EDUCATION. The educational system comprises secular institutions supported by the State or the local governments, and the schools maintained and managed by the Roman Catholic priest hood. The efforts of the clergy to obtain con trol of popular education have been a principal feature of Belgian politics for a number of decades. The Constitution of 1831 totally sepa rated Church from State, but conceded to the Catholic clergy as representatives of what was practically the only faith in Belgium the right of imparting religious instruction in the public schools; the Liberal Party, abetted by the grow ing Socialist Party, has made repeated efforts to do away with religious teachings in the schools and to substitute purely secular education: but the preponderating Catholic majority has al ways sustained the present denominational system. Eigher education is provided for by the State universities at Ghent and Liege, and the free universities of Brussels and Lou vain, all of which give courses in law, medi cine, philosophy, and science; and at Louvain instruction is given in Catholic theology. An
nexed to the universities are schools of en gineering, manufactures, arts, and mines. In addition there are a large number of normal, commercial, and industrial schools, a Royal Acad emy of Fine Arts at Antwerp, and schools of design and music. The secondary schools com prise the royal athenfeums (35) and the high schools (128), which arc supported and con trolled by the Government: the number of insti tutions of secondary learning which are under the independent control of the clergy is prob ably equal to the number of State schools. Pri mary education is left to the care of the com munes. in every one of which there must be at least one elementary school: the State and the provinces, however, subsidize the communal schools and exercise the right of inspection. In the closing years of the century the primary schools for children were attended by about $00.000 pupils, and the primary schools for adults by upward of 100,000.