The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED "The Evening News," "The Morning News," and "The Echo." SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 1878.

Auckland Star, Volume IX, Issue 2603, 10 August 1878, Page 2

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED "The Evening News," "The Morning News," and "The Echo."

SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 1878.

For the-cause that lacks assistance, For the wrong that needs resistance! For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

THE first education 'report of the Minister! of Education,tlie Hon. J. Ballance,has .been! laid before Parliament,,. It gives itho:results of the public 'scHopls' system, for'the year, ending 31st December,. 1877, but relates, only to'the period during which the mauage-' ment': of' elcnientary schools ■' was■ pro- '. vided' for by. a hierely teinpoVavy measure,' and educational alf.iirs were " consequently < in asomeAvh'atunsettled and unsatisfactory; condition." The Ju'umbors of [schools in I

operation during the whole, or a portion of ' the year 1877 was 730. A few schools have not furnished returns, and the Auckland College and Grammar School and Dunedin High Schools were not included. In Auckland there :vvere 30 half-time schools, and, itigOtago 4. These were situated in sparsely seiitled diSrictslwhere'theiiuniber oft|Childrip was^foo 's^;a.ll to warrant?; the taiamtenance of an 'school. I In *such cases it has usually been found advisable to place under the charge of one teacher two small schools sitaated at a convenient . -distance'iromieach' other, .-the teacher dividing his time fairly between them. The average attendance at halfrtime schools in neaxly.aU-instaneej3:Wj^ shows'that the total average attendance throughout the colony for the last quarter of 1877 was 52,773; the number of schools with under 15 pupils, 96 ; with 15 and under 20 pupils, 79 ; with 20 and under 25 pupils, 92; with 25 and under 50, 100 schools-; 50-" and under 75, 100; having 75 and under 100, 40; having 100 pupils and under, 150, 46; having 150 and under, 300, 35; attended by 300 pupils or over, 7 schools. The report goes on to say that it remains to be seen to what extent the powers conferred on Education Boards by the 88th section of the Education Act will enable them to provide for the educational wants of outlying districts by means of itinerant teachers and half-time schools. The number of teachers employed in schools under Boards during the last quarter of 1877 is returned at 1,400, as follows :— Head masters, 577; assistant masters, 71; male pupil teachers, 82 ; head mistresses, 213; assistant jmistresses, 236; female pupil teachers, 220. There are also 82 sewing instructors. There is reason to believe that the attendance registers have been imperfectly kepi The total attendants or enrolments for 1877 was 71,951; the average daily attendance, 40,837. The total number of attendants or enrolments for the last quarter of 1877 was 41,773. The report points out that in some towns children frequently change from one school to another, and are likely to become enrolled on both. It also observes that it is necessary,to keep in mind that it is not the number of scholars nominally on a school roll, but the actual average attendance which regulates allowance to schools in respect to class-room accommodation, strength of staff, salaries of teachers, and other requirements; therefore, it is desirable that Education Boards should encourage a careful revision oi school rolls once each quarter. Uniform attendance, registers, 'and summaries are about to be supplied to all schools. It was not found possible this year to furnish returns of ages of scholars. The table of the income of the Boards shows that the cost of the school system for the year waa £275,751, of which £204,205 came from the public treasury ; the revenue from reserves was only £16,604 (exclusive of the superior schools of Auckland and Otago). Besides this, the OtagoSchool Committee raised £20,828, which did not pass through the Board's books ; New Plymouth, £750; Hawke's Bay, £814. The ratio of expenditure in the several educational districts of Auckland, was £4 15s 3d ; New Plymouth, £6 7s 2d ; Patea, £9 19s 2d ; Hawke's Bay, £3 lls 4d; Wellington, £4 16s 4d ; MarlboioHgh, £5 14s 2d; Nelson, £3 17s 2d; Westland, £6 19s 9d ; Canterbury, £4 16s 9d; and Otago, £4 Bslod ; general average, £4 14 B£d. The expenditure: Departmental salaries and allowances, printing, advertising, stationery, and other, office expenses, £13,559; teachers' salaries, allowances, petty repairs, and ordinary expenses, £166,636; training institution, £5,988; scholarships, £1,891 ; sundries, £3,610; school buildings, £82,376; total, £275,751. It will be the duty of the inspector in future to furnish a comprehensive report on the condition of schools throughout the colony. The report says: " The question of making satisfactory provision for the proper training of teachers is one of great and pressing importance, but it is, at the same time, attended with some amount of practical difficulty. Arrangements of a permanent character could only be entered upon after very careful and mature consideration, for the maintenance of one largely-attended and fully-equipped training institution. The difficulty experienced in connection with such schools in New Zealand is, that of securing anything like & sufficient number of young men as candidates for admission and training. This difficulty would be merely lessened by having training-schools in several parts of the colony, and this very important consideration may very properly outweigh others that might be advanced in support of the establishment of only one large central institution. The scholarships held last year were : Auckland, 15 ; Wellington 6 ; Marlborough, 2 ; Nelson. 4; Canterbury, 21. Otago has yet only a few scholarships founded by private persons. The most equitable and just mode of distributing money voted for the maintenance of scholarships would be to place at the disposal of Education Boards a grant of money in proportion to the average daily school attendance within the respective districts. Full particulars of the distribution of the £5000 voted for public libraries is promised in the next annual report, and in future steps are to be taken to present Information respecting the public mstifru" tions for higher education in a complete and systematic manner. The Education Act required that grants to Boards should be paid according to average daily attendance. In the Appropriation Act the sum of £3 10s was set down for each average attendance. This was obviously an inadvertence, as the Education Act authorised payment of £3 15s. When the department organised at the end of January, 1878, nearly seven months after the financial year began it was found that many advances made by the Government since the abolition of provinces were out of proportion to the amounts warranted by statute. One Board had received £3,080 in excess of its claim ; and another Board, whose claim for six months1 would be about £1,890, had received; £14,225. It was found impossible all at once to stop the payment of monthly ac-| counts which would have embarrased Boards and inflicted hardships on teachers and their families. The amount expended by the Department during the financial yearj was £29,261 in excess of the amount voted, besides £1,950 in * excess of the amount for school buildings; aud a further sum of £19,230 will be needed to meet payments for the past; financial year. The Education Board re-; turns show a total expenditure of £82,322 on school buildings during the year. The £50,000 voted for school buildings had been distributed and exceeded by £1,950. The passing of the Education Act has added largely to the attendance and led to the establishment of an increased number of new schools. To encourage Savings Banks the Government had directed that bank pass-books, etc., shall be prepared, and shortly be furnished to Boards. The Government have also had under consideration the advisability of encouraging and assisting teachers employed in public school's to make provision for themselves in! retirement from active duty, and for their widows and orphan children in case of death, end have instructed the actuary of the Government Insurance Department to submit for consideration a scheme caculated to secure the objects. The Government do not. deemit desirable to frame regulations for the examination and classification of teachers, etc., until more information is obtained. The general statement of expenditure during the year ending 30th June, 1878 shows New Zealand University, £3,800.; Education Department: Secretary, £50510s;; clerical assistance, £122 ISs 4d.; salaries of inspectors, £3,263 14s ; normal schools,; £6,489 6s lid ; scholarships, £872 ling expenses, £1,361 17s lOd; contin-i gencies, £781 18s. Bd;'grants to Boards,: £150,854 12s 2d;' Wellington College,1 £1,574; Otago High1 School,. £3,213; in' lieu of capitation■tax}'"£2so,ooo. Total,! £194,048 18s 8d.^., : Public libraries, £5,000.! Miscellaneous from Land Fund : Cantor-j bnry Girls High School, £250; ditto School of Mines, £450 ;• ditto school buildings, £15,000; do/ High School build- \. ings, ' £15,000; d 6. [College main ten aripfe, :U'r;.,' ;v.m;-j,ai'rsar ■ ■■■ Q i

£3 350 • Otago directors of school of mines, £500 ;.do, school appliances, £500 ; totals, ■£35id50; school buildings, £51,950; unantnorised aided schools, £394105; abstract of educaiionseryice departmental salaries and travelling expenses, amounts expended, £843 2s lid; contingencies, £78118s8d; Wellington Collegeand Otago HighSchoola, £4,787; pavmsnts to Education Boards £187,b3b, lbs Id?; Total, £284,048 18s Bd. For the perfect accuracy of many of the figures given in this review of the operations of our national school system we cannot vouch, the- transmission by. •>telegraph... having obviously had a damaging effect on the various totals. The general conclusions of the report,-however,-disclose, an amount of real effort "for the diffusion of knowledge, and a success which must afford genuine satisfaction to those who have upheld the secular and free system of public instruction. That out of a total population ol 400,000, there ware 71,951 attending public schools—a number which has been greatly increased—is a proof that the system is one generally acceptable to the people.