The Beginning and Development of English Boys' and Girls' Schools and School Libraries in The Straits Settlements, 1786-1941
The Beginning and Development of English Boys' and Girls' Schools and School Libraries in The Straits Settlements, 1786-1941
net/publication/242265996
The beginning and development of English boys' and girls' schools and school
libraries in the Straits Settlements, 1786-1941
CITATIONS READS
2 857
1 author:
18 PUBLICATIONS 15 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE
Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:
All content following this page was uploaded by Peng Han Lim on 16 June 2016.
ABSTRACT
Throughout the nineteenth century missionaries from Europe and America dominated the setting up of
English boys’ and girls’ schools in the Straits Settlements. In 1899 there were only two known school
libraries. During the 1930s more than 70 per cent of English schools had school libraries. In 1937 80
per cent of English Boys’ schools had school libraries. However, by 1935 97 per cent of Malay
vernacular boys’ schools had school libraries since they were funded by the Government. Several
factors impended the development of English school libraries: (a) Most of these schools collect fees
and were partially funded through Government grants; (b) There was no central book-buying agency
to coordinate the importation of English books from India and Europe as the publishing and
distribution of Malay books were centrally controlled by the Education Department; (c) Government
funding for English school libraries began in 1939; Europe was already at war and resources were
prioritized for the defense of the settlements; (d) The public libraries in Singapore and Penang did not
provide services to school libraries as practiced in England; (e) Although two school library associations
were established in England in 1937, the movement did not spread to the settlements.
Keywords: School libraries; English schools; Education in the Straits Settlements; Malaya
INTRODUCTION
The Straits Settlements consisted of Singapore, Penang and Province Wellesley, the
Dindings, Labuan, Brunei, the Cocos (or Keeling Islands) and Christmas Island. The island of
Penang was granted to the British in 1786 by the Sultan of Kedah. In 1800 Province Wellesley
was ceded by Kedah. Malacca was taken from the Dutch in 1795, handed back in 1818, and
finally taken over from the British again in 1824, in exchange for the English trading station
on Bencoolen on the west coast of Sumatra which was established in 1624. Singapore was
founded by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819 (Watson 1930).These settlements were originally
dependencies of India, governed by the East India Company (EIC) (Elcum 1968). In 1858 the
EIC was unable to control its military expenditure and had to be liquidated. The EIC’s formal
rule in India was transferred to the crown (Lawson 1993). On 1 April 1867 the Straits
Settlements ceased to be under the Indian Government, and became a separate Crown
Colony, directly under the Colonial Office in London (Cook 1907).
1
The author is currently a research student at the Department of Information Science, Loughborough
University, United Kingdom. He was a Lee Kong Chian Research Fellow at the National Library Board,
Singapore, from January-July 2008
Lim, P.H.
This paper focuses on the three main Straits Settlements of Singapore, Penang and Province
Wellesley, and Malacca. This research attempts to examine the beginning of English boys’
schools and English girls’ schools and school libraries during two periods of British colonial
rule. The first period covers the nineteenth century (from 1786 to 1900) and the second
period covers the twentieth century (from 1901 to 1941), before the Japanese invasion in
1942. The population is and has always been made up of a mixture of many races, speaking
many languages. The predominating elements are Malay, Chinese of five tribes from
Southern China, each speaking its own language, and Tamil speaking native of Southern
India. Besides these, there is a considerable European and Eurasian population, many of the
latter being descendents of Portuguese, and speaking in their homes a debased form of
Portuguese. The lingua of the Colony is Malay (Elcum 1968). English is the official language,
but all notifications were given in Chinese, Tamil and Malay (Cook 1907).Table 1 presents the
breakdown of ethnic groups in each of the settlements in 1891 and 1931.
Table 1: Population of Singapore, Penang and Malacca by ethnic groups, 1891 and 1931
1891¹
Ethnic group Singapore Penang Malacca
Persons Percentage Persons Percentage Persons Percentage
Chinese 118,418 66% 86,637 38% 17,914 20%
Eurasians 3,557 2% 1,692 1% 1,742 2%
Europeans 3,500 2% 809 0.3% 113 0.1%
Indians 15,618 9% 35,382 15% 1,637 1.8%
Malays 35,417 20% 104,940 45% 70,030 76%
Others 1,743 1% 1,764 0.7% 146 0.1%
Total 178,253 100% 231,224 100% 91,582 100%
1931²
Persons Percentage Persons Percentage Persons Percentage
Chinese 419,654 75% 176,518 49% 65,179 35%
Eurasians 6,903 1.5% 2,348 0.6% 2,007 1.1%
Europeans 8,125 1.5% 1,526 0.4% 330 0.2%
Indians 50,884 9% 58,020 16% 23,238 12.4 %
Malays 66,232 12% 118,832 33% 95,307 51%
Others 2,680 1% 2,607 1% 650 0.3%
Total 559,946 100% 359,851 100% 186,711 100.04%
Source: ¹Marriott (1912, 31-42); ²Scott (1998, 616).
THE FIRST ENGLISH SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL LIBRARIES UNDER EIC RULE
English schools were called English not because they were for English children exclusively,
but rather the medium of instruction was English. The English schools had been set up for
the children of European descent or whose parents’ mother tongue was English. In time,
however, they lost their former exclusiveness and admitted native children was well (Wong
1966). The Anglican chaplain of Penang, Rev Robert Hutchings, wanted to establish a free
school to train “a race of intelligent and honest servants” of the Government (Chelliah 1947,
37). The Penang Free School for boys was opened on 21 October 1816, at a house in Love
Lane. About $10,867 were received from public subscriptions between 1816 and 1824
(Elcum 1908).This school is free only in the sense of being open to all creeds (Campbell
1998).
Page | 58
The Beginning and Development of English Schools and School Libraries
When Sir Stamford Raffles founded Singapore in 1819 he wrote his minutes to establish a
college embracing the following objects (Raffles 1991) :
i. “To educate the sons of the higher order of natives and others;
ii. “To afford the means of instruction in the native languages to such of the Company’s
servants and others as may desire it;
iii. “To collect the scattered literature and traditions of the country, with whatever may
illustrate their laws and customs, and to publish and circulate in a correct form the
most important of these, with such other works as may be calculated to raise the
character of the institution, and to be useful or instructive to the people.
In 1823 a design of the school building was approved and plans were made to purchase
printing presses and superintend the printing. Raffles (1991, 79-84) wrote that “Mr Maxwell,
as Secretary of the Institution, is requested to take charge of the Library and Museum of the
Institution, until suitable buildings may be erected, and to act as Librarian”. However, it was
not until 1 August 1834 that the Chaplain of Singapore, Mr Darrah, initiated the opening of
the Singapore Free School “for the descendents of Europeans could attend, with some of the
more advanced boys from the minor schools.” The school had 32 boys in the English classes,
18 boys in the Tamil classes and 12 in the Chinese (Buckley 1902, 128). The Singapore Free
School was removed from High Street to the Institution in December 1837, then for the first
time used for its original purpose (Bazell 1921).
The earliest accessible record of the proposed Singapore Institution and its library and
museum was in the third annual report (1836-37) of the Singapore Free School (Hanitsch
1921). On page 8 of the report, there was a short list of books presented to the school, with
the remark: “The few books which form the School Library are in constant circulation among
the boys and their friends.” It was reported on page 9 that “funds will be required to furnish
a library and museum, in which books given to the institution and all such specimens of the
natural library of these regions as can be collected shall be kept”(Singapore Free School
1837, 8-9). This is the first known record of a school library for the English classes of the
Singapore Free School. In 1837 the Singapore Free School was known as the Singapore
Institution Free School (Singapore Institution Free School 1838). In the Straits Settlements
Annual Reports from 1861, the Singapore Institution Free School was referred to as Raffles
Institution (Leong 1981). In 1903, the Raffles Institution was taken over by the Government
(Swettenham 1998).
The Malacca High School was originally named the “Free School,” and dates back to 1826. It
was first supported by the balance of an old Dutch fund and by private donations, and was
managed by a committee of the principal residents of Malacca (Elcum 1908). The Malacca
Free School was opened on 7 December 1826 with 18 pupils under T. H. Moore in the
Parsonage House on the site of the present Muzium Belia Malaysia (Malaysian Youth
Museum). The school was professedly an English school, but classes were also held in
Portuguese, Chinese and Malay. After instruction in their own language, the pupils were
transferred to the English classes. In 1875 the trustees came to the conclusion that they
could no longer carry on with the funds at their disposal and decided to hand over their
school funds and property to the Straits Settlements government. Three years later the
Government took over the school and renamed it “The Malacca High School” (Chua 2006,
30-32). The school library was opened in 1924 with Goh Tiow Chong as the honorary
librarian. There were 400 books suitable for boys from Standard V upwards. There were 43
sets of books from the Bairns in batches ranging from 30 to 35 books suitable for class use.
The library was open to teachers and boys alike on Fridays from 1.30 p.m. till 4 p.m. (Jabatan
Pelajaran Melaka 1975, 162).
Page | 59
Lim, P.H.
On 1 April 1867 the Straits Settlements were transferred from the control of the Indian
Government to that of the Secretary of State for the Colonies in London (Jarman 1998). In
1870, Sir Harry Ord appointed a Select Committee, under the Chairmanship of Colonal R.
Wolley, ‘to enquire into the State of Education in the Colony’. The Committee recommended
putting into effect the following (Wong and Gwee 1980, 11).:
i. To appoint an Inspector of Schools, Straits Settlements.
ii. To reform the existing Grants-in-aid system, which mainly applied to English schools
whether they be missionary or privately run.
iii. To greatly extend and improve vernacular education, especially Malay vernacular
education.
The most important action taken was the creation, in 1872, of the post of inspector of
schools for the Straits Settlements, which meant that education was regarded as being of
sufficient importance to justify the appointment of an official to supervise it. Not that this
was to be his sole function to start with for, very early in his career, the inspector found
himself burdened with additional duties such as superintending prisons and collecting
revenue, which happened to need attention. It was argued that he could discharge these
duties effectively with the minimum interference to his own work, but the recurring
complaints made by succeeding inspectors of schools, up to the end of the century, showed
that this was not so (Cooke 1966, 390).
Malay vernacular education is entirely free. School buildings, quarters for staff, staff,
equipment and books are usually all provided by the Government (Small 1998). English
education as a rule is paid for at $1.50 a month. But in many cases lower fees were taken,
and in some cases, especially at the Mission schools, boys were admitted without a fee
(Elcum 1968). The Government pays to such schools monthly grants equal to the difference
between their revenue and expenditure. The approved expenditure includes pay for the lay
staff, rates and taxes on school premises, the cost of repairs and equipment, and salaries of
the European missionary teachers (Small 1998).
Page | 60
The Beginning and Development of English Schools and School Libraries
In 1880 the La Salle Brothers constructed St Francis School in Malacca. It was completely a
French mission school (Jabatan Pelajaran Melaka 1975). In 1900 the Inspector of Schools
reported that “the teaching staff is insufficient and the masters, with the exception of the
Headmaster, of a very inferior class, and particularly deficient in knowledge of English”
(Merewether 1998, 571).
Church of England
St Andrew’s School of the Church of England was founded in 1862 in Singapore and became
an aided school in 1875 (Young 1953).
The Pykett Methodist School Penang, formerly a section of the Anglo-Chinese School
Penang, was founded in 1891 by the Methodist Mission (Ho 1964). In September 1903, the
school was refurnished, at a cost of $6,000, subscribed by several Chinese gentlemen of
Penang. There was at the school a well-selected library, given by Mr Foo Choo Choon (Elcum
1908, 274). The Anglo-Chinese Schools both in Singapore and Penang were very largely
attended, mostly by Chinese boys (Kynnerley 1902). In fact, from the very beginning most of
the boys who attended Methodist schools were Chinese, not because the mission was solely
interested in them, but because they were the majority in the large towns and were so alive
to the vocational advantages of an English education (Cooke 1966, 384).
Page | 61
Lim, P.H.
By comparison with the Roman Catholic and American Methodist Missions, the other
churches have played a modest part in educational development. The Anglicans were the
most important of the three agencies involved. The three leading schools of the Straits
Settlements, namely the Penang Free School, Malacca High School and Raffles Institution
(1834), were closely associated with the Anglican Church during their early days. All were
run by private committees on which the government was represented. Anglican influence
came about through the colonial chaplains who, in each Settlement, had been largely
instrumental in starting the schools. It is significant that these three schools were, in the
beginning, normally called the Protestant Free Schools (Cooke 1966, 389).
Presbyterian Church
In 1894 the Rev A. Lamont of the Presbyterian mission opened the Eastern School (Murray
1921). The Eastern School was taken over by the Methodist Mission in 1900, and closed
after inspection in 1902 (Bazell 1921, 460).
In dealing with the teaching of English, the Government was greatly helped by the fact that
other schools had already done the pioneer work. The policy adopted was to afford the
various nationalities the opportunity of learning elementary English through their own
language. The first two Government English boys’ schools in Singapore were erected in 1874,
at Cross Street and Kampong Glam. (Bazell 1921, 469-470). In 1906 a new building was
erected at Outram Road, and the Cross Street School was known as Outram Road School
(Bazell 1921, 470). The Kampong Glam Malay Branch School was established in 1876
(Murray 1971) as a ‘feeder’ school to Raffles Institution (Doraisamy et al. 1969, 37). In 1897
the Kampong Glam Malay Branch School and the Kampong Glam Malay School, “known as
the Kampong Glam English Class” were combined into one school, known as the Victoria
Bridge School, in a new building erected close to Victoria Bridge (Elcum 1898, 210). The
Victoria Bridge School functioned as “a separate and entirely English school” (Wilkinson
1899, 87). Up to 1930 the highest class was Standard V, but in 1931, owing to the demand
for secondary education and the lack of accommodation at Raffles Institution, it became a
secondary school (Young 1953, 2). Table 2 presents a summary of English boys’ school in
each of the settlements, including their average enrolment in 1900. There was a total of 29
English boys’ school and a total of 141 Malay boys’ school in the Straits Settlements in the
same year. The expansion of Malay boys’ schools was rapid and extensive since Malay
vernacular education is entirely free. School buildings, quarters for staff, staff, equipment
and books are usually provided by the Government (Small 1940). Out of the 29 schools in
1900, only four were government schools and two were undenominational (Appendix A).
Page | 62
The Beginning and Development of English Schools and School Libraries
The rest were aided missionary schools from the Protestant, Roman Catholic, Methodist
Episcopal, Presbyterian and Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Their primary
objective was to promote religion first and education was the secondary objective. The
expansion of English boys’ schools in the nineteenth century was dominated by various
religious orders since they consisted of 79 per cent or 23 out of the 29 English boys’ schools
in 1900. This suggests that the development of these schools were varied and uneven, and
school buildings, funding and qualified teaching staff were not readily available when
compared to the Government run Malay vernacular schools.
Table 2: Government English boys’ and Aided English boys’ schools in the Straits
Settlements, 1900
Malacca
Government English Schools 1 171 159
Aided English Boys’ Schools 3 443 395
Total English Boys’ Schools 29 6,155 5,445
Straits Settlements
Total Malay Boys’ Schools 141 6,591 4,947
Source: Elcum (1901, 165).
Church of England
The Raffles Girls’ School, consisting of boarders and day scholars, was opened in the
Singapore Institution on 4 March 1844. On 1 January 1903, together with the boys’ school, it
was taken over by the Government (Elcum 1908). In 1928 Raffles Girls’ School moved to a
new building at Stamford Road (Young 1953).The St George’s Girls’ School in Penang was
started by Mrs Biggs, wife of a chaplain in Penang in 1884. Its objective was to bring within
of every class of English speaking girls a thorough education. Religious instruction was given
according to the teaching of the Church of England. Parents who did not belong to the
English Church may withdraw their children during the period of religious instruction (Elcum
1908, 276). In 1899 the conditions of the school was not entirely satisfactory, keeping
boarders which was a loss for the school’s funds. The location of the school in close
proximity to the Oriental hotel was undesirable (Egerton 1998, 472).
Dames of St Muar’s: Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ) (Roman Catholic)
Convent schools for the teaching of English were established in Singapore and Penang, and
later in Malacca. These institutions continue to do an admirable educational and charitable
work (Elcum 1968, 137). The Fathers of the Society of the Foreign Missions found it
absolutely necessary to get help for missionary work amongst the girls of Singapore. The Rev
Father Beurel went to France, and approached the Rev Mother-General of the Sisters of the
Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ) for assistance. His request was granted. Three Sisters
Page | 63
Lim, P.H.
from France arrived in Singapore in 1852, and they were later sent to Penang, where their
first house was founded (Murray 1921, 253-254). The Convent was established in
Georgetown, Penang in 1852 (Cavenagh 1998). By 1872 the large Convent or St Muar’s
School and Orphanage, located on the sea-side was “one of the most excellent institutions in
Penang” (Campbell 1998, 171).
The “Town” Convent in Singapore was opened in 1854. There were two classes, one for the
14 fee-paying pupils and the other for orphans and pupils (nine boarders and 16 orphans)
who could not afford to pay anything (Kong et al. 1994, 45). The Convent of the Holy Infant
Jesus (CHIJ) in Victoria Street was the second Catholic mission school in Singapore, and the
first for girls (Kong et al. 1994, 2). It became an aided school in 1881 (Bazell 1921).
The CHIJ in Malacca was opened in Tranquerah with an enrolment of 26 pupils and three
mission teachers in 1860. The school enrolment grew steadily and a piece of land was
bought by the mission in 1867 to put up a building. A branch of the school was opened in
Tranquerah Road at the beginning of 1884 but it was closed after a few years (Jabatan
Pelajaran Melaka 1975).
Fairfield Methodist Girls’ School was founded in 1888, also by Blackmore, who was then
working among the Chinese Community in Telok Ayer area. In 1899 it became a government-
aided school. In 1912 it was named Fairfield Girls’ School after a certain Mr Fairfield donated
US$5,000 to put up a concrete building (Ho 1964, 289).
The Penang Methodist Girls’ School began when Dr B. F. West started the Anglo-Chinese
School in 1892 at Northam Road. The increasing demand for female education resulted in
the purchase of a large residence on the corner of Logan and Anson Roads (Ho 1964, 757).
By 1900 there was no Government English girls’ school in the Straits Settlements. All the 10
Government-aided English girls’ schools were missionary schools (Table 3), from the
Page | 64
The Beginning and Development of English Schools and School Libraries
Protestant, Roman Catholic, Methodist Episcopal and Church of England orders (Table 4). In
the same year there were 28 Malay girls’ schools (Elcum 1901).
Malacca
Aided English Girls’ Schools 2 155 140
Total English Girls’ Schools 10 1,373 1,194
From an organizational point of view, English schools were divided into two types: the
feeder system and the combined school system. In general the government preferred the
feeder system as it was the solution to the problem of providing, within a limited supply of
more highly qualified staff, for the increasing demand of English education in the rapidly
growing towns (Wong 1966, 471).
Page | 65
Lim, P.H.
Wong (1966) also reported that a universal combined school system would involve many
small and thus expensive secondary schools. The Lasallians Christian Brother schools opted
for the combined school system where the pupils could study continuously in one combined
school throughout their school life. They took into consideration the fact that in such a
system the friction in progress from primary to secondary classes would be minimized. These
schools were professedly Catholic, and as the general education goes hand in hand with
religious instruction, the combined system was essential (Wong 1966, 471).
Up until 1899, there were only two known school libraries among the English schools in the
Straits Settlements, one at the Singapore Institution in 1837 (Singapore Free School 1837, 8-
9) and the other is Anglo-Chinese School in Singapore established in 1888 as a gift from a
Chinese businessman (Lau and Teo 2003, 58). In 1899 the Inspector of Schools, Wilkinson,
noticed that: “No suitable library exists; the funds of the Raffles Library are all absorbed in
the purchase of literature for adults. The boys have therefore no opportunity of acquiring
the habit of reading.” Therefore he allocated a small vote $250 for each of the two larger
settlements, Singapore and Penang for the initiation of a school library. “Most of the boys
attending the Straits Schools were not of English race and know no English when they come
to school. Indeed they come to learn it. They often (but not invariably) have knowledge of a
Malay lingua-franca which lacks copiousness in vocabulary and precision in grammar.
Hitherto they have received their instruction through the medium of this patois (Wilkinson
1900, 137).
Page | 66
The Beginning and Development of English Schools and School Libraries
of St Gabriel came to Singapore to manage the school (Emmanuel 1997). In 1920 the St
George’s English School was opened at Balik Pulau (Tan 1976). It was reported that the
Roman Catholic Mission schools were lower in standard than St Xavier’s Institution (Hall
1922, 552).
The Malacca Anglo-Chinese School was started on 24 January 1910 with seven pupils, by the
headmaster Rev C. C. Underhill, in the home of a Chinese gentleman in Heeren Street,
Malacca. In 1941 a new building was built with 12 classrooms, a tiffin shed, an assembly hall,
a science room, an Arts and Crafts room and a library. During the Japanese occupation the
school was completely looted (Ho 1964, 313-314).
Church of England
In 1901 St Mark’s at Butterworth was set up by the Church of England (Tan et al. 1976, 38).
See Appendix B for a full list schools affiliated with the Church of England in 1938.
In Penang, the Northam Road School was opened in 1922 with 12 teachers (Wolff 1923,
208). The Hillview Government School was opened the following year (Volues 1998, 321).
Farquhar Street English School was opened in 1926 (Winstedt 1927). The High School, Bukit
Mertajam, was opened in 1927 with an enrolment of 327 (Winstedt 1928, 164). In 1938
there were six Government English Boys’ Schools in Penang (Appendix C).
The Bandar Hilir English School in Malacca was opened in 1923 (Winstedt 1924). In 1938
there were only three Government English Boys’ Schools in Malacca (Appendix C).
The growth of English Boys’ Schools in the Straits Settlements before 1921 was dominated
by the various missionary groups since they consisted of 75 per cent of all English Boys’
Schools. The rapid expansion of English boys’ schools was the result of building more
Government English Boys’ Schools after the 1930s, particularly in Singapore and Penang as
shown in Table 5.
The significant presence of school libraries, like the expansion of English boys’ schools
occurred after 1930 when 70 percent or more English boys schools have school libraries
shown in Tables 6 and Appendix D.
Page | 67
Lim, P.H.
Malacca
Government English Schools 1 2 2 3 3
Aided English Boys’ Schools 3 1 2 2 2
Total English Boys’ Schools 29 24 28 37 41
Total Enrolment English Boys’ School 6,155 7,586 14,183 18,955 17,932
Straits Settlements
Total Malay Boys’ Schools 141 150 160 174 171
Total Enrolment Malay Boys’ School 6,591 10,994 13,012 20,264 22,282
Sources: Elcum (1901, 165); Hall (1912, 280); Wolff (1922, 219 & 226); Morten (1932, 50 & 61);
Linehan (1939, 168 & 204).
Table 6: Growth of English boys’ schools and school libraries in the Straits Settlements,
1933-1937
In Penang, the Convent was established in Balik Pulau in 1930. St Teresa’s Convent was set
up in Butterworth the same year (Tan 1976).
Page | 68
The Beginning and Development of English Schools and School Libraries
Table 7: Expansion of Government English girls’ schools and aided English girls’ schools in the
Straits Settlements, 1900-1938 (selected years).
Straits Settlements
Total Malay Girls’ Schools 28 30 34 40 48
Total Enrolment of Malay Girls’ School 753 971 1,043 2,577 3,360
Sources: Elcum (1901, 165); Hall (1912, 280); Wolff (1922, 219 & 226); Morten (1932, 50 & 61);
Linehan (1939, 168 & 204).
Page | 69
Lim, P.H.
Table 8: Growth of English girls’ schools and school libraries in the Straits Settlements,
1933-1937
In the nineteenth century it was the European and American missionary groups who
initiated the beginning and development of English boys schools and school libraries in the
Straits Settlement, although their primary goal was to promote their religion. By 1900 there
were 29 English boys’ schools, of which four were government schools. However, there were
only two known school libraries, both in Singapore. Throughout the nineteenth century the
missionaries set up ten English girls’ schools. There were no Government English Girls’
Schools and no known school libraries in these schools.
More English schools were set up following the transfer of the Settlement to the Colonial
Office in London in 1867, and the first official enquiry into the state of vernacular education
was conducted in 1870. In 1872 the first Inspector of Schools was appointed and Education
Department established to extend government funded Malay schools and reform the
Grants-in-aid system applicable mainly to English schools. English Boys Schools increased
from 29 in 1900, to 37 in 1931 and 41 in 1938 (Table 1). The significant increase in 1931 was
due to the setting up of more Government English boys’ schools in Singapore and Penang.
The first policy to provide a school library in an English school in Singapore and Penang was
initiated by Acting School Inspector, Wilkinson. In spite of this policy, about half of English
boys’ and girls’ schools had school libraries. In an educational conference in 1925, Winstedt
and Watson (1925) reported that there was neither permanent text-book committee, nor a
central book-buying agency for English schools. Therefore English books were ordered with,
little or no planning and coordination, from a variety of sources from Europe, Crown Agents,
London publishers or from India. Mr. C. G. Coleman, Inspector of Schools for Singapore and
Labuan, complained that books ordered from Europe or India sometimes failed to reach in
time (Winstedt and Watson 1925, 2-3). In 1939 it was discussed that publishers will not
published local titles because “there is not a big enough demand to make them a financial
proposition”. Thousands of copies were printed at one time for countries like Africa and
India, however, for Malaya an edition of 10,000 copies would be sufficient for several years
and no publisher is willing to tie up his money for such a period unless he has some
guarantee (Education Department 1939, 63).It was agreed in the same year that schools can
apply to the Department of Education the sum of $2 a year per pupil to purchase books for
school libraries (Education Department 1939, 129-130). However, little would have been
done considering Europe was at war and preparations were made to prepare for the
Japanese invasion of Malaya.
Page | 70
The Beginning and Development of English Schools and School Libraries
It was not until after the 1930s that more than 70 per cent of English boys’ and girls’ schools
had school libraries (Table 9, Appendix D and E). The percentage reached 80 per cent in 1937
as shown in Tables 6 and 8. In 1935, 97 per cent of Malay boys’ schools had school libraries
(Morten 1936). There were more libraries in Government Malay boys’ school probably due
to the fact that they were centrally financed and controlled although there were no much
books made available as published in the Education Code 1936 (Education Department 1936,
16-17). There were, however, no known records on school libraries in Government Malay
girls’ schools (Lim 2008). This lack of school libraries could probably be due to the curriculum
having a definite bias towards domestic science and life at home as Malay girls were taught
needlework, cookery, laundry and house-wifery (Purdom 1931).
Table 9: School libraries in English boys’ and girls’ schools in the Straits Settlements in 1921,
1926, 1930 and 1932.
Page | 71
Lim, P.H.
loans of books from the public library system (Ellis 1968). Such services were not available in
the settlements, however, through the kind offices of the Inspector of Schools, Mr. H. T.
Clark, assistance has been sought and readily given in connection with the formation of
libraries in up-country schools (Johnston 1930). But such assistance was limited considering
professional librarianship and school librarianship as a vocation and movement did not exist
then. In 1921 the Raffles Library was elected to Institution membership of the Library
Association (LA) in England “with the object of regularly securing much profitable
information in connection with modern library practice and development” (Moulton 1922,
14). The formation of the School Library Association (SLA), and the School Section of the LA
in 1937 in England acted as catalysts. Both had similar aims to promote the development
and use of the school library as an instrument of education in schools of all kinds, and to this
end, organized branches, published booklists, pamphlets and newsletters (Ellis 1968, 172).
The first professional Malayan Library Group was established in 1955 with only about half-a-
dozen qualified librarians in the whole of the Federation and Singapore, only one of whom
was a local person (Anuar 1961, 2).The first course on librarianship for school teachers was
conducted for the first time in the same year. The course consisted of a series of lectures by
L.M. Harrod, Director of the Raffles Library, W.J. Plume, Librarian of the University of
Malaya, University Librarians J.M. Waller and E.H. Clark (Lim 1955, 47-48), although they did
not have specialist knowledge on school librarianship. It was a commendable effort on the
part of these librarians to conduct the first short course on librarianship for the teacher
librarians in Singapore. The introduction of the association of professional librarianship and
school librarianship as a movement in Singapore and Malaysia, as historical events suggest,
was a postwar phenomena towards further library development.
REFERENCES
Alfred, Hedwig. 2002. Living the mission: The SJI story 1852-2002. Singapore: Archipelago
Press.
Anuar, Hedwig. 1961. Malayan Library Group to the Library Association of Singapore: The
first six years. Majallah Perpustakaan Singapura [Singapore Library Journal], Vol 1: 2-4.
Balan, R.S., Goh Bian Koon and Simon Tan Y. T. 1977. 125th Anniversary souvenir magazine
(1852-1977). Singapore: St Joseph’s Institution.
Bazell, C. Education in Singapore. 1921. In One hundred years of Singapore, edited by Walter
Makepeace, Gilbert E. Brooke and Roland St J. Braddell, 427-476. London: John Murray.
Birch, J. K. 1998. Administration report, Penang. In Annual reports of the Straits Settlements
1855-1941: Volume 5: 1901-1907, edited by Robert L. Jarman, 402-429. London:
Archives Editions: 402-429.
Buckley, Charles Burton. 1902. An anecdotal history of the old times in Singapore: From the
foundation of the settlement under the honourable East India Company on February 6th,
1819 to the transfer of the Colonial Office as part of the colonial possessions of the
Crown on April 1st, 1867. Singapore: Fraser & Neave.
Campbell, W.R. 1998. Report in the Blue Book of Penang and Province Wellesley for the year
1872. In Annual reports of the Straits Settlements 1855-1941: Volume 2: 1868-1883,
edited by Robert L. Jarman, 155-177. London: Archives Editions.
Canossian Sisters of St Anthony’s Convent.1994. A century in Singapore: The Canossians, St
Anthony’s Convent. Singapore: Canossian Sisters of St Anthony’s Convent.
Cavenagh, Orfeur. 1998. Annual report on the administration of the Straits Settlements for
the Year 1864-1865. In Annual reports of the Straits Settlements 1855-1941: Volume 1:
1855-1867, edited by Robert L. Jarman, 549-662. London: Archives Editions.
Page | 72
The Beginning and Development of English Schools and School Libraries
Chelliah, D. D. 1947. A history of the educational policy of the Straits Settlements with
recommendations for a new system based on vernaculars. Kuala Lumpur: Government
Press.
CHIJ Katong Convent. 2002. Rasa KC: A taste just for you. Singapore: CHIJ Katong Convent.
Chua, Bok Chye. 2006. Our story: Malacca High School 1826-2006. Kuala Lumpur: MHS
Anniversary.
Cook, J. A. Bethune. 1907. Sunny Singapore: An account of the place and its people, With a
Sketch of the Results of Missionary Work. London: Elliot Stock.
Cooke, D. F. 1966. The mission schools of Malaya, 1815-1942. Paedagogica Historica, Vol. 4:
364-399.
Doraisamy, T.D., Gwee Yee Hean and Zahoor Ahmad. 1969. 150 years of education in
Singapore. Singapore: Teachers’ Training College.
Education Department. 1936. Education code, part V: Regulations for Malay vernacular
education in the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States. 2nd and revised ed.
Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Education Department. 1939. Fifth educational conference of Malaya: Official report of
Proceedings. Singapore: Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Education
Department.
Egerton, Walter. 1998. Administrative report Penang 1899. In Annual Reports of the Straits
Settlements 1855-1941: Volume 4: 1892-1900, edited by Robert L. Jarman, 467-495
London: Archives Editions.
Elcum, J.B. 1898. Annual report of education in the Straits Settlements for the year 1897.
Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Elcum, J.B. 1901. Annual report of education in the Straits Settlements for the year 1900.
Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Elcum, J.B. 1906. Annual report of education in the Straits Settlements for the year 1905.
Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Elcum, J. B. 1908. Education. In Twentieth century impressions of British Malaya: Its history,
people, commerce, industries and resources, edited by Arnold Wright and H. A.
Cartwright, 267-280. London: Lloyd’s Greater Britain Publishing Company Ltd.
Elcum, J.B. 1910. Annual report of education in the Straits Settlements for the year 1909.
Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Elcum, J.B. 1914. Annual report of education in the Straits Settlements for the year 1913.
Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Elcum, J. B. 1968. The system of education in the Straits Settlements.” In Special Reports on
Educational Subjects, Volume 14, edited by Board of Education, 133-151. London:
Dawsons of Pall Mall, 1968.
Ellis, Alec. 1968. A history of children’s reading and literature. Oxford: Pergamon.
Emmanuel, Rev Bro. 1997. The Brothers of St Gabriel. In Church of the Nativity of the Blessed
Virgin Mary 125th anniversary, edited by The Church, 50-51. Singapore: The Church.
Hall, G.A. 1912. Straits Settlements Annual Report on Education for the Year 1911. Singapore
Government Printing Office, 1912.
Hanitsch, R. 1921. Raffles Library and Museum, Singapore. In One Hundred Years of
Singapore, edited by Walter Makepeace, Gilbert E. Brooke and Roland St J. Braddell,
eds, 519-566. London: John Murray.
Hill, E. C. 1892. Straits Settlements Annual Report on Education for the Year 1891. Singapore
Government Printing Office.
Ho, Seng Ong. 1964. Methodist schools in Malaysia: Their record and history. Petaling Jaya:
Board of Education, Malaya Annual Conference.
Jabatan Pelajaran Melaka. 1975. Sejarah sekolah-sekolah Melaka. Melaka: Jabatan Pelajaran
Melaka.
Page | 73
Lim, P.H.
Johnston, James. 1930. The work of the Junior Library. In The Straits Chinese Annual, edited
by Song Ong Siang, 75-79. Singapore: Straits Times Press.
Kier, A. 1938. Annual reports on education in the Straits Settlements and the Federated
Malay States for the year 1937. Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Kloss, C. Boden.1924. Annual report of the Raffles Museum and Library for the Year 1923.
Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Kloss, C. Boden. 1931. Annual report of the Raffles Museum and Library for the Year 1930.
Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Kong, Lily, Low Soon Ai and Jacqueline Yap. 1994. Convent chronicles: A history of a pioneer
mission for girls in Singapore. Singapore: Armour Publishing Pte Ltd.
Kynnersley, C. W. S., et al. 1902. Report of the Commission of Enquiry into the system of
English Education in the Colony. Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Lau, Ernest and Peter Teo. 2003. The ACS Story. Singapore: Concordia Communications Pte
Ltd.
Lawson, Peter. 1993. The East India Company: A History. London: Longman, 1993.
Leong, Sau Ming. 1981. From Singapore Institution to Raffles Institution 1823-1903.
Academic Exercise, Department of History, National University of Singapore,
Lim, Beda. 1955. Librarianship course. Malayan Library Group Newsletter, Vol. 1, no. 3: 47-
48.
Lim, Lena U Wen, Evita Lee and Chang Shook Leng. 1987. Memories, gems and sentiments:
100 Years of Methodist Girls’ School. Singapore: Methodist Girls’ School.
Lim, Peng Han. 2008. Malay schools and school libraries in the Straits Settlements under
British colonial rule before the Second World War. Malaysian Journal of Library and
Information Science, Vol 13, no. 1: 1-15.
Linehan, W. 1939. Annual Report on Education in the Straits Settlements and the Federated
Malay States for the Year 1938. Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Marriott, H. 1912. Population of the Straits Settlements and Malay Peninsula the last
century, Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 62: 31-42.
McNair, J.F.A. 1998 Penang. In Annual Reports of the Straits Settlements 1868-1883: Volume
2, edited by Robert L. Jarman, 513-531. London: Archives Edition Limited.
Merewether, E. M. 1998. Administration report, Malacca: Revenue and expenditure. In
Annual Reports of the Straits Settlements 1892-1900: Volume 4, edited by Robert L.
Jarman, 559-586. London: Archives Edition Limited.
Morten, F. J. 1932. Annual report of education in the Straits Settlements for the Year 1931.
Singapore: Government Printing Office, 1932.
Morten, F. J. 1933. annual report of education in the Straits Settlements for the Year 1932.
Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Morten, F. J. 1934. Annual Report of Education in the Straits Settlements for the Year 1933.
Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Morten, F. J. 1935. Annual Report of Education in the Straits Settlements for the Year 1934.
Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Morten, F. J.1936. Annual Report of Education in the Straits Settlements for the Year 1935.
Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Morten, F. J. Annual Report of Education in the Straits Settlements for the Year 1936.
Singapore: Government Printing Office, 1937.
Moulton, J. C. 1922. Straits Settlements Annual Report of the Raffles Museum and Library for
the Year 1921. Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Murray, Douglas Peterson. 1971. Multilanguage education and bilingualism: the formation
of social brokers in Singapore. PhD dissertation, School of Education, Stanford
University
Page | 74
The Beginning and Development of English Schools and School Libraries
Murray, W. 1921. Religious Singapore. In One Hundred Years of Singapore, edited by Walter
Makepeace, Gilbert E. Brooke and Roland St J. Braddell, 235-277. London: John Murray,
1921.
Nathan, J. E. 1922. The Census of Malaya, 1921. London: Waterloo & Sons.
Ow, Wei Mei. 2005. A bright new world: The Fairfield story. Singapore: Fairfield Methodist
Girls’ School Alumni.
Purdom, N. 1931. Needlework and craft instruction in Malay girls’ schools. Oversea
Education, Vol 2, no. 4: 172-178.
Raffles, Sir Stamford Thomas. 1991. Singapore Institution. In Memoir of the Life and Services
of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, edited by Lady Raffles, 75-86. Singapore: Oxford
University Press.
Scott. John. 1998. Annual report on the social and economic progress of the people of the
Straits Settlements 1931. In Annual Reports of the Straits Settlements 1927-1931:
Volume 9, Robert L. Jarman, 611-715. London: Archives Edition Limited.
Singapore Free School. 1837. The third report of the Singapore Free School 1836/37.
Singapore: Singapore Free Press.
Singapore Institution Free School. 1838 Singapore Institution Free School Fourth Annual
Report 1837/38. Singapore: Singapore Free Press.
Small, A.S. 1998. Annual Report on the Social and Economic Progress of the People of the
Straits Settlements 1938. In Annual Reports of the Straits Settlements 1936-1941:
Volume 11, edited by Robert L. Jarman, 329-433. London: Archives Edition Limited
St Patrick’s School. 1983. Our story: St Patrick’s School 1933-1983. Singapore: St Patrick’s
School.
St Joseph’s Convent. St Joseph’s Convent Golden Jubilee: Fiftieth Anniversary 1938-1988.
Singapore: The Convent.
Swettenham, Frank Athelstane. 1998. Address of His Excellency Governor Sir Frank
Athelstane Swettenham, K. C. M. G., at a Meeting of the Legislative Council, held on
Saturday, the 10th October 1903. In Annual Reports of the Straits Settlements 1855-
1941: Volume 5: 1901-1907, edited by Robert L. Jarman, 199-206. London: Archive
Editions.
Tan, Boon Lin, Mohd. Ali Mohd and Pawanteh Shaik Mohamed. 1976. Sejarah sekolah-
sekolah negeri Pulau Pinang. Pulau Pinang: Jawatankuasa Sejarah Sekolah-Sekolah
Pulau Pinang.
Teixeira, Fr Manuel. 1963. The Portuguese Missions in Malacca and Singapore (1511-1958):
Volume III – Singapore. Lisboa: Agencia Geral Do Ultramar.
Vlieland, C. A. 1932. British Malaya: A Report on the 1931 Census and on Certain Problems of
Vital Statistics. London: Crown Agents of the Colonies.
Volues, A.B. Administrative Report: Penang. In Annual Reports of the Straits Settlements
1922-1926: Volume 8, edited by Robert L. Jarman, 307-326. London: Archives Edition
Limited.
Watson, J. 1930. Straits Settlements Annual Report of the Education Department for the Year
1929. Singapore: Government Printing Office, 1930.
Wilkinson, R. J. 1899. Straits Settlements Annual Report of the Education Department for the
Year 1898. Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Wilkinson, R. J. 1900. Straits Settlements Annual Report of the Education Department for the
Year 1899. Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Winstedt, R. O. 1924. Straits Settlements Annual Report of the Education Department for the
Year 1923. Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Winstedt, R. O. 1927. Straits Settlements Annual Report of the Education Department for the
Year 1926. Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Page | 75
Lim, P.H.
Winstedt, R. O. 1928. Straits Settlements Annual Report of the Education Department for the
Year 1927. Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Winstedt, R. O. 1929. Straits Settlements Annual Report of the Education Department for the
Year 1928. Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Winstedt, R. O. 1930. Straits Settlements Annual Report of the Education Department for the
Year 1929. Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Winstedt, R.O. and J. Watson. 1925. Report of the proceedings at an educational conference
held in Singapore, July 21st – 25th 1925. Kuala Lumpur: Federated Malay States
Government Printing Office.
Wolff, E. C. H. 1922. Straits Settlements Annual Report of the Education Department for the
Year 1921. Singapore: Government Printing Office, 1922.
Wolff, E. C. H. 1923. Straits Settlements Annual Report of the Education Department for the
Year 1922. Singapore: Government Printing Office.
Wong, Francis H. K. and Yee Hean Gwee, eds. 1980. Official Reports on Education: Straits
Settlements and the Federated Malay States. Singapore: Pan Pacific Distributors Pte
Ltd.
Wong, Hoy Kee. 1966. The De La Salle Brothers in the Far East. Paedagogica Historica, Vol 6:
440-504.
Young, R. M. 1953. Department of Education Annual Report 1952. Singapore: Government
Printing Office.
Page | 76
The Beginning and Development of English Schools and School Libraries
APPENDIX A
Government English boys’ schools and aided English boys’ schools in the Straits Settlements
in 1899
Government Schools Settlement Year est. Enrolment
1. Cross Street School Singapore 1874 374
2. Victoria Bridge School Singapore 1874 193
3. Kampong Glam Chinese Branch Singapore NA 79
4. Malacca High School Malacca 1826 162
Methodist Episcopal
17. Anglo-Chinese School - Singapore Singapore 1886 554
18. American Mission Anglo-Tamil School Singapore 1891 33
19. Gaylang Mission School Singapore 1899 17
20. Pykett Methodist School Penang 1891 492
22. American Mission Tamil School Penang NA 68
Presbyterian
23. Eastern School Singapore 1891 225
Undenominational
28. Anglo Chinese Free School Singapore 1885 326
29. Cheang Jim Hean’s Free School Singapore 1893 121
Total average enrolment 5,810
Page | 77
Lim, P.H.
APPENDIX B
Government-aided English boys’ schools in the Straits Settlements in 1921 and 1938.
Church of England
St Andrew’s School Singapore 1852 632 832
St Mark’s School, Butterworth PW, Penang 1901 88 211
Methodist Episcopal
Anglo-Chinese School, Primary Singapore 1886 See below 473
Anglo-Chinese School, Middle Singapore 1886 See below 380
Anglo-Chinese School, Secondary Singapore 1886 1,765 416
Anglo-Chinese High School Penang 1891 1,474 356
Anglo-Chinese Middle School Penang 1891 See above 413
Anglo-Chinese Primary School Penang 1819 See above 371
Anglo-Chinese, Nibong Tebal PW, Penang 1903 155 198
Anglo-Chinese School Malacca 1910 157 329
Total average enrolment 8,317 8,843
Page | 78
The Beginning and Development of English Schools and School Libraries
APPENDIX C
Government English boys’ schools in the Straits Settlements in 1921 and 1938
Note: Year of establishment of each school was retrieved from various issues of the Straits
Settlements Annual Reports of the Education Department, 1884-1939. NA means not available.
Page | 79
Lim, P.H.
APPENDIX D
Staff and school libraries in English boys’ and girls’ schools, 1921-1932 (selected years)
1921 1922
Staff School Total % Staff School Total %
library library schools library library schools
Singapore 8 10 19 51% 8 10 19 51%
Penang 5 3 14 21% 4 4 15 27%
Malacca - 2 7 29% - 2 7 29%
Total 13 15 40 38% 12 16 41 39%
1923 1925
Staff School Total % Staff School Total %
library library schools library library schools
Singapore 8 10 19 51% 13 11 20 55%
Penang 5 5 15 33% 8 8 16 50%
Malacca 1 3 7 43% 2 7 8 86%
Labuan - - - - - 1 1 100%
Total 14 18 44 62% 23 27 45 60%
1926 1927
Staff School Total % Staff School Total %
library library schools library library schools
Singapore 13 11 20 55% 13 11 21 52%
Penang 8 8 17 47% 9 9 19 47%
Malacca 4 7 8 86% 7 4 8 50%
Labuan - 1 1 100% - 1 1 100%
Total 25 27 45 60% 29 25 49 51%
1928 1929
Staff School Total % Staff School Total %
library library schools library library schools
Singapore 13 14 22 64% 13 15 22 68%
Penang 10 10 19 53% 3 10 19 53%
Malacca 8 8 8 100% 8 8 8 100%
Labuan - 1 1 100% - 1 1 100%
Total 31 33 50 66% 24 34 50 68%
1930 1932
Staff School Total % Staff School Total %
library library schools library library schools
Singapore 14 17 22 77% 15 18 23 78%
Penang 10 11 20 55% 10 12 23 52%
Malacca 8 8 8 100% 8 8 8 100%
Labuan - 1 1 100% - 1 1 100%
Total 32 37 50 74% 33 39 54 72%
Sources: Wolff (1922, 219 & 221); Wolff (1923, 230 & 232); Winstedt (1924, 128 & 130); Shelley
(1926, 226 & 228); Winstedt (1927, 305 & 307); Winstedt (1928, 180 & 182); Winstedt (1929, 244 &
246); Watson (1930, 936-937); Winstedt (1931, 782-783); Morten (1933, 56-57).
Page | 80
The Beginning and Development of English Schools and School Libraries
APPENDIX E
Government-aided English Girls’ schools and Government English Girls’ schools in the Straits
Settlements in 1921 and 1938
Undenominational
Singapore Chinese Girls’ School Singapore 1899 371 286
Note: Year of establishment of each school was retrieved from various issues of the Straits
Settlements Annual Reports of the Education Department, 1884-1939. NA means not available.
Page | 81