Annual report on Brunei / Colonial Office.

  • Colonial Office
Date:
[1949]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on Brunei / Colonial Office. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    36/90 page 30
    No. School Boys 1948 Girls Total Boys 1949 Girls Total Increase or Decrease Belait District 14. Kuala Belait 93 37 130 105 31 136 6 15. Seria 123 47 170 146 49 195 25 16. Kuala Balai 14 10 24 12 9 21 -3 17. Labi 43 14 57 40 14 54 -3 Tutong District 18. Bukit Benclera 56 24 80 55 22 77 -3 19. Penan jong 36 11 47 35 9 44 -3 20. Keriam 25 9 34 19 13 32 _2 21. Sinaut 41 10 51 55 13 68 17 22. Kiudang 51 3 54 64 16 80 26 23. Lamunin 65 8 73 69 6 75 2 24. Tan jong Maya 66 2 68 73 12 85 17 25. Ukong 33 9 42 33 7 40 _2 26. Danau 24 11 35 32 10 42 7 27. Tumpuan Telisai 17 4 21 20 5 25 4 Total: 1653 376. 2029 1842 425 2267 238 It will be noted that the 1949 total shows a good increase over that of the previous year. The increase in the number of girls is encouraging. In respect of the total boys enrolled, the percentage of over-age boys perhaps calls for comment. They are, of course, boys whose education was interfered with by the war. The percentage of children in the Malay Schools of school age is still very much under what it should be. The State Census for 1947 showed a total of 7778 Malaysian” children between the ages of 5 and 14 in the State, 3908 of whom were boys. The corresponding figures for 1949 must be considerably in excess of the 1947 figures. Average Attendance, The average attendance throughout the year was 89%. School attendance seems to be better in the rural than in the urban schools. Regular attendance is not as yet fully appreciated by many Brunei parents. A drive will be made by the schools during the year 1950 to improve the daily attendance of pupils. Equipment. There was steady flow of equipment into the schools during the year, mainly in the way of school furniture and books. In respect of furniture the main gain was in connec¬ tion with the seating of pupils. Not only was the seating accommodation increased but improved also, in that a number of unsuitable and antiquated benches and desks, which encouraged bad sitting postures, were replaced by modern types. Text Books. The supply of text books, thanks to the Government of the Federation of Malaya, reached adequate dimensions this year and promises to remain so. Many of the old pre-war text-books and readers are beginning to make their reappearanc in the schools. There is also a flow of new books, especially for higher standards. These are very acceptable as they should help to broaden the outlook of our older boys and girls. Among these new books are two which are most useful; one is Nature Study in the Tropics” by a lady member of the Malayan Education Department, which is splendidly illustrated by diagrams; another My Visit to Britain” by a prominent Peninsula Malay.
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