EDUCATION OF GIRLS.

Waikato Times, Volume VIII, Issue 454, 15 April 1875, Page 2

EDUCATION OF GIRLS.

We are glad to find that the- necessity of making some speciid^rovision for the education- of girls ia beginning to force itself on public attention. The step taken by the Board of Education m throwing open the "Provincial Government Scholarships to* competition by girls as well as boys- baa Hie* with general approval. Other public bodies; appear inclined to follow the good example. At tht¥ Foresters' dinner the other day in Lytteftoa — wh-ea it was gratifying to observe how strongly tlier importance of not relaxing our efforts for the promotion of education was particularly mentioned. To.c establishment of scholarships for girls was advocated on behalf of both the Foresters and Freemasons. Ek«j£i of these Societies has founded scholarships for 4oyss in connection with its own Order, and i<* is- projoseci that similar advantages shall be offered to. the girte. We trust the suggestion wilf be acted, on^ It is tpo> good a one to be wasted, and the- applause which greeted it ought to encourage the sDe^kgrs^, not, to. rest satisfied with good intentions. Much no doubt depends on the disposition shown by the girls to avail themselves of such offers. It is to be hoped that they will not be found backward. Perhaps at first the novelty of the thing,, and a little natural diffidence, may stand in the way. The candidates for the boys' scholarships used to be but scant} 7 — not more than twenty, so* far as we remember, came forward in 1867 to a competition which last yea 1 " attracted seventy-five. Still, though the entries for the first year may be lejss numetous than we shall hope to see them afterwards, we trust they will be sufficient to- make a promising beginning, and to prove thai/ the step taken by the Board is neither mistaken nor premature. We believe, indeed, that such i& likely to be • the case. We are informed, and we hear, it with much pleasure, that a considerable number of female candidates are likely to be present themselves. ; and that, so far as we can judge from the tests afforded by old examination papers, some of them will be formidable competitors. So much the better. For our own part, we shall be. glad if a large proportion' of the scholarships are carried off by girls. Of course it will then be said that they were admitted too easily, and that the year's allowance accorded them put &fc mi unfair advantage. Tliat, bo\ve*«i signifies little. The conditions on. which girk-are. allowed to compete for the scholarships is a matter of detail, which c?m be mortified as expedient. The present plan is only an experiment, and if it does not answer, there will be no ditiiciilty next year ip making a change. Possibly it wiil be tljough.t bfcs.t to set apart spnie scholarships to be cqnipeted for by girls only, with a progsa.ra.lu-e. graduated to suit

he best considered in light of the experience gained by the first examination. The great point is to establish the principle that female education needs to be specially provided for. The whole question is involved in the decision that the scholarships shall be open to both sexes. If a reasonably large number of girls come up for examination in June next, nothing more will be required to prove that the action of the Board of Education has met a public want. The door once opened can never be closed again. On the contrary, it will soon have to be opened wider. The means of secondary instruction, as 1 !^! as primary, must be provided. When the Girls' Scholarships have become a settled institution,, .ye may look hopefully forward to the time — no distant time, we trwst — when a Girls' High School will be found indispensable. — " Christchurch Weekly Press."