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1904. NEW ZEALAND.

EDUCATION: MANUAL AND TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION. [In continuation of E.-5, 1903.]

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

No. 1. EXTRACT FROM THE TWENTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT OE THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION. The steady advance in manual and technical instruction noticeable since the passing of the Manual and Technical Instruction Act in 1900 was well maintained during 1903. At the close of 1902 the number of classes recognised under the Act was 980. During 1903 1,247 additional classes were recognised, making the number at the end of the year 2,227. Of these classes 1,659 were classes for handwork in connection with primary and secondary schools, while 568 were "special," " associated," or "college" classes, providing for instruction in the various branches of pure and applied art, engineering and science, and in plumbing, carpentry and joinery, domestic economy, and commercial subjects. There is a marked increase in the number of public schools in which handwork is being taught, not only in the lower but also in the higher standards, and there is every indication that the number of such schools will be still further increased during the present year (1904). The causes of this increase are twofold ; most of the Education Boards, availing themselves of the special annual grants for the instruction of teachers in subjects of manual and technical instruction, first made in 1901 and continued up to the present time, have established training-classes which have, in general, been well attended by teachers; the revised standard regulations recently gazetted also make it possible for handwork to be taken right through the school course. Of the various branches of handwork now being taught in the schools, cookery for girls and woodwork for boys are receiving considerable attention. In 1902 63 cookery classes and 14 woodwork classes were recognised in connection with primary and secondary schools. For 1903 the numbers were 131 and 100 respectively. Coincident with this increase is the increase in the number of teachers seeking to obtain the certificates of the City and Guilds of London Institute in cookery and woodwork,

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