781

68,016 j 102,433 8,836,816

Courses of instruction for adults are conducted in the eveuing by teachera in their schools.

In 1913, 2 - 5 per cent, of the conscripts could neither read nor write, as compared with 2"9 percent, in 1912.

The number of primary normal schools (exclusive cf Fontenay and St. Cloud) is 84 for school-musters, aud 82 for school-mistresses (France and