EVENING SCHOOLS may be divided into two classes: 1. Those which, either in the form of lectures or lessons, carry further the education received at school; 2. Those which exist to supplement the defects of early training, or, it may be, to give the sim plest rudiments of elementary instruction to adults who are under the disadvantage of being pupils for the first time in their lives. The former are found chiefly in connec tion with mechanics' institutes* (which are now very numerous in Great Britain, and might form one of the most important educational agencies we have), existing day schools, and congregational organizations; while the latter more frequently fall under the head of parochial missionary work, or are connected with factories. These latter constitute the class-of E. S. which engage the largest share of interest in the present condition of England, and which present the greatest difficulties in working.
The total number of E. S. of this humbler class (under government inspection) in operation in England and Wales was, in 1877, about 1733; of these, 1078 were conducted by the church of England, 340 by dissenting Protestant denominations, 62 by Homan Catholics, and 253 by school-boards. The total number of scholars in attendance was 50,203, of whom 40,320 were male. In Scotland, primary E. S. are not so usual as in England; and this is no doubt to be greatly attributed to the more general diffusion of education among children of the poorer classes.
Considering the large proportion of the present adult population unable to read or write, the number of E. S. is miserably inadequate. But the necessity for their institu tion has not yet been sufficiently felt by the country, to lead to their taking a mach more important place in the educational machinery of the nation than they have hitherto done. Her majesty's inspectors, the royal commissioners (1861), and the clergy of all denominations, strongly recommend their greater extension. " If the education of the country were in a good state," say the commissioners, " E. S. would be nearly univer sal, and would serve to compensate the scantiness of the instruction given in day schools, by giving more advanced instruction to an older class of scholars." State Aid, and Voluntary and Paid Teachers.—Many educationists have come to the conclusion, that the hope of retaining children in school until they have obtained as much instruction as is requisite for their guidance in life is a vain one, and consequently look to E. S. as an indispensable part of a national system of education, and consider them entitled to look to the state for encouragement and support to an equal extent with day schools. Bishop Hinds was the first publicly to suggest that E. S. fairly come within the sphere of state action, in a letter to Mr. Senior, printed in 1839. The recent
inquiries have brought out that the majority of those who frequent existing E. S. have never received any elementary instruction, or have forgotten what they once knew, and that a large proportion are either adults or adolescent young men and women. They attend for the purpose of learning to read, write, and cipher. Though in many instances, especially where no fee is charged, the irregularity and unpunctuality of the attendance are great, yet in the majority of cases there is an earnest desire on the part of the pupils to benefit by the instruction they receive. It is a question of some national importance how far schools of this supplementary class should be left to the action of private phil anthropy. It is also a question, to some extent implied in the other, whether the pecu liarly delicate work required in E. S. is not more efficiently discharged by voluntary than by paid laborers.
1. As to the first question, it may be safely said, that all would desire to see those wholesome channels of benevolence which connect the poor and the rich free from gov ernment interference; but if, in our devotion to a theory, we neglect the work, it becomes the duty of the state to see to it, to the extent of encouragement at least, if not of direc tion. Since bishop Hinds' letter, to which we have referred above, the education com mittee of the privy council have recognized this duty, and have given aid to a small extent to all E. S. complying with certain conditions, and in connection with day schools. By the revised code recently issued by the privy council, E. S. of this class are allowed to claim from the parliamentary grant a considerable sum calculated on the average attendance. The schools must be taught by certificated masters, and lay persons are alone recognized. To all those schools frequented for the purpose of confirming or extending previous knowledge, the grants made under the code will be of great assist ance, and enable them to secure the services of trained teachers; to those which are chiefly frequented by adults wholly ignorant of the simplest elements, and chiefly con ducted by voluntary teachers, it will afford little or no advantage, because the conduc tors will not be able to claim so large a sum as would suffice to pay the salaries of certi ficated masters. Nor, perhaps, is it desirable to interfere with this particular class of E. S.; it is of more importance, so far as state aid is concerned, that the education of the primary school should be confirmed by the establishment of E. S. for boys and girls. There is active benevolence enough abroad to overtake the ignorance of the adult popu lation, if properly stimulated by the various religious bodies.