LANGUAGE; SPANISH LITERATURE.
Spanish Educational System.— The pres ent Spanish school system dates from 1900. The centres of education are divided into three categories: primary, secondary, or preparatory, and superior, or university. The first is sup plied by the municipalities or by licensed pri vate schools; the second is directly controlled by the state and consists of institutes and pri vate colleges under governmental supervision. The instruction in the preparatory schools con sists of two sections, arts and sciences, and the baccalaureate is given in these institutions and not in the universities. The third class is made up of the universities, all supported by the state. In the larger cities, moreover, are normal colleges, commercial and language schools and institutions for the primary in struction of adults. The system is well planned and based on good laws but the lack of finances makes even the number of primary schools in adequate in small towns and rural districts. The whole system is under control of the Min ister of Public Instruction and Fine Arts.
Spain is divided into 11 university districts with uniform organization, which are in order of rank: Madrid, Barcelona, Granada, Oviedo, Salamanca, Santiago, Seville, Valencia, Valla dolid, Murcia and Saragossa. The largest is Madrid with more than 6,500 students. At the head of each university is a president who has charge not only of the institution proper, but of all the schools in his district. The faculties are presided over by deans subordinate to the president. Professors obtain their chairs in competitive examinations held publicly when a vacancy occurs. Besides the 10 universities maintained by the state are three controlled by religious orders; but they are not officially recognized and to obtain credit for his work in these institutions a student has to pass the pre scribed examinations in the state universities. In the near future the government is to estab lish another university in the Canary Islands, now a province of Spain.
The government institutes or preparatory schools are grouped in 10 sections correspond ing to the 10 universities of the state and are further subdivided into provincial or local in stitutes according to their importance.
University instruction embraces the five fac ulties of philosophy and letters, sciences, law, medicine and pharmacy, all of which include several subdivisions. Theology is not now
taught in the universities although members of the clergy and religious orders often hold im portant chairs in them. All five faculties ex ist and the doctorate is conferred only in the Central University of Madrid. Modern lan guages are not taught in the universities but in certain special schools. French is taught in the institutes.
To obtain the doctorate in medicine seven years' study arc necessary; this is the longest course. The degree of licentiate is conferred after six years' study in law, five in pharmacy and four in the other faculties. The doctor ate and the licentiate are given in all faculties. These two are the only university degrees." The former is similar to that given in American universities, while the latter is an intermediate stage between the American degree of bach elor and master. The student must needs have attained the age of 16 and received the bacca laureate in arts or sciences before per mitted to enter the universities as a candidate for a degree. The students are divided into two classes: official or free (oficial o Libre). The official students must attend classes and stand examinations, somewhat less rigorous than those given to the students of the latter class, who do not attend classes and matriculate only for the examinations at the end of the year. The examinations are both oral and writ ten and a second series have to be passed when the student applies for his degree. This divi sion of the students into official and free also applies to the institutes of the state. A student may be official or free at his option, or he may be a free student in some subjects and official in others, or free in all subjects and attend the class lectures with the permission of the pro fessor in charge. This arrangement exists for the convenience of the student who receives his instruction from a tutor or who attends an institution conducted by the Church. No dis tinction is made between the sexes in govern mental schools and women have never been re fused admittance to the universities. The number of women taking university courses, however, is negligible and in 1914 there were only some 25 in the University of Madrid.