EDUCATION IN AMERICA.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 12, 15 April 1871, Page 7

EDUCATION IN AMERICA.

In the report of the new United States Commissioner of Education, just laid before Congress, a comorehensive survey of the state of education in the whole Union is for the first time attempted. The total expenditure of the 30 out of the 38 States, it appears from this, amounts to nearly 61.000,000 dol, or about £12,000,000 sterling. Twentytwo States have 9,695,918 children enrolled in the schools, but the average attendance is only 3,377,069. At the same time there is a total average absence in these 22 States from the public schools of the enormous number of 4,843,568 children of school age. The report represents the state of education in the South as still little better than before the war. In some States, as for example, Delaware, and Maryland, only whites are admitted to the schools, and, in Delaware especially, even the white schools are utterly bad, there being no State supervision, no State provision for training teachers, and no law adequate for keeping schools open. Kentucky, after taking a step in advance, Ims again retrograded, and West Virginia seems about to follow her example. Virginia and North Corolina are only now taking measures to establish a free school sys-. tern. The educational condition in these States pretty accurately represents that which exists throughout the extent of the late Confederacy. Including Alaska, the total Indian population of the United States is estimated at 380,629 persons, about 95,000 of whom are within ages enabling them to receive instruction. Only 153 schools are known to be in operation among these 96,000, with 194 teachers and no more than 6204 scholars/ For this latter state of things Congress is alone responsible, for over the Indians the Federal Government has exclusive jurisdiction.