The Oxford and Cambridge Conjoint Scheme for inspecting the 'Seeonelary
education of the country,—a scheme which is soon, we believe, to be worked in conjunction with a third University, that of London,—is now fairly under weigh, and a list has been published of the first certificates awarded to the pupils of various schools under it. It is obvious, however, that the tentative system on which the Conjoint scheme has entered, needs one very-radical improvement. Inis much too expensive for general adoption bysmall schools, or seven individually by poor men's children, and will certainly fail therefore in giving-anything like a secure test of the relative merits of schools, or of the relative industry and ability of the pupils taught there, unless the Universities can see their way to dimi- nishing very greatly indeed the scale of fees they require for con- --ducting these examinations. The object is by no means to enable- schoolmasters to send up their "crack" pupils, but to afford some gauge of the calibre of the teaching itself at average middle-class schools. But this object cannot be attained for small schools at all, so -long as every examiner must be paid large lees, we. believe something like four guineas a day for every day he is employed, which is what the Conjoint scheme at present con- templates. One would think that this system of school inspec- tion is of sufficient public importance to deserve the appropriation .of some of the revenues of the Universities for the purpose of elli the coat of inspection to small schools.
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