Chapter X: Appendix: Education in the Philippines (6)

The university has many enemies and some arguers who do not oppose it because it is directed by Dominican friars, but because they believe the study of law inadvisable. This opinion is anti-liberal and does not merit refutation. Even if it did merit it, the moment would never be opportune for a democratic revolution, which even runs the danger of going too far in its generalizations, as we have already stated. The greater convenience of a school of medicine and surgery, professions in which the Indians would probably give better results than in the forum, might be maintained. But since true progress does not consist in destroying, but in reforming and improving gradually, we are inclined as the generality of those who have been in Filipinas, to the realization of the secularization which is demanded in regard to superior public instruction, and which appears to be the desire of the government at this time, by means of the establishment in the university itself of that school, to which the Dominican fathers, who have made the greatest sacrifices for their country, would not hesitate to offer themselves. And even if the study of pharmacy were added to it, it would also be convenient. That science must adjust itself to the conditions of the Indian, and there is an unquestioned need for it there; for, although its principal subdivisions have been studied by some religious, such as botany, mineral waters, etc., there is still much to do. It is the general opinion that the Philippine fields with their innumerable and unknown herbs offer remedies for all diseases, but the science is given up to chicanery, and the empiricism of the mediquillos. The Indians accept Spanish medicines under no consideration. Therefore, it is necessary to regenerate the class of the former by prohibiting intrusions into the field of the profession, and by obliging them to study it from its beginnings in the university of Manila under Spanish professors, who ought to be those of military health [Sanidad militar]--men who acquire great skill in the hospitals and come to be specialists in the diseases of the country. The suppression of some obstacles which still exist in regard to the admission of foreign professors will also be an excellent measure. In regard to pharmacy, of which there exist no regular establishments outside of Manila, Cavite, Cebú, and, I believe, Cagayán, great rigor must be exercised in removing from it abuses and ignorance which give place to the most grave consequences. As there exists no authoritative personnel, wandering peddlers easily obtain a permit from the superior government to add to their work the sale of drugs. At times they are subjected to light examinations by the subdelegate. The consequence is that the provinces are swamped with counterfeit and dangerous products when they are not objects of perfumery, which the poor natives swallow as chemical products. In Pampanga we have seen a preparation of lettuce or of some similar vegetable sold as a tailor's chalk [jaboncillo de sastre], which was of more use for washing the hands than for modifying the nervous contractions of the muscles.

Hence, the intrusions of the mediquillo and of the matandá (the old man) who with true enchantments and superstitious remedies cures the poor sick people, cannot be combated with efficacy. In Batangas dead flies that were killed by the fresh paint of a saint have been prescribed, and brick dust where the mark of a foot had appeared to the native curas as a miraculous thing imprinted by the Virgin who was coming to adore a cross near by. The pills of Holloway and the products of foreign charlatanism reap their harvest.

Hence also, the poor parish priests have to serve as physicians and apothecaries in extreme cases. Very frequently the mediquillo when he sees that it is a case of exhaustion, absconds or disappears, and then what can a poor friar do at the bedside of a sick person who dies without human aid? Consequently, the literature of the convents has produced many [medical] works, some of them of merit, destined to be used as a vade mecum in these ordinary cases. Even notions of obstetrics (the science of childbirth) are given in some of those books, since there are theologues who counsel proceeding to the most risky operations in order to be able to baptize the fetus. In the Embriologia [i.e., Embriology] of Father Sanz, [148] one reads of cases truly inconceivable, and in the Ilustracion filipina, [149] a periodical which was published in our time, appeared articles in regard to the mediquillos and midwives, which by themselves alone would authorize a reform of those professions so interesting to humanity. In difficult childbirth it is very common for the operator to press down on the abdomen of the sick woman, and to have recourse to other proceedings similar to it. The first month after birth the Indian children pass in a perpetual martyrdom, for they are rubbed hourly with very hot cocoanut oil, a custom doubtless preserved from the woods, where in their savage state they make of the children a flexible serpent which escapes from the hand.

Since surgery, in spite of being an almost useless science in Filipinas, where the great agricultural and industrial works which cause mutilations and accidents do not exist, for the Indian when he works never does it with the enthusiasm and abnegation which we see in Europa, but very tranquilly and carefully looking out beforehand to what he exposes himself--surgery, we repeat, properly so called--does not exist where there are no Spanish operators. For the bite of a monkey, which would disappear in a fortnight by cauterization, we have seen so many plasters applied and so many waters from miraculous springs (among them a bandage soaked in holy water) that they have very likely killed the sick person, since he had suffered two long years when we left the province. If the oils and balsams from those oleaginous plants (and among them there are some truly wonderful) produced no effect, the mediquillo, losing his bearings, soon has recourse to the charms and devilments which bring a sick one to the grave.

There is another educational institution in Manila which is susceptible of great development and of producing vast advantages for the country, namely, the naval school. Poorly organized and almost always worse directed, it only graduates pupils with great pretentious, who aspire from the first moment to posts in the warships, where they are quickly confounded with the very least predicaments. If this institution on the other hand were well organized as a school of pilots, it could supply useful men to the great number of boats engaged in the coasting trade. The native sailor is bold even to folly in the ordinary accidents of navigation, but timorous and irresolute in exigencies, and absolutely lacks means to escape from them. Hence they go with the greatest impassiveness through those labyrinths of hidden rocks and reefs, which fill the sea of Mindoro and the Calamianes in pancos and paraos which scarcely can be used for the navigation of rivers and creeks. But at the first puff of a strong wind, which, although it does not break it, tears the helm from their hands at the first movement of that stormy sea where cataclysms are more frequent than ashore, the poor arraez [i.e., master] as the captain there is still called, harassed and disturbed, either kneels down with all his crew to invoke God, placing on the helm his antin-antin (amulet, a kind of scapulary which no Indian is without during these voyages, and which has more of paganism than Christianity), or takes refuge in the hatchway in order not to behold the dangers that he is running. If any Spaniard is in the boat, the command is assuredly given to him, although he understands less of sea-affairs than the said captain. That has happened more than once to all of us who have traveled much from one island to another, and surely not even in boats of a certain importance, almost brigantines, when the master is a Tagálog, have we ever met with sea-compass, barometer, or glass, or any other of the instruments most indispensable for navigation.

This is enough to prove the importance which ought to be given to the naval school, whose organization must be very imperfect, since even yet its results are almost nil. It depends provisionally on the superior civil government, a circumstance which appears absurd to us. Like this there exist many things which we have neither time nor scientific capacity to unfold. It belongs to the government to do now what is proposed, namely, reform the public instruction of Filipinas.

SCHOOLS OF PRIMARY LETTERS

The primary school, the most interesting among all peoples, and more yet among backward peoples, was found in our time in an incipient condition, if one considers it as the government desires it, and as a great number of royal decrees resolved. Primary instruction in Castilian was alone known in Manila and some suburbs of the capital, but in the dialects of the country there existed boys' schools in all the villages, and in the majority of them, also schools for girls. It is a fact that such schools did not count on more elements than the pay assigned by the government for the teachers, [150] and the parish priests together with the provincial chiefs had to decide on the means for the construction and conservation of the edifices and furnishings, the former paying in addition their salaries to the teachers of the girls, or paying them from the funds of the churches according to the wealth of each one.

This system gave the consequent result of there not being any suitable directors for complete primary instruction. But in reading, writing, and religion, in the majority of the villages of the archipelago, there was found a greater number proportionally than in España, for the missionaries always considered that education as the first element of civilization and adhesion of those inhabitants to the crown of Castilla.

The government tried to improve and make general that education, but in the Spanish language. [151] For that purpose the assembly appointed in 1861 made some regulations, taking as its base the creation of a normal school, which has had realization, and according to Señor Barrantes, in the above-cited work, it seems that instruction has improved somewhat in what relates to the Spanish.

The question of whether the parish priests or missionaries have opposed those rules is of little importance to us. As in all disputable cases there are partisans who favor and those who oppose--not the advantage which the generalization of the Spanish language might be, for all people recognize and admit this hypothesis, but only the results which the generalization of the Spanish language would produce, reckoning on the slight capacity of the natives to utilize the good that they might read in the idiom of Cervantes, and bearing in mind the political make-up of that country and the evil effects which would be produced by the daily publications which would arrive [from España], and which are incapable of enlightening the little but submissive intelligence of those inhabitants, yet always sufficient to excite the passions of men who would easily confuse rights with individual duties, giving a worse result than that which the history of our ancient colonies registers.

As we do not know of this department in the present circumstances more than that which the above-cited work brings to light, we shall limit ourselves to calling the attention of the government so that it may introduce in that department all the improvements possible, extending the normal school, which gives very slight results for a people of five millions, and proving whether this normal school, organized with a mixture of the language of the country and of the Spanish and by creating one school in each group of provinces belonging to the same language, would give a more positive result in regard to instruction, and one even more efficacious for the propagation of the Spanish by printing works in two columns in the two languages. [152]

What the archipelago lacks are men and women teachers to give instruction in the primary schools. Industrial teachers, professorships for foremen and assistants for public works and master masons would produce a great result in that country. Lastly, let all the generals bear in mind what the various ancient decrees rule to the effect that a charge shall be made to them in their residencias for their neglect in public instruction.

PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

Public instruction is sufficiently far advanced in Filipinas, especially in what refers to primary instruction.

It is strange to see that in the most remote villages, the majority of the Indians know how to read and even to write, having learned without teachers, and solely through the strength of their inclination and extraordinary patience.

The public schools are better organized today, and have in charge of them teachers who have graduated from the normal school of Manila. It cannot fail to be worthy of striking the attention that almost all the boys and girls who attend the schools read Spanish without understanding it, and write our language by drawing the letters materially.

Secondary education is studied in the college of San Juan de Letrán, created into an institute in 1820, in that of Santo Tomás, in charge of the Dominican fathers; in the Ateneo Municipal, under the direction of the Jesuits; in the college of San José, directed by the secular clergy; and in various private schools.

Superior branches are studied in the royal and pontifical university of Santo Tomás, of Manila, founded at the beginning of the seventeenth century. It was erected under the name of College of Santo Tomás de Nuestra Señora de Rosario of Manila, August 15, 1619. Felipe IV approved it by a decree of November 27, 1623. Pope Innocent X conceded to this college on November 20, 1645, the title of university, and Clement XII extended its studies to civil and canonical law, and the other subjects that are studied in universities.

It is pontifical, for the degrees which are conferred in it have canonical effect and supply ecclesiastics for determined charges, according to the bulls of Innocent X and Clement XII.

It is in charge of the illustrious Dominican fathers, its founders, who fill the greater number of its chairs.

With reference to the reform introduced by royal order of October 29, 1875, the studies necessary for the professions or jurisprudence and of the Church, and of medicine, pharmacy, and notary, are given in this institution.

Manila has a seminary, called San Carlos, and the same is true of Cebú and Iloílo.

The seminary in Camarines Sur is called Nuestra Señora del Rosario, and that of Ilocos Sur is entitled Nuestra Señora de la Concepción.

Furthermore, there is a naval academy in Manila, another of drawing and painting, a normal school for men teachers, chairs of bookkeeping, languages, and history, and a meteorological observatory. [153]

The naval school was established in 1862, at the instance of the consulado of commerce. In it are taught arithmetic, elementary geometry, plane and spherical trigonometry, cosmography, pilotage, practical geometry applied to the construction of hydrographic maps and plans, and methods of drawing them, etc., etc.

The academy of drawing and painting was instituted by the Hoard of Trade, March 1, 1849. Its classes consist of figure drawing, ornamentation, and modeling, both in nature and in colors.

The normal school for the training of men teachers of primary instruction was created by royal decree of December 20, 1863, and was inaugurated January 23, 1865, under the direction of the fathers of the Society of Jesus.

For young women, Manila has the beaterio of Santa Catalina de Sena, instituted in 1696 for the general instruction of girls, and ruled over by a prioress chosen by the mothers; the beaterio-college of Santa Rita, created in 1740, for the education of Indian orphan girls; that of Santa Rosa, founded in 1750, for the purpose of educating poor girls; the college of La Concordia; that of Santa Isabel; and the municipal school for girls, directed by the sisters of charity.

STATISTICS CONCERNING PRIMARY INSTRUCTION

According to the Manual del viajero, [154] published in 1877, there are in all Filipinas, at the account of the State, 1,016 schools of primary instruction for boys, and 592 for girls, 98,761 attending the former, and 78,352 the latter, as follows:

Schools Pupils who attend
Boys Girls Boys Girls

In Luzón 599 244 44,416 28,805
Adjacent islands 49 28 3,934 1,970
Visayas 302 284 43,281 41,193
Mindanao 66 36 7,070 6,384
----- --- ------- ------
1,016 592 98,761 78,351
---------------- ----------------
1,608 177,113

According to data sent to the Statistics Board of Filipinas, and compiled by Señor Cavada, [155] the condition of public instruction in 1870 was as follows.

PRIMARY INSTRUCTION

Island of Luzón

Boys.--Schools, 657; attendance, 118,652; read, 34,119; write, 25,374; talk Castilian, 2,165; ignorant, 56,994.

Girls.--Schools, 439; attendance, 76,773; read, 19,447; write, 7,924; talk Castilian, 1,940; ignorant, 47,462.

Visayas Islands

Boys.--Schools, 325; attendance, 98,687; read, 28,003; write, 23,518; talk Castilian, 3,062; ignorant, 44,104.

Girls.--Schools, 317; attendance, 84,357; read, 25,978; write, 12,817; talk Castilian, 979; can sew, 22,380.

Island of Mindanao

Boys.--Schools, 22; attendance, 4,769; read, 1,547; write, 1,064; talk Castilian, 114; ignorant, 2,044.

Girls.--Schools, 19; attendance, 2,669; read, 763; write, 130; talk Castilian, 58; ignorant, 1,718.

INSTRUCTION

Island of Luzón

Males.--Read, 183,394; read and write, 194,628; ignorant, 1,051,823; talk Castilian, 48,206; ignorant of Castilian, 1,381,639.

Females.--Read, 174,516; read and write, 50,082; ignorant, 1,119,994; talk Castilian, 26,844; ignorant of Castilian, 1,314,748.

Visayan Islands

Males.--Read, 109,373; read and write, 125,187; ignorant, 628,960; talk Castilian, 21,466; ignorant of Castilian, 842,054.

Females.--Read, 89,558; read and write, 49,681; ignorant, 731,240; talk Castilian, 9,019; ignorant of Castilian, 861,460.

Island of Mindanao

Males.--Read, 8,169; read and write, 5,733; ignorant, 62,534; talk Castilian, 76,436; ignorant of Castilian, 4,994.

Females.--Read, 6,160; read and write, 1,510; ignorant, 60,721; talk Castilian, 68,391; ignorant of Castilian, 3,934.

SECONDARY EDUCATION

Academic course, 1883-84

Registration of Studies of
matriculation application

College of Santo Tomás, 3,561 274
Idem of San Juan de Letrán,
Ateneo Municipal, 665 84
Private schools (general
studies), 614

SUPERIOR EDUCATION

Academical course for 1883-84

Registration of matriculation

Theology, 65
Canon law, 3
Jurisprudence 232 [156]
Notary, 15
Medicine, 395
Pharmacy, 102
Practitioners of medicine, 72
Practitioners of pharmacy, 19
Midwives, 12

By means of the incomplete data which precede, and it is a fact that they do not exist in more exact form or of more recent date in the Ministry of the Colonies, it is easy to recognize the great results which can be obtained in regard to making reading and writing general among the Indians, and in seeing that they learn the Castilian language, for only a very small fraction of them know it very superficially.

Some advance has been made since the establishment of the normal school. But there is still much to do, and it is necessary that so crying a need be considered with the haste and decision that this important matter demands.

The establishment of schools of arts and crafts will also be very convenient and useful, and truly they will be productive of great results. Everything which contributes to the propagation of the teaching of industries, to the creation of superintendents and assistants of public works, master-masons, and all that relates to these matters, ought to be encouraged, and must be an advantageous and efficacious blessing to the natives of that country, who are extremely skilful in all the imitative arts and crafts, rather than for the studies which demand the employment of the superior faculties of the intelligence. [157]

GIRLS' SCHOOLS IN MANILA AND THE PROVINCES

There are four colleges for the education of girls without taking into consideration the municipal school of Manila, [158] and the college of Santa Isabel, of Nueva Cáceres. [159] These are the college of Santa Isabel, that of Santa Rosa, that of Santa Catalina, and that of La Concordia, also called college of the Immaculate Conception, all located in the capital of the archipelago. Of all these institutions, the oldest is the college of Santa Isabel, founded in 1632 for the education of Spanish orphan girls by a pious foundation called the Santa Misericordia. In 1650, the first regulations for the government of the same were issued, which continued in force until 1813, when they were revised. The college is supported from part of the interest derived from the Misericordia legacy, administered by a board, of which the civil governor of Manila is the president. It also enjoys a grant of land in Tagudín, province of Pangasinán, by a royal cedula of March 14, 1680, which produces an income of 600 pesos per annum.

Until the beginning of the present century, nearly 13,060 girls had been educated in this institution.

In 1861, the governor-general of the archipelago added the royal college of Santa Potenciana to the college of Santa Isabel. [160] The former was composed of the orphan daughters of military men, and was a most ancient and beneficent institution, founded about the end of the sixteenth century by Perez Dasmariñas. It afforded shelter and protection to the orphan daughters of military men who had succumbed to the climatological influences of this country, or had died in the defense of their country.

The colleges were under the protection of private ladies and afforded quite sufficient instruction. In 1863, the sisters of charity assumed charge of the same, to the great advantage of the college and of the morality of the pupils.

In 1879, the college underwent a considerable reformation by order of Governor-general Moriones, who gave the college a new set of regulations and opened its doors to day pupils and half-boarders, and in 1880 the board of directors established new chairs, which make this establishment one of the most complete for the education of European young ladies.

Girls admitted are given a dowry of 500 pesos, but under the condition that they must first secure the title of teacher, without which requisite, even though they get married, they are given nothing. When they have concluded their studies, they engage in work, and the college reserves to them one-half of what they earn, which is added to their dowry. [161]

Retreat and college of Santa Catalina

The college of Santa Catalina follows next in order of antiquity to the college of Santa Isabel. It was founded in 1696 by the provincial, then belonging to the Dominican order, the very reverend father, Juan de Santo Domingo.

There were purchased for the purposes of the college, at the account of the province of Santísimo Rosario, some houses adjoining the convent of Santo Domingo, to serve as an asylum to the young ladies who desire to consecrate therein their virginity to the Lord.

The institution was inaugurated on the day of St. Ann, of the year mentioned, after the approval of the rules to be observed, in conformity with the spirit and statutes of the Tertiary Order of St. Dominic, with some modifications for the proper interior régime, based upon the principal laws and ordinations of the province of Santísimo Rosario. On this day some ladies who had long before adopted the dress of the Tertiary order, took the vows, binding themselves to the strictest observance of the new rule, and taking the three religious vows with all the necessary formalities.

Among the new nuns was the sister of Mother Francisca, who, in order to adopt the Dominican vestments, left the rectorate of Santa Isabel.

The new retreat was given for a patron, the seraphic mother, Santa Catalina de Sena. It was also ordered that there should be only fifteen choir nuns, in honor of the mysteries of the rosary, with some lay sisters to attend to the material service.

The foundation of this retreat was approved by a royal despatch signed February 17, 1716, which put an end to the various petitions which had been submitted to the court against its installation. In 1732, a new cedula granted the retreat the right to have a church with a bell, and prescribed, at the same time, that the inmates were not required to observe retirement by a rigid vow, but only for the purposes of good administration.

The practice observed is that the sisters never pass through the inside door of the convent, which is in charge of one of the gravest sisters, but any person can enter it with express permission from the provincial.

Although in the beginning, the college of Santa Catalina was nothing but a house, to which Spanish ladies, desirous of renouncing the vanities of the world and of devoting themselves entirely to the service of God, retired, the Dominican order did not long delay in assigning some of the sisters to instruction in a college. From that time, the retreat took the character of a college, where the pupils, at the same time that they were instructed in reading, writing, Christian doctrine, and other work suitable to their sex, learned to practice virtue.

In 1865, it was deemed proper to increase the number of sisters fixed when the retreat was established, in order to be able to extend instruction further, and thus place the college on the same level as the best equipped colleges of the same class in this capital.

The inmates of this institution are not permitted to leave it without good cause.

They may be visited by their parents and other friends and acquaintances in a reception room located near the door of the college.

After the earthquakes of 1880, notable improvements were made in the material part of the building; [162] and at the present time, in the departments necessary for the good service of the college, this establishment has a spacious working-room, large class-rooms, well-ventilated dormitories, a beautiful bathroom, and an ample and capacious dining-hall.

The retreat is managed by a prioress, elected every three years by the sisters, who acts, at the same time, as the mother superior of the college; at the head of the latter, nevertheless, there is a directress in charge of the instruction.

The spiritual direction of the retreat and college is in charge of a father of the order, appointed by the corporation for the charge of vicar. [163]

College of Santa Rosa

This establishment was founded in 1750 by the Paulist Mother de la Trinidad, a nun of the Tertiary Order of St. Dominic. She arrived in Manila the preceding year, whither she had resolved to come from the Peninsula, desirous of consecrating herself to the good of others. Being convinced that the greatest service she could render the public was to establish an educational institution, she immediately took steps to carry out her holy work, and in a short time by her ardent zeal she secured sufficient funds for the establishment of a retreat, where she supported on charity a certain number of native young women for the purpose of educating them in the fear of God, in Christian doctrine, and in all exercises suitable for a woman. This was done so that, whether they left the retreat of their own will and married or remained therein, they would develop strong moral principles.

His Majesty has taken this college under his royal protection, and the regent of the Audiencia supervises it in his name, with the corresponding powers.

The spiritual direction is, at the present time, entrusted by the archbishop to the very reverend Fray José Corujedo, former provincial of the corporation of St. Augustine.

Up to January 26, 1866, the education of the girls was in charge of elderly ladies, of well-known education and virtue, who acted as teachers; but, on this date, by superior order, the sisters of charity undertook the direction of the institution, which they discharged to the satisfaction of all. [164]

College of La Concordia or of the Immaculate Conception

In the town of Paco, a suburb of Manila, there is a college, which was inaugurated May 3, 1868, ordinarily called the college of the Concordia. The entire grounds and part of the building, which now serves as a college, were piously donated to the sisters of charity by a charitable lady named Margarita Roxas, whose picture is exhibited in the reception room. Five-sixths of said college have been built since its foundation.

This college is the exclusive property of the sisters of charity, who act at the same time as teachers therein. It occupies a very picturesque and open position on a beautiful plain between the towns of Paco and of Santa Ana, and has very capacious and well-ventilated rooms.

It is the central building of the sisters of charity of the Philippines, and usually a priest of the congregation of the mission, entrusted with the spiritual direction of the college, lives therein.

The studies and work in this college and the distribution of classes are identical with those of other colleges.

From the date of the foundation of the college, up to the present year, 62 pupils have been examined for teachers, of whom 35 were classed as excellent, 17 as good, and 10 passed. [165]

Asylum of St. Vincent of Paul

This institution is situated in Paco, a suburb of Manila, in the barrio of Looban. The building and its grounds, belong to Sister Asunción Ventura, a sister of charity, who, being anxious for the welfare of poor girls, donated it to the congregation of the sisters of charity, in order that said building should be used as an asylum for the education of about 30 poor girls. The institution was inaugurated on November 26, 1885. Pay pupils are also admitted for the moderate fee of 6 pesos per month.

The sisters of charity of this institution number 5.

Boarding pupils, 37
Poor pupils, 45
Servants, 9
Total, 91

The pupils are taught Christian doctrine, reading, writing, Spanish grammar, and the four rules of arithmetic. They are also instructed in the work of their sex--sewing, embroidering, the making of artificial flowers, and some in housework, such as cleaning, cooking, washing clothes, etc.

College of San José de Jaro

On May 1, 1872, the sisters of charity opened, with the permission of the vice-royal patron, the college of San José, in Iloílo, for the instruction and education of girls. In doing this, they acceded to the wishes expressed by some good Spaniards and some principal citizens, and supplied a want in that capital. This college continued in existence until 1877, when it was closed on account of the lack of funds, as it had no funds but those derived from the fees of the pupils, who were very few toward the end.

Fray Mariano Cortero, bishop of Jaro, availed himself of the opportunity to call the sisters to his city, and placed the school in their charge. A house was leased, and beside it a frame building was constructed for school purposes, able to accommodate about 200 girls. Up to 1881, no boarding pupils were accepted, on account of the lack of room; but later, at the request of some families, some girls were admitted, the number of whom gradually increased to 50--too large a number for so small a house. This led to the necessity of enlarging the building, which was done by raising the school roof, and making an upper story, by which means a large and spacious room was scoured as a dormitory for the girls, besides a beautiful chapel.

Instruction is divided into three classes--superior, secondary, and primary. In the lowest class, reading and Christian doctrine are taught. In the secondary class, Christian doctrine, reading, writing, sacred history, and arithmetic are taught. In the superior class, the reading of printed and written matter is taught, as well as the writing of Spanish and English characters, geography, sacred and profane history, and arithmetic, as well as piano for those who wish. They are also instructed in the work of their sex--sewing, embroidering, artificial flowers, etc.

Convent of San Ignacio

Its foundation dates back to the year 1699, and it was directed by the fathers of the Society of Jesus until they were expelled in the last century, when it passed to the charge of the provisor of this archbishopric. Its original object seems to have been that of educating native girls in the fear of God, and to give them primary instruction and instruction in the work of their sex. This retreat serves as an asylum for devout women.

Since 1883, a school has been established in this retreat, with three teachers. They teach reading from the first letters, Christian doctrine, compendium of morals, sacred history, courtesy, arithmetic, Spanish grammar to the analysis of analogy, and in addition they have every week an explanation of the gospel, in charge of a priest of the secular clergy.

Needle-work is taught from the first stitches to the finest embroidery.

Oil painting is also done in this institution, and we have a teacher of embroidery, who is an expert in this art, and whose work is much applauded." [166]

[The following girls' schools are noted also by Archipiélago Filipino, i, p. 353.]

Schools for the education of girls, which, without having the rank of normal schools, exist outside the capital of the archipelago, are principally the four following, the first three of which are in charge of the Dominican nuns.

That of Nuestra Señora del Rosario, founded in Lingayén (Pangasinán), in 1890, with 60 pupils; that of Santa Imelda, founded in Tuguegarao (Cagayán de Luzón), in 1892, with 81 pupils; that of Nuestra Señora del Rosario, in Vigan (Ilocos Sur), with 90 pupils; and finally, that of San José de Jaro, under the direction of the sisters of charity, with 116 resident pupils, 160 day, and 14 half-boarders.

Lastly, centers also devoted to the instruction of girls are the Real Casa de Misericordia in Cebú, the beaterio of the Society of Jesus in Manila, and those of Santa Rita in Pasig, and San Sebastián in Calumpang. However, we shall not review them here, as they are chiefly religious institutions.

SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE

The Manila school of agriculture was created by royal decree of November 29, 1887, and established at Manila, July 2, 1889. [167] The objects of the school were: the theoretical and practical education of skilled farmers; the education of overseers; the promotion of agricultural development in the Philippines, by means of observation, experiment, and investigation. In order to enter officially into the study of scientific agriculture, it was necessary to be vouched for by a valid certificate, to be of good health, and to have studied and have passed examinations in some institution of secondary education, or other properly accredited institution. It opened with 82 students, but in the following year there were only 50. Agricultural stations were established in Isabela de Luzón, Ilocos, Albay, Cebú, Iloílo, Leyte, Mindanao, and Joló. Those of Joló and Leyte were abolished by royal decrees, dated September 10, 1888, and December 7, 1891, respectively. The course of studies was as follows: First year--elements of agriculture; mathematical problems; practical work in topography; linear and topographical drawing. Second year--special methods of cultivation; elements of stockbreeding; agricultural arts; practical work in cultivation and the industries; setting up and management of machines; drawing applied to machines and to plants. Third year--elements of rural economy; accounts and agricultural legislation; general practical work in cultivation, stockbreeding, and industry; drawing of plans. The education of the overseers was carried on in the agricultural stations, which have been created for the purpose of doing technical work in analyses of earth, systems of irrigation, studies of seed, acclimatization of vegetables and animals, study and treatment of epizootic, epiphysis, etc. The professors in the school were agricultural engineers and their assistants skilled farmers. The expenses were defrayed entirely by the government, but the direction was in the hands of the priests. The university of Santo Tomás, both of itself, and through the Ateneo Municipal, issued certificates to skilled farmers and surveyors, for which it required mathematics, physics, chemistry, natural history, agriculture, topography, and linear and topographical drawing. The government school cannot be said to have been a success, for the Filipinos, while inclined to readily adopt the professions, have never shown any marked inclination for industrial pursuits.

Since American occupancy. By section 19 of act 74 of the Philippine Commission it was provided that there should be established and maintained a school of agriculture in the island of Negros, and by section 24 of the same act, the sum of $15,000 was appropriated out of any funds in the insular treasury not otherwise appropriated for the organization and maintenance of the school for the year 1901. It was suggested that such a school be established on the government plantation at La Carlota, but it is an inaccessible place, and it was proposed to find a more convenient place. The organization of the school was delayed in order to bring it into connection with the proposed experimental sugar plantation in Negros. By act no. 512, passed November 10, 1902, the work of establishing an agricultural college was transferred from the bureau of public instruction to the bureau of agriculture, and the government farm at La Granja in western Negros was set aside as a site for this school, and for an experiment station to be conducted in connection with it. After a long delay, plans were submitted for a main building to contain laboratories, class-rooms, offices, and also a dormitory. Twenty-five thousand dollars were appropriated for its construction. Arrangements were made, however, by which certain teachers in the provinces were to be employed to coöperate with the bureau of agriculture in making various experiments and in gathering such information as might be useful in promoting knowledge of the agricultural conditions of the islands. At the same time the law establishing secondary instruction in provincial schools provided for the extension of the curriculum beyond the ordinary course of high-school instruction and instruction in agriculture, which meant that the provincial schools might, on a larger or smaller scale, as the authorities of the province might determine, carry on instruction and experiments in such branches of agriculture as might be supposed to be adapted to the conditions in the province in which any provincial school was established. March 25, 1903, a director of the experiment station was appointed in order that he might take charge of the government property on the estate and begin the work of getting land under cultivation. [168]

GOVERNMENT REORGANIZATION OF EDUCATION IN THE UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

CONFERENCE ON THE COLLEGE-UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMÁS OF MANILA,
AND THE DECISION RENDERED BY SEÑORS MONTERO RIOS, GAMAZO, AND MAURA

Conference

1. Whether in view of the writ of foundation of the college-university of Santo Tomás, which is enclosed, the ministry has the right to reorganize education therein, without taking account of the religious corporation of the Dominicans.

2. Whether, in case of a ministerial resolution, contrary to the native autonomy of the said college, the latter may offer opposition by legal means, and what would be the most efficacious method.

Decision

The foundation of the college of Santo Tomás, which seems to have been commenced under the advocacy of our Lady of the Rosary, in Manila, was ordained by a writ of April 28, 1611, before the notary of his Majesty, Juan Yllán, in order to observe the last will of the deceased archbishop, Fray Miguel de Benavides; and to the new institution were applied besides, the few resources which the latter left, and others also modest, which proceeded from the estates of Pablo Rodriguez de Aranjo and Anfrés de Hermosa. There were hopes that new liberalities would augment the capital of so useful a work. Its origin is, then, entirely private.