43

H.—2.

REPORTS OF EDUCATION BOARDS EOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1878.

[Note. —It has been deemed unadvisable to swell the dimensions of the report by including in it matters of purely local interest where such can be conveniently omitted, but most of the tables and papers which accompanied the Boards' reports are either printed as received, or the information they furnish is embodied in the tables and summaries.]

AUCKLAND. In conformity with section 102 of the Act, the Board presents the following report of its proceedings during the year ended 31st December, 1878 : — Board. —At the election which took place in March, 1878, 46 candidates were nominated ; 136 School Committees, out of a total number of 146, recorded their votes ; and the following nine members were elected, seven of them being members of the old Board : John Logan Campbell (Chairman), Joseph McMullen Dargaville, Theodore Miiiet Haultain, David Mitchell Luckie, Hugh Hart Lusk, Joseph May, William Pollock Moat, George Maurice O'Eorke, and Frederick Lambert Prime. Mr. Lusk's seat having become vacant by resignation in May, Mr. Samuel Luke was elected, out of seven candidates, to fill the vacancy. The members who will retire on 3lst March, 1879, are Colonel Haultain, Mr. Luckie, and Mr. O'Rorke. Thirty-three meetings of the Board have been held during the year, with an average attendance of six members. Ordinary meetings are held fortnightly, and an executive committee of the Board meets once a week. Public Schools.—By the annexation of Cook and Wairoa Counties to the Education District of Hawke's Bay, five schools were, in April last, removed from the Board's control. The number of primary schools in operation during the whole or part of the year was, exclusive of those five, 193, showing an increase of seven beyond the number for 1877. Of these, thirty are half-time schools, six are schools aided under section 88 of the Act, and one school (Wairoa North) is conducted by an itinerant teacher, who visits four settlements in turn. In addition to these schools, the Board has had under its administration the two training classes for teachers at Auckland and the Thames, and the Auckland Girls' High School, which is now constituted under a special Act of the Assembly. The Auckland College and Grammar School was transferred to a Board of Governors in April, 1878. The number of school districts on 31st December, 1878, was 147.* Teachers. —The number of teachers iv the service of the Board during the last quarter of the year was as follows : — Male. Female. Total. Head teachers ... ... ... ... ... 157 28 1»5 Assistant teachers ... ... ... ... ... 12 89 10L Pupil and probationary teachers ... ... ... 16 77 93 Sewing teachers ... ... ... ... ... 0 33 33 185 227 412 These numbers show a very large increase upon the numbers for 1877, due not so much to the opening of new schools as to the increased attendance of scholars in many of the larger schools. As the classification of teachers under the new regulations will not be known until June next, it is impossible in this report to give any statistics as to certificates. The examination of pupil-teachers, usually held at Christmas, was postponed until March, so as to be held simultaneously with the teachers' examination. Attendance and Ages.—The following table shows, comparatively, for the December quarters of 1878 and 1877, the attendance at the primary schools in this district: —■ Ko. of Numbers ou Ecll. Average Attendance. Schools. Boys. Girls. Total. Boys. Girls. Total. December quarter, 1878 ... 193 6,424 5,504 11,928 5,020 4,075 9,095 1877 ... 186 6,271 5,107 11,378 4,398 3,397 7,795 Increase ... ... 7 153 397 550 622 678 1,300 In explanation of these figures it is necessary to state that, during the past year, the numbers on the roll have, in almost every school, been reduced by striking off, every quarter, the names of those who did not attend. In this and in future reports a more precise statement will be presented as to the numbers actually receiving instruction and as to the regularity of attendance. The adoption of the compulsory clauses in certain districts has, to some extent, tended to increase the percentage of average attendance; but it is hardly to be expected that School Committees will take the necessary trouble, or incur the odium, of enforcing those provisions of the Act. The issue of " good-attend-ance certificates" has, in some schools, afforded a stimulus to increased regularity. It will be seen from a return accompanying this report that 385 scholars above the age of fifteen years have attended the schools of this district during the past year. The Board seeks, as far as possible, to encourage the attendance of children above school age. On the other hand, it has been found desirable to exclude from attendance children under four years of age ; and teachers are directed not to include any such children in their returns of attendance. * By various divisions and amalgamations of districts taking effect from lst January, 1870, the number of school districts is now altered to 153.