PYAL. ANGLO-TAMIL. A verandah in front of a house. Tbe pyal is often used as a school room, or as a place in which a traveller inay rest.
The pyal or indigenous elementary ichools have existed from time irnmemorial. They form a very large proportion of the existing schools in the country. Of 671 schools in the town of Madras, 388 were pyal schools. The three R's are taught fairly. The apparatus used is generally nothing more than the sanded floor, on which the pupil writes with his fingers, a black board, and the cadjan leaf. The average attendance in Madras is about twenty pupils. The .pyal, or verandah of a native house, affords sufficient accommodation. The masters are paid by small fees ; but during the celebration of the principal Hindu festivals, especially of the Dashara, their small incomes are supplemented by gifts of cloth, oil, rice, etc.
In the Godavery district, which, according to the 1871 census returns, has a population of 1;584,200, 8000 boys have an elementary instruc tion given them by their means. The number
of these schools in the district previous to the passing of the Local Funds Act was 489. Of these, 453 were supported solely by private exertions and fees paid by the scholars, while 36 enjoyed the results grant system. The masters are not very learned, but in every instance they bear a good moral character, and are important personages in the village in which they live, owing to their superior education and intelligence. They chiefly belong to the Brahman caste. But there aro some few Satani, Shastri, Karnams, Hinmanlis, and Banyans.
The scholars belong to every class of the com munity except Pariahs, and no separation of castes is made in the schools. Besides reading, writing, and arithmetic, the boys are taught to repeat long pieces of poetry.