a From Statistique de l'enseignement secondaire des garçons, 1887, pp. lvi, lxxviii, xcviii.

Rapports faits au nom de la commission du budget, etc.-Service de l'instruction publique, par M. Bouge, 1897, pp. 124, 125; also 1898, pp. 32, 33.

The same, by M. Perreau, 1901, pp. 69, 70.

d The same, by M. Maurice-Faure, 1902, pp. 443, 445.

TABLE XII.-Distribution of university students in the different faculties.

TABLE XIIa.-Distribution of students in State universities.

с

e Rapport portant fixation du Budget Général, Ministère de l'Instruction Publique, 1901 (Perreau), pp. 15, 16. dThe same (by Maurice-Faure) for 1902.

The following special schools of university rank are also under the Minister of Public Instruction:

Collége de France (appropriation, 1900, $104,600), Museum of Natural History (appropriation, $193,500), Practical School of High Studies [École Pratique des Hautes Études (State appropriation, $64,200; city, $7,200)], Superior Normal School (110 students; appropriation, $103,120), reunited to the University of Paris by a ministerial decree to take effect November 1, 1904; School of Charts [École Nationale des Chartes (students, 69; appropriation, $14,990)], School of Oriental Languages (students, 415; appropriation, $33,600), French School of Archæology at Rome (appropriation, $14,600), French School at Athens (appropriation, $21,600), École Nationale des Beaux Arts (students, 2,000; appropriation, $84,052). The remaining special schools, such as the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers, École Nationale Supérieure de Mines, etc., are under the charge of other ministers (see Table XIII). TABLE XIII.-Higher technical schools under other ministries than that of public instruction (ministry of agriculture, of commerce, of war, etc.).

The independent or private school of political sciences (École Libre des Sciences Politiques), Paris, registered 600 students in 1901.

ED 1903-38

THE PRIMARY SCHOOLS.

General administration.—The presentation of the scholastic work of the schools classed as primary is necessarily confined to the official programmes, which, though subject to modification by local school inspectors, are as a rule closely followed. In order to appreciate the authoritative nature of these regulations it is important to bear in mind the chief features of the system to which they pertain. Briefly outlined, these features are centralized control, comprehensive scope, thorough organization and provision for expert direction.

The chief of the system is the minister of public instruction, but the interests of each of the three scholastic divisions, under his charge, primary, secondary and superior, are confided to a director whose authority in his division is scarcely less than that of the minister. In the superior council of public instruction, in which all measures affecting the system are deliberated, the interests of each of the three divisions of the systems are separately considered; their financial affairs are also separately administered. The distinction is preserved in the local administration of the system, which is organized in seventeen divisions called academies. Each academy comprises a university, a group of secondary schools (lycées and communal colleges), and its quota of primary schools.

The authority of the academic chief or rector extends to all grades of education, and he is the intermediary through whom reports, recommendations, etc., are presented to the minister. He is assisted by a council of university professors whose deliberations relate to the affairs of secondary and higher education. The general direction of primary schools in each academy is intrusted to academic inspectors subordinate to the rector. One such inspector is appointed for every department (i. e. districts for civil administration adopted as units for primary school administration). Each department includes two normal schools (one for men the other for women) and at least one public primary school in every commune. Communes of above 500 inhabitants must have a separate school for girls. The academic inspector is the educational chief of the department and has under his general direction a corps of primary inspectors, numbering 1 to about 150 schools, who keep close watch over the schools in their respective districts. The prefect, or civil chief of the department, also has extended authority in respect to primary schools. He presides over the educational council of the department, and also has the appointment of full teachers, but his choice must be limited to a list of candidates approved by the academic inspector. Although every commune must establish at least one public primary school (unless specially authorized to combine with another commune in support of a school), providing the site and building and bearing a proportion of the expense for its maintenance, communal authorities have practically no authority in school matters. The mayor of the commune has the right to visit the school at all times, and there are communal committees who are expected to promote the attendance of pupils and to report violations of the compulsory laws, but they have so far proved of little account.

Finally, the minister of public instruction is kept personally informed of the status of primary schools by a corps of general inspectors who make two annual tours of their respective districts and report directly to the minister the results of their observations.

With the exception of the departmental prefect (appointed for political reasons by the President of the Republic) the educational officials are all chosen upon professional grounds. The rector of an academy (an appointee of the President) must have the doctor's degree, and must have given proof of administrative ability. The academic inspectors are chosen by the minister generally from the professors of secondary education or from the body of primary inspectors; in any case, they must have had experience in teaching or in school administration.

The primary inspectors are selected by competitive examination generally from the élite of the teachers. The examination is the same as for the directors of normal schools, and includes, besides general branches, pedagogy, school law, and school management.

It should be noted also that the councils-the superior council, the academic, and the departmental councils are constituted with special reference to securing professional advice on scholastic questions.

The superior council of public instruction, which advises with the minister of public instruction, consists of 60 members, one-fourth appointed by the President of the Republic and the remainder elected by their colleagues (professors and teachers), the term of service being four years.

The minister is also assisted by an advisory committee (comité consultatif), formed by his own appointment from the company of general inspectors, honorary or acting, and from the highest officials of the system of public instruction.

The academic council, which advises with the rector of the academy, is composed of university professors, of whom four are his own nominees and the remainder elected by their colleagues.

The educational council of a department consists of 14 members, of whom 4 belong to the civil council of the department, 2 are primary inspectors, and the remainder teachers elected by their colleagues.

· CLASSIFICATION OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS.

The department of primary instruction, as organized by the law of October 30, 1886, comprises infant schools and classes, elementary primary schools, higher primary schools, schools of manual apprenticeship (authorized by law of December 11, 1880, and eventually transformed into manual-training schools, “écoles nationales professionnelles)." a

The departmental normal schools are also included in the category of primary schools. The line of separation between these different classes of schools and the division among them of the prescribed subjects of primary instruction are determined by special regulations elaborated in the superior council of public instruction. These schools are all free and secular, and the teachers in every case must be appointed from the laity. The law with respect to compulsory attendance applies only to the elementary primary schools.

1. Infant schools (écoles maternelles) and infant classes.-In the infant schools, children of both sexes from 2 to 6 years of age receive together physical, moral, and intellectual training adapted to their tender years. These schools are wholly in the charge of women; the teaching force includes a directress, and an assistant, if the number of children is more than 50. The teachers are always aided by a sewing woman.

In every commune where a public maternal school exists committees of women are formed to keep watch over its sanitary and hygienic conditions, the general appearance of the establishment, and the disposition of funds or gifts, legacies, etc., received for the benefit of the children. The mayor of the commune presides over these committees.

Communes are not obliged by law to found and maintain maternal schools, and it is only in communes having above 2,000 inhabitants, of which at least 1,200 are concentrated in one locality, that these schools are included in the number of public primary schools entitled to support by the commune and to State subventions. These schools have proved to be better adapted to cities than to rural districts. A little more than 10 per cent of the communes report at least one infant school.

a The classification of the schools of manual apprenticeship and of the national technical schools was modified by a decree of March 17, 1888, and still further by the financial law of January 26, 1902. The schools are at present under the dual control of the minister of commerce and the minister of public instruction.

Infant classes are under similar regulations; they are but annexes either to primary elementary or to infant schools, between which they form an intermediate degree. The usual age of attendance is 4 to 7 years.

2. The elementary primary schools are for the instruction of children from 6 to 13 years of age, that is, the obligatory school period. In communes having neither infant schools nor infant classes, the age for admission to the elementary primary schools is lowered to 5 years; it is raised to 7 where there is an infant class. Children above 13 years of age can not be admitted to the elementary primaries without special permission.

The elementary primary schools may be for boys only, in which case the instruction is given by men; for girls only, or mixed as to sex, in both of which cases the instruction is given by women.

The master of a boys' school may be assisted by his wife, sister, or mother; under certain circumstances the departmental council may authorize a man to take charge of a mixed school, provided it has a mistress of sewing and cutting.

According to the law of March 20, 1883, a commune is bound to provide a school not only in each chief town, but also in all villages or centers of population remote from towns or separated from each other by 3 kilometers, and containing at least 20 children of school age. Of the 36,121 communes, only 80, or 0.2 per cent, were without primary schools in 1886-87; in 1897, of 36,520 communes, only 48, or 0.1 per cent.

3. Advanced primary instruction is given either in higher primary schools or in "complementary courses." The establishment takes the latter name if it is annexed to an elementary primary school, and the former if it has a distinct location and is under a separate direction.

The complementary courses comprise one or two years. The higher primary schools may comprise two or more years, and must be provided with as many rooms as there are classes. They are called full-course schools (écoles de plein exercice) when they comprise at least three years' study.

Exercises for infant schools.—In the infant schools (écoles maternelles) the children are classed in two sections, according to their age and development. The exercises for the most advanced children comprise

1. Plays, graduated movements accompanied with songs.

2. Manual exercises (weaving, cutting, folding, and pricking paper); simple knitting, stringing beads, constructing figures with cardboard, straws, blocks, sand, etc. 3. Elementary moral principles imparted orally and by practical illustrations. 4. Talks about familiar objects.

5. Language exercises (simple stories and narrations), based upon pictures or objects in the room.

6. Elements of drawing, reading, writing, and arithmetic. These exercises are greatly simplified for the lower class.

Studies of the primary schools.-The course of study for primary schools prescribed by the law of March 28, 1882, comprises the following branches: Moral and civic instruction, reading, writing, the elements of arithmetic and the metric system, history and geography, especially of France; object lessons, and the first notions of science, drawing, singing, manual work (needlework in the schools for girls), gymnastic exercises, and in the schools for boys military drill. The regulations call for the organization of the primary school in three sections; elementary, ages 7 to 9; intermediate, ages 9 to 11; higher, ages 11 to 13. So far as possible this classification is carried out in all the schools, but where the conditions render this impracticable the intermediate and higher sections are consolidated.

In the higher primary schools the branches of instruction of the elementary schools are reviewed and more fully developed. The course of study is extended to include algebra and geometry; natural science and physics, and their applications to agriculture, to industrial arts and to hygiene; political economy, French language and