EDUCATION IN JAPAN.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2005, 8 June 1875, Page 3

EDUCATION IN JAPAN.

In the year-1872 the Japanese Government created, by the; stroko> of a pen 53,000 schools;throughbufrthe Empire; and, wonderful to relate, succeeded in the course of a few months in /bringing a large proportion into working order. About, the same time an Inpeiial College of Engineering was , established, at Token, ortthe Eastern G!apitali as Yeddo is now palled, and lately the second calendar for the session of 1874 and. 1875 has been published in Japanese-and English in two neat volumes. The course of training at this college extends over six years, during' the months out of every twelvemonth will be spent in college, and the remaining six in the practice of that particular branch which the student may select. Entrance to the college is ob- ■: tabled by; competitive' |x&niinationv "for which; all=.Japanese: subjects* between the ages of fifteen and twenty years (inclusive), and of sound constitution, who can produce satisfactory 1 testimonials of good moral character, are eligible." The examination is conducted in English, and embraces, besides _ dictatito! JancU ariihmeticV %uch ! 'siibjecW l &a' elementary geometry, elementary algebra, geog- ' raphy, and rudimentary physics. It would be.no difficult' matter for any autocratic Eastern sovereign to order the establishment o£ a.college such ,but to mostii^wodldjbe anything|but an easy task io secure pupils to fill iis lecture halls, as was found to be the case when some eight or ten years. ago a college for' instruction in "Western knowledge was opened at Pekin. But Japanese ways are. jno.t; as ; Chinese -ways; and the?published lists of the*- Tokei institution "show that the Government simply supplied a want which was felfeby, the people when it established the; college. During the first year twenty-nine students were admitted,: and- the*calendarrjust published ahows that this number was nearly doubled during the following sessions. The industry .of; Japanese and their power of acquiring knowledge are proverbial, and the examination for admittance to the college presupposes that the competitors have made some progress in English and in the subjects taught in the classes. Still, the questions pub to the students in their second year would appear to be-ffir beyond what would naturally be "expected of them, were it not that the class lists show' that the marks obtained by many in various subjects were nearly the highest it wa« possible to get. For instance, we find among the questions in r mathematics - such' as the following :—" Show that the< diagonals of any quadrilateral inscribed in a circle divide the quadrilateral into four triangles which are similar two and two." And to be able to answer such questions as these:-—" Explain clearly the precautions taken by Begnault in weighing gases to avoid errors produced by change in the atmospheric presiufe;" or " How ' are ammonium nitrate, sodium nitrate, and potassum nitrate each obtained ? " argues that neither time nor ability have been wasted. But in-face of such difficulties'the class list for

tha winder sessions 1873-74 shows that a ituclen't obtained 989 marks' for Engiisli, another 94-4 for drawing, a third 991 for xniithematics;-and a fourth 98 for naturalphilosophy.many of the others not being ( far^behincTthem.' Such'results make us turn to the lisi of professors,, and of them wr find that three, including the,principal,' come . from the Scotch Unirersities, two from" London, and one from the Queen's' Univ.errity, Ireland., The time devoted ,to'""study is spread over 16 hours each,, day, and begins at 6 o'clock n' the morning. -At the end of the; fourth- year- of • study, each student who' attain" to the prescribed qualifying standard-will receive the. diploma of, •• licentiate of Engineering". (L.E.), a title which will be exchanged for " Master of Engineering " (M.E.)', with an appointment as engineer in the Board of Public "Work's by all those who pass satisfactory examinations on the .completion of their course. This last very practical reward for'industry and intelligence is likely, we should imagine, to contribute materially to,the. success of the college.-yPrll Mall Gazette. .