§ 14. Mr. OLIVERasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many Government lower-primary schools there are in Fiji; how many children can be accommodated in these; how many Indian children there are in Fiji; and how much is spent annually on their education?
§ Mr. AMERYDuring 1925 there were 66 Government and assisted schools in Fiji, with an attendance of 5,182 pupils. 9 inquiry of the Colonial Government would be necessary to ascertain whether it would have been practicable to provide for a larger number of pupils in these schools. According to the 1921 Census returns the number of Indian children between the ages of five and 15 then in the colony was 13,116. It would be a matter of difficulty to separate expenditure on Indian education from other expenditure on education. The total expenditure on education was £26,151 in 1921, £28,956 in 1922, £25,322 in 1923, £27,103 in 1924, and £30,039 in 1925.
§ Mr. OLIVERIs it. not a fact that there is only one Government lower primary school in Fiji; that there are 24,000 Indian children there, and that only something like £400 has been spent annually for their education?
§ Mr. AMERYI cannot answer a definite question on that point, but my impression is that the suggestion contained in the question is wrong. There are not more than 13,000 school children, and I think the school facilities are considerably in excess of what the hon. Member states.