19. ITALIAN SCHOOLS AND UNI VERSITIES. Public instruction in the king dom of Italy is essentially of three grades: (1) Primary and popular; (2) intermediate and sec ondary; (3) high school grade.
1. Primary andPopular Instruction, Primary instruction is give'', in general, in' the elementary schools, and the course, under the care , of men and women teachers under the superintendence,of school inspectors and directors of instruction, lasts five, or even six, under government control which deter mines the syllabus, the examinations and every other modus operandi. .The elementary schools are supported by the elementary instruction, pre scribed by the law of 15 July 1877, No. 3961, for all those who were not under private in struction, was through a later law extended to the 12th year of age ; this is restricted to the primary, elementary course (the first three years) in those communes where the compuI, sory higher elementary course is lacking, and in other communes is extended to all the compul sory classes of the high schools that may exist there.
The subsidiary branches of the elementary schools are: the Patronali; the Educatori and the Recreatori, the kindergartens, and the pro fessional schools, all of which are very little under legislative control or regulation. The governinent, for the most part, does little but exercise the right of supervision of institutions founded by local enterprise, or by the bequests of private citizens. The kindergartens, for in stance, have for the most part been established by public or private beneficence; hence, as works of charity they are dependent, to a certain ex tent, on the Ministry of the Interior. These kindergartens number more than 2,000 public institutions, with 140,000 boys and 132,000 girls; and more than 1,300 private institutions with 42,000 boys and 43,000 girls.
A new institution of a free popular school lately established in Italy through private in itiative is the People's University, the scope of which is to diffuse scientific, literary and artistic culture among the people. The new people's universities date from 1900. That of Turin, which may be called the original one, gave the keynote to what was to be the Italian type 'of the institution, having as its scope: (I) To popularize the most reliable conclusions of sci ence, making Them' accessible to those who had not received a special scholastic training; (2) to impart in a simple and lucid manner instruc tion in the literature and history of the arts, with a view of accustoming the students to the conception of the noblest ideals of life. Rome
and Bologna took up this movement almost con temporaneously. There are in upper Italy about four of these institutions in Piedmont and Liguria, seven in Lombardy, five in Venetia, eight in Emilia, one in Rome, one in Naples, three in the rest of southern Italy, three in Sic ily; and many others are being established in various parts of Italy. They are also to be found beyond its confines.
2. Intermediate or Instruc or second-grade instruction is, of three kinds: Classical; technical; normal, or pedagogical.
Classical instruction is carried on for five years in the gymnasium, and for three years in the tyceutn and comprises the following sub jects: In the gymnasium, Italian, Latin, Greek, French, history and geography, descriptive ge ography, mathematics, natural history, gymnas tics; in the lyceum, Italian, Latin, Greek, his tory and historical geography, philosophy, mathematics, natural history, physics and chem istry, gymnastics.
Technical instruction is imparted: (a) hi the technical schools; (b) in the technical in stitutes; (c) in the nautical institutes.
(a) The technical schools aim to give tech nical instruction of the highest grade; that is, to complete and extend' the knowledge acquired in the elementary schools in such a manner that the students may succeed either in con ducting a business or in minor administrative offices, and may be enabled to pass the exami nation for admission to the first class of the Technical Institute. The years of study are three and cover 10 branches of study: Italian language, French language, Italian history, ge ography, instruction on the duties and rights of citizens, elementary mathematics, instruc tion in the natural sciences, accounting, design caligraphy. Training is added in gymnas tics.