Appendix A.j

E.—2.

V

Conveyance of Children. —The method of conveying children to school is now in operation in connection with six schools in the district, and appears to be working satisfactory. Teachers. —There were on the 31st December 456 teachers in the service of the Board. Of these, seventy-three were pupil-teachers and twenty-one were probationers. Of the adult teachers 234 were certificated, ten were holders of licenses, and 118 were uncertificated. It will thus be seen that only 6464 per cent, of the adult teachers hold certificates. The classes for the tuition of uncertificated teachers, inaugurated during last year, should do much towards assisting teachers to obtain certificates. Scholarships.—At the scholarships examinations in December, eighty-six candidates presented themselves for the Junior Examination and" forty-three for the Senior. Of these, fifty-nine succeeded in passing the Junior and thirty-two the Senior Examination. The following scholarships were awarded at the commencement of the current year : Board's Junior —Nine scholarships were awarded. Board's Senior— Ten scholarships were awarded. Junior National —Four scholarships were awarded—William A. Sheat, Hawera District High School; Hilda R. G. J. Horsley, Queen's Park; Frederick G. Barrowclough, Auroa; George T. Day, Mars Hill. There were in force at the end of the year eighteen Board's Junior, twenty-two Board's Senior, and seven Junior National Scholarships, of a total annual value of £1,090 17s. 6d. One feature in connection with the scholarship system in this district deserves to be incisively marked. There is not the competition that the Board has a right to expect in a district so large. For the Alf. Bayly Scholarship, for instance, only one candidate appeared, while one of the Junior National Scholarships practically went a-begging, being ultimately awarded to a candidate with marks approaching the minimum. It is evident that neither the parents nor the teachers are fully alive to the latent and patent possibilities of a scholarship for a pupil, and it is a question whether the extra work considered necessary to coach pupils for scholarship examinations is not an objection by teachers to sending forward pupils' names. Unfortunately it is the pupil who has the capacity, but not the opportunity, that is the sufferer. Training of Teachers.—Saturday classes for the instruction of teachers were held at Hawera, Wanganui, Feilding, Taihape, and Palmerston North. The subjects of instruction were art (five centres), practical agriculture, agricultural science, and handwork (one centre each). The annual grant of £220, together with the capitation earned by the classes, was found to be about £20 short of the amount required to meet the cost of the classes. In addition to the subjects named above, instruction in vocal music was given at Hawera, Wanganui, Taihape, and Feilding. No portion of the grant may, however, be expended in the teaching of this subject. The Board's Administration Fund is therefore called upon to contribute about £60 per annum, the cost of giving this instruction. The most popular subjects were agriculture, handwork, singing, and drawing. Classes for the tuition of uncertificated teachers, for which a grant of £110 was made, were commenced in October. Mangaweka was selected as the centre for these classes. Instruction was given in school method, agriculture, drawing, and singing. Correspondence classes in Latin, mathematics, English, and school method were also instituted in connection with this grant, a satisfactory number of teachers receiving tuition by this means. Details regarding teachers' classes are given in the Inspectors' report. Manual and Technical Education. —The amount of money raised locally for the purposes of manual and technical instruction was £414 10s. lid. In the matter of building, the new Technical College at Wanganui, opened on the 28th September by the Hon. G. Fowlds, was completed at a total cost of £10,000, not including equipment. The College, which now claims 156 individual day, and 295 individual technical pupils, is destined to play a great part in the education of the young people of this district. Towards the end of the year a new building at Manaia, and an additional room at the Hawera School, were put in hand. From a table* submitted by the Superintendent of Manual and Technical Instruction it will be seen that the total enrolments for the year were 3,139 —in the Centre, 1,612; in the North, 838; and in the South, 689. It has continued to be the Board's aim to keep in the forefront the teaching of agriculture. In the primary schools, in the secondary classes of district high schools, and in teachers' instruction classes, instruction in agriculture and dairywork have accordingly bulked very largely. Thirty-six pupils taking the rural course at the district high schools paid a visit to Mr. E. Short's Almadale Farm, near Feilding, staying there the better part of a week, under the charge of Mr. J. Grant, 8.A., Agricultural Instructor. Lectures and instruction were also o-iven at the camp by experts especially qualified for the work The thanks of the Board are due to Mr. Short for placing at the disposal of the boys his prize stock for the purposes of observation, to Mr. and Mrs. Dunlop for kindness shown to them while they were in camp, and to the experts who gave their services free. The Board desires to acknowledge from the following bodies donations towards agricultural scholarships: Taranaki Farmers' Union, Wanganui Agricultural and Pastoral Society, Feilding Agricultural and Pastoral Society, Executive Council, Wellington Branch New Zealand Farmers' Union. These scholarships heighten the interest of the pupils in their work, and also induce some of the most promising to stay longer at the schools than they would otherwise do. Towards the close of the year Mr. Grant, Supervisor of Agricultural Training, visited the principal agricultural schools and colleges in New South Wales and Victoria, gathering valuable information regarding the methods of agricultural instruction in these States. One result of his visit is the appointment of Mr. Banner, of the Hawkesbury Agricultural College, to the charge of the Southern Technical District and the Feilding Technical School. Mr. Banner's qualifications and ability are such as to lead the Board to believe that his sphere of usefulness will extend considerably beyond the radius of school-work.

* Not printed.