E.—l.

[The relieving-teachers appointed by several of the Boards are not included in Table El, or in the summary given above, but will be found in Table 1 of the Appendix to E.-2.] The Education Act of last session will, among other things, improve the staffing of the public schools in the following respects : — (1.) It gives an assistant as soon as a school reaches an average attendance of 36, instead of 41 as heretofore : this amendment comes into force at once. The other amendments will operate gradually ; the chief are, — (2.) A second assistant is given at 81, whereas the second increase of staff under the principal Act was a pupil-teacher, given when there were 91 in average attendance. Similarly, the third and fourth assistants also will be adults, and will be employed when a school reaches 121 and 161 respectively. Hence the new staff for schools between 161 and 200 will in the future be a head teacher and four assistants, instead of a head teacher and three assistants (or a head teacher, two assistants, and two pupilteachers), which was the staffing under the former scale. (3.) In the schools with an average attendance above 200 the staff will be further strengthened by providing an adult teacher for every 50 or part of 50 children in average attendance, instead of an adult teacher or two pupilteachers for every 60 children. Thus, in a school of 601 to 660 the old staff was 9 adults and 6 pupil-teachers, equivalent to 12 adults ; the new staff will consist of 14 adult teachers, as pupil-teachers will gradually disappear. The probationers who may be appointed under the Amendment Act are not to be counted on the regular staff of the school to which they are attached. Their appointment will be made simply for the purpose of ascertaining their fitness for the teaching profession, and of giving them some insight into the methods of teaching under actual conditions before they enter the training college ; it is not intended that they should have charge of a class, nor are they to be engaged in teaching — even of small sections and under supervision — for more than fifteen hours a week. Probationer ship will thus form a bridge between the secondary school or district high school and the training college. (4.) Every side school must be staffed as fully as if it were a main school, even if this means the addition of one or more teachers to the number warranted by the combined attendance of the main and side schools. Although the improved staffing may not be quite as liberal as might be imagined in an ideal system, it will more nearly approach in numerical strength the scales which obtain in those countries that are most advanced in matters of education ; for instance, the average number of children per adult teacher is in— Roll Number. Average Attendance. England .. .. .. .. •• •• 49-8 40-8 Wales .. .. .. •• •• •• 45-4 34-8 Scotland .. .. .. .. .. •• 40-2 34-9 Switzerland (including Geneva Canton).. .. . . 44-9 44-0 Canton of Geneva .. .. .. .. •■ 29-9 29-3 United States (city schools) .. .. .. .. 35-4 24-9 New Zealand (under the new scale in schools 201-700) . . 47-9 41-9 Salaries of Teachers. At the rate paid in December, 1908, the total amount of all salaries and allowances paid to teachers and pupil-teachers was £503,362 ; the average rate per teacher (including pupil-teachers) was therefore £126 3s. 9d., as compared with £126 17s. Id. in December, 1907. A fairer idea could be gained by excluding teachers in Grade 0 schools and pupil-teachers, and by deducting the house allowances that are payable to head teachers for whom residences are not provided. We then find that the average net salaries of adult teachers in the last three years (in December of each year) have been as follows: — 1900. 1907. 1908. £ 8. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. Men .. .. .. 189 18 2 192 9 3 195 I 0 Women . . .. .. 116 7 3 115 0 3 115 13 5 All adults .. .. 149 3 7 -148 17 7 148 8 1

11