The old and the new Peru

by Marie Robinson Wright

THE NATIONAL SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE, LIMA.

The universities, which represent the most revered traditions of education and reflect the highest culture of the nation, are supplemented by a number of colleges and schools of special instruction for pupils who, after graduating from the primary and secondary schools, do not enter on a university career, but prefer to prepare for the military service, to secure technical training, or to obtain a practical knowledge of engineering, agriculture, etc. The School of Military Cadets at Chorillos, the Naval School-ships, the School of Civil Engineers, and the National School of Agriculture, as well as the flourishing Technical School of Arts and Trades, fulfil these purposes. The School of Arts and Trades was reorganized September 24, 1905, under the direction of Dr. Pedro Paulet. The school was founded forty years ago, and reorganized in 1871, when its purpose was declared to be “the training of honest and capable mechanics.” Although the excellent work of this school was interrupted for some years in consequence of the calamitous war of the Pacific, yet its benefits have been so general that, to-day, the best mechanics on the plantations of the coast and in the mining establishments of the sierra are graduates of its classes. These schools are now to be found in all the cities of the republic.

The mining interests of Peru, as well as the peculiar conditions that govern transportation across its snow-capped sierras and through its cañons, make the study of engineering of paramount importance. The School of Engineers, under the direction of an expert Polish engineer, Mr. Eduardo Habich, has for its object the teaching of civil, industrial, and electrical engineering, and mining. The extraordinary industrial development which Peru has experienced within the past few years made it necessary, in 1901, to include industrial engineering in the course of studies, which originally comprised only two sections, that of electrical engineering being added in 1903. Graduates of this school are entitled to rank as mining, civil, and industrial engineers, and electricians; land surveyors are also trained here. The average attendance is about two hundred pupils. Training is given in both theory and practice, the students making trips to the mines of Cerro de Pasco and Yauli as well as to the factories, smelters, and electrical plants of these establishments. The school has complete laboratories as well as collections of specimens for the study of mineralogy, geology, and other subjects related to the course. Agricultural training is furnished in a school organized for the purpose and directed by Belgian professors. The instruction afforded is technical and of the greatest practical value, including all that pertains to the administration and cultivation of a landed estate.

The greatest evidence of educational progress in Peru is afforded by the report of the past school year, especially as regards primary instruction. According to the new law of December 5, 1905, primary instruction was taken out of the hands of the municipalities and made subject to the central government, and a special fund for educational purposes was created in such a manner that it is bound to go on increasing with the growth of population and the development of wealth. Attendance at school was not only made obligatory but absolutely gratuitous, schoolbooks, paper, etc., being provided free of charge to the pupil. The name of President José Pardo will go down to posterity with that of his illustrious father, as the friend of the helpless and the protector of the humble, inspired by the true patriotism which seeks the ennoblement and aggrandizement of the State by raising to the highest mental and moral standard every citizen, from the proletaire to the plutocrat. The reform of 1875 sought to extend to the poorest class the blessings of education. But the law was impeded in its beneficent action by inadequate funds and lack of unity in purpose. So long as public instruction remained under municipal government, its advantages could not be uniform or satisfactory. Political changes, the fluctuation of rents, and other causes contributed to make the support of municipal schools unsettled and dependent. A new law, passed in 1901, improved conditions by the creation of a central Directorate of Primary Instruction; but the efforts of this body were handicapped because the local Councils and Commissions acting under its authority represented municipal interests conflicting with its purposes. Complete centralization was the only way to secure the successful establishment of the educational system on a basis that would ensure permanent and increasing progress, and elevate the national standard of culture.

THE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND TRADES, LIMA.

In his programme four years ago, President Pardo set his government the noble task of raising the Indian out of his apathetic and ignorant condition and making him an active and conscious factor in citizenship, declaring this to be a necessity as urgent as the building of railways, the establishment of a fixed currency, or any of the reforms that have contributed to the prosperity of the country. To stimulate a sense of individual responsibility and worthy ambition in a race that for centuries has lived only to obey,—under the Incas, the Curaca; under the Spaniards, the priest; under the republic, the provincial governors and the proprietors of estates on which they are employed—is an undertaking that calls for tremendous patience, tact, and courage. President Pardo believes that no effort should be considered too great which will accomplish this noble task.

THE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERS, LIMA.