E.—l

86

The cost of the school for the year was—Salaries, £702 10s.; incidental expenses, £70 7s. 3d. : £772 17s. 3d. Less fees (£338 os. 6d.) and Government grant under Manual and Technical Elementary Instruction Act (£5B 10s.), £446 10s. 6d. Net cost, £326 6s. 9d. Truancy.—From the following statement an estimate may be gained of the work undertaken during the year for the suppression of truancy : Cases investigated, 629 ; notices served on parents or guardians under section 5 of " The School Attendance Act, 1894," 334; summons served under section 5, 1; order of the Court obtained under section 5, 1; penalty summonses issued under section 7 (dealing with parents or guardians of children who had not attended school the number of times required by the Act), 84. Under the above eighty-four penalty summonses there were fifty-one convictions, twenty-nine cases were withdrawn on account of the production by the defendant of exemption certificates, and four cases were dismissed. The total of fines for the year was £6 3s. In accordance with section 7of the Act the fine inflicted in each case of conviction was 2s. To remove an impression that seems to prevail in some quarters that it is necessary for a Committee to formally appoint the Board's Truant Officer to act on its behalf, and that the Committee's sanction must be given before that officer can issue a notice or summons to a negligent parent, it may be stated that, to a Truant Officer appointed by the Board, section 9 of the Act gives power to lay informations, make complaints, conduct prosecutions, and take all other proceedings under the Act, without any express authority from the School Committee of the district. Instruction under the Manual and Technical Elementary Instruction Act. —In addition to the classes for technical instruction in connection with the School of Art, classes have been recognised at the Tokomairiro and Balclutha Schools. These classes have been carried on during a part of the year with considerable enthusiasm and succees. The following are the reports on the classes :— Tokomairiro. —Woodwork : During the second and third quarters of the year twenty-five boys were trained to the use of tools in the workshop. Of these, six made boxes for themselves to hold clothes; six, writing-desks; two, bookcases; three, dressing-tables; one, a music canterbury; one, a chiffonier; one, an octagon table ; three, whatnots ; one, a desk with stand ; and one, fretwork shelves. To make these articles the boys paid £10 ss. lOd. for material, in addition to a fee of 2s. 6d. per quarter to the instructor for instruction, the articles made being their own property. Agricultural Chemistry: Thirteen boys of the advanced class, during the same two quarters, made quantitative analyses of two kinds of superphosphates of Maiden Island and Peruvian guano; and of two specimens of bone-meal. Examination was made specially for the determination of moisture, organic matter, phosphate of lime, carbonate of lime, sand, and insoluble matter. Balclutha. —Woodwork : Carpentry classes were held during the quarters ending June and September. For the former quarter the average attendance was 20 ; for the latter, 28-2. Owing to the number of pupils, the classes were divided into sections taken at different hours. The boys showed great earnestness in their work, and pride in the result of their efforts, and credit is due to the instructor for his zeal and energy. The boys provided their own material, and, as the Balclutha Technical Classes Association kindly gave the use of their workshop and tools, there was no outlay save the instructor's fees, which were met by the Government subsidy. Finance. —A certified statement of the Board's income and expenditure for the year is appended hereunto. The sum expended in teachers' salaries (including bonuses for classification and bonuses for instructing papil-teachers) was £63,792 7s. 2d. ; the amount paid to School Committees for incidental expenses was £5,725 19s. Id. ; the amount expended in the erection, enlargement, and improvement of school buildings and the purchase of sites was £8,231 14s. 4d. Inspection.—The general report of the Inspectors shows that the percentage of passes in standards is the same as that for 1896—namely, 89; that of the classes (Standards 111. to VI.) for the passes of which the Inspectors are responsible being 84-5. From the point of view of standard passes these are very satisfactory results. It will, however, be seen from their report that this is not the point of view from which the Inspectors judge the efficiency of the teaching. In their report they give a pretty full explanation of the difference between their test and the standard test of efficiency, and show that the latter, though useful as showing the proportion of children that won promotion to a higher class, is very unreliable as a test of real efficiency in the work prescribed for the year. The following tables are quoted from their report. Table A shows the efficiency of the schools according to the standard test; Table B their efficiency according to the test whereby the Inspectors judge it.

Table A.

Glasses. Presented. Present at Examination. Passed. Average Age. Yrs. mos. "lass above Standard VI. itandard VI. V IV. III. II. 651 1,562 2,269 2/796 2,884 2,705 2,543 6,550 1,535 2,204 2,710 2,829 2,654 2,508 1,398 1,813 2,157 2,477 2,567 2,474 13 10 12 10 12 0 11 2 9 9 8 8 'reparatory Totals 21,960 14,440 12,886 11 H •Mi ian of average ages.