E.—l2

10

si oners believe that much of the objection to the increased charges for education has been due to the fact that a number of items are now included in the total which have really little connection with education in its ordinary sense. For instance, public library subsidies, infant-life protection, schools for the deaf, blind, and backward children, industrial schools, &c, involve an annual expenditure of over £60,000. There have certainly been great increases in teachers' salaries, in the cost of training teachers, and in the expenditure on school buildings ; but no one can justly say that the sums now granted for these purposes are sufficient. The free-place system is mainly responsible for the increase in district high school salaries and the grants to secondary schools and technical schools. The adoption of the Commission's proposals in regard to free places should result in a considerable saving. It will be noticed that there has been a large increase in the cost of administration by the Boards, a great deal of which has been necessitated by the demands of the central Department for returns not commensurate with the advantages gained. The following table shows the expenditure on the principal items legitimately charged to primary and secondary education for the years 1900 and 1911, respectively : —

1900. 1911. £ £ (1.) Head Office .. .. .. .. 4,869 18,816 (2.) Education Boards— (a.) Teachers' salaries and allowances . . 357,249 627,371 (&.) Incidental expenses of schools.. .. 32,823 42,830 (c.) School buildings .. . . . . 51,805 160,401 (d.) Scholarships.. .. .. .. 8,388 9,616 (c.) District high school salaries* .. .. .. 17,880 (/.) Training of teachers .. . . .. 3,515 28,992 (g.) Manual and Technical Instruction .. 5,201 65,195 (h.) Staffs, members' expenses and incidental office expenses .. .. .. 29,231 43,697 (i.) Free school-books .. .. .. Nil 10,187 (3.) School Journal .. .. .. .. Nil 3,369 (4.) School Cadets .. .. .. .. 3,240 6,513 (5.) Secondary schools— (a.) Endowments .. .. .. 34,177 41,285 (&.) Government grants .. .. .. Nil 59,253 (6.) Native schools (including inspection) .. 20,059 36,154

*jlncluded in " Teachers' salaries " in 1900.