FREE SCHOOL BOOKS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 299, 27 January 1910, Page 7

FREE SCHOOL BOOKS.

THE ;\E\V I{EUU'EAI'AU.NS>. The following circular letter has been lssu<.d by i u e inspector-Uelierai oJ ken u ins: "Supplementing the Department's circular memorandum 01 2Uui Uctouer last ill regaru to uic grant lor tlio supply of free text, liooks to children ;l> dard ill. in public schools, 1 have now to inform yuu that the lollowing are the full terms aim conditions a»' determined by the Minister for the allocation of tiic grant:—(l) The grant will be for the year I'JIO, and will be at tlie rate of three shillings .per head on tlie roll number of Standard Hi. The roll number for this pur.,o.,e will be taken to mean the average roll number for the year ending 31st December, 1910. (3) i'roni the Ist January, 1910. no Standard 111. pupils are to be requireu to buy any text books. (4) The purpose of the grant is to provide for each pupil—(a) in schools of Grade V. and upwards' (i) a general miscellaneous reader, (ii) a supplementary reader of a more or less continuous character, not being a geographical or an historical reader; an arithmetic book; (b) in schools below Grade V. a general miscellaneous reader, an arithmetic book, a geographical reader, an •historical reader. l-'or the geographical and historical readers for which provisioa ii made under (!>), the Board may, however, substitute either a geographical reader or an historical reader for the pupils of Standards 111. and IV. conjointly. (0) The grant may also be used for the purchase of other supple- , mentary readers within the meaning of (a) (ii), paragraph 4, above, for the use of Standard 111, children, such readers to be previously approved by the Minister. (7) The balance of the grant, if any, may be spent either in the purchase of some of the books for Standard IV. or in purchasing approved books for class' libraries suitable for the home reading of children in Standard 111. No portion of the grant is to be spent for any other purpose than those named herein. (9) The question as to what books may be taken home by the children, and when, is left to the discretion of the boards; it is not anticipated that the grant for this class in any future year will be sufficient to provide a new set of books each year, but sufficient merely to enable' tne board to renew the supply at reasonabis intervals and to meet wear and tear. (10) At the end of the year the board ia to send to the Department a return of the books purchased. (11) Claims for a refund of sums expended by your board within the limits of the grant I will be paid on your certificate that the expenditure is in accordance with the conditions herein specified, and particularly in accordance with claus'e 3, viz., that no pupils in Standard 111. liave been required to buy any text books."