Missionary Survey As An Aid To Intelligent Co-Operation In Foreign Missions - Roland Allen; Thomas Cochrane

Then we must inquire into the proportion in which the education given in the schools is given to boys and to girls. This is peculiarly important in considering the influence of school education upon the rising generation of Christians, since well-taught girls make intelligent and helpful wives and mothers, and this tends enormously to the advancement of the Christian community. And the same truth applies to the non-Christian population.

Here we divided Christians from non-Christians, and thus the table serves a double purpose. It tells us the division of the scholars by sex and also by faith. It throws light upon the condition of the Christian community and upon the extent to which mission school education is given to Christians and non-Christians.

One other point must be considered in connection with mission schools because it throws great light upon the character of the schools and their purpose. It is the extent to which the educational mission receives Government support. If there is any doubt as to the dominant aim and purpose of a school, the fact that it receives Government aid reveals at once that in the eyes of the Government it stands for the general enlightenment of the population rather than for any direct evangelisation. The dominant aim of the Government is general enlightenment, and the Government gives no grant without some sort of control. If then a school receives a Government grant the dominant idea of general enlightenment will certainly exercise great influence over its direction. Consequently, if we know what proportion of the schools in any mission receive a Government grant, we have at least some guidance as to the extent to which the mission accepts the aim of general enlightenment. We have also some assurance that the schools reach the Government standard of efficiency in the teaching of secular subjects.

Hitherto we have dealt only with schools in which the pupils are probably for the most part children; but in some countries the mission makes a great effort to enlighten the illiterate adults, especially the illiterate adult Christians, and thus, as in China, missionaries propagate simplified systems of writing the language, or in other countries have reduced to writing, languages which possessed no script.

We have already set out the reason why this appeals especially to Protestant missionaries. The reading of the Bible is a keystone in their evangelistic system, and with them Christianity and reading go hand in hand. We must then make room in our survey for a movement so profound, so widespread, and so vitally important, and a movement of this character deserves and demands a separate table. It cannot be confounded with the establishment of ordinary primary schools. It is essential that we should inquire what education is given to the illiterate adults of the area; and we must inquire in what proportion this teaching is given to Christians and non-Christians, because this proportion is very significant. The teaching of reading to the illiterate is by some missionaries viewed as a means preparatory to the preaching of the gospel, a gift to be given as widely as possible, in the belief that the more who can read, the better will be the hearing given to the preachers of Christ; by others the teaching is given rather to illiterate inquirers and converts, and it is given to them as a definitely Christian gift for the edification of the individual and of the Church.

By the one this teaching would be classed with the general work of Christian educational missions for the whole community, the meeting of the general intellectual need of the district; by the other it would be classed as a part of the work done by the educational mission for the enlightenment of the Church, the meeting of a need of the Church. By the one it would be classed with the tables which deal with the relation of the educational to the evangelistic work; by the other with the tables which deal with the educational work viewed as meeting a special need. The table suggested is:—

————————————————————————————+———| Population. | | ————————————————————————————+———| Illiterate Population. | | ————————————————————————————+———| Number of Teachers of Illiterate Adults. | | ————————————————————————————+———| Number of Illiterate Adult Scholars. | ————————————————————————————+———| Christian. | | ————————————————————————————+———| Non-Christian | | ————————————————————————————+———| Proportion of Illiterate Population. | ————————————————————————————+———| Proportion of Teachers to Illiterate Population. | | ————————————————————————————+———| Remarks and Conclusions. | | ————————————————————————————+———|