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Mr. J. Smith to the Chairman, Education Committee. gm _ Hokitika, 21st November, 1887. I have the honour, in reply to your memorandum of the 14th instant, to give as requested, my own opinion on the questions raised in the circular of the 10th November :— 1 As to raising the age upon which the capitation allowance is paid : Assuming retrenchment to be inevitable, this is perhaps the least mischievous form it could take. Apart from the loss which it would entail upon Boards the chief objection would probably be made on behalf of [the poorer classes To many such it is of great importance that their children should begin to earn their own living at as early a date as possible; and the delay of a year in admitting them to the school would proportionately delay the arrival of this relief to the parents; and, though this might be none the worse for the children, it would probably be looked upon as a grievance by the parents. It might be possible however, for Boards to continue to admit them as at present, without counting them m calculating'the average attendance until they reach the statutory age; in which case this slight objection would fall to the ground. It is to be hoped that, if this alteration, as well as the proposed reduction of the capitation grant to £3 15s. per head be determined on, the Legislature will see fit to give Boards at least three months' notice before giving effect to the new regulations, seeing that Boards cannot legally reduce salaries without giving that amount of notice to their teachers, &c. 2. Fees to the higher standards : I consider that this would be a very unwise innovation, and (presuming it to be intended to supplement the Board's funds) would defeat its object. In this district it is certain that many more children would leave school after passing Standard IV., than would remain to pay fees for the Fifth and Sixth. lam convinced that for every one who remained there would be at least two who would leave rather than pay a fee of, say, 10s. a quarter. Thus, for every £2 per annum derived from fees, the Board would lose £7 10s., the capitation on the two The plan would also press unduly upon the poorer classes, whose children, however promising, would have little or no chance of advancing beyond Standard IV., and, consequently, would m this district, be debarred from the annual competition for a scholarship. If it is necessary to provide further funds for educational purposes I would suggest that they be obtained by means of a special rate, which might be made payable in the shape of an additional Id or 2d. in the pound on the ordinary borough and county rates, to be levied by those bodies upon a requisition from the Boards at the proper time ; the amount so raised to be handed over to the Boards as received. This would be preferable to having a separate and distinct rate, as the cost of collection would be next to nothing. . , 3. Suggestions for the more economical working of the Act: In my opinion, a very large saving might be effected by sweeping away either the Boards or the Committees. lam disposed to think that the former course is preferable, if combined with a rearrangement of Committees in the direction of increasing the extent of school districts, and permanently fixing their boundaries; m more strictly defining, while somewhat increasing, their powers, but transferring the right of appointment and dismissal of teachers to the central department. The Committees would then be, as they are in Victoria, boards of advice. Although, in my opinion, the abolition of Boards is desirable on common grounds, there are other and stronger reasons that might be advanced for the c r) f) Tl P'P Should the country not yet be ripe for so important a change, a step in that direction might be made (which would, indirectly, be conducive to economy) by adopting a suggestion that has been repeatedly made by this and other Boards, namely, that the inspection of schools should be undertaken by the department. This was provided for in Mr.. Bowen's original Education Bill, but was altered during the passage of the Bill through the House. 4. Alterations to improve the Syllabus: At present I think there can be no doubt that the preponderance of opinion is to the effect that the Syllabus is overloaded, and provides far more than is necessary, and much that is absolutely valueless, in a system of free primary education. In my opinion, the compulsory, or "pass," subjects should be limited to reading and spelling, writing arithmetic, English composition, and grammar, as far as the Fourth Standard, with the outlines of geography for the boys, and domestic economy and sewing for the girls, who have Instruction in elementary science, music, and drawing, however desirable, cannot be profitably imparted, excepting by specialists and as regards science with the help of a considerable amount of expensive apparatus. . . The absurdity of requiring all elementary school teachers to "pass in music and drawing before they can obtain even the lowest certificate is, I believe, peculiar to New Zealand, and would long ago have been condemned but for the questionable leniency of the authorities in granting certificates to all persons passing in the ordinary subjects who make the feeblest attempt at music and drawing. . The ordinary teacher's certificate, therefore, gives an official guarantee that the holder is capable of teaching vocal music and drawing, when, in many instances, he could scarcely distinguish one tune from another, and knows absolutely nothing about geometrical drawing or perspective. If these subjects are retained in the Syllabus, the department should grant a special certificate (after a reasonably severe examination) for them, as is done in England, and only persons holding such certificates should be permitted or expected to teach them. At a time when there is so great an outcry, and even a greater necessity for rigorous retrenchment, it may not be out of place, in conclusion, to draw the attention of the Committee to the following facts, viz. :— _, . (1.) That large sums of public money are now annually expended m providing secondary and higher education, chiefly for the benefit of the wealthier classes, at the expense of the taxpayers in general.