7

E.—3.

attempted, and the grounds are allowed to become overgrown with weeds until the Department is invited to bear the cost of clearing the accumulated rubbish of years. We see no reason why local effort should not be available in Native schools, as it is in so many Board schools, especially when in other directions the Maoris receive a good many concessions at the hands of the irovernment. In any case, we think that no school should be without a flower-garden, even though it be stocked only with the commonest flowers, native plants, and shrubs. Organization. The schemes of work submitted for our inspection contain a reasonable amount of matter, and are on the whole suitably arranged. Provision should be made for the inclusion of topics of general interest which may arise during the year, and to this end teachers should therefore be prepared to modify the original arrangement if necessary. The- newspapers to-day contain items fraught with interest to all members of the Empire, and should be recognized by every teacher as constituting an essential factor in his treatment of some of the most important subjects of the curriculum. The time-tables as a rule show that the time allotted to the various subjects is distributed with sufficient regard to their importance, though English is not treated as liberally as it should be. The increased amount of physical instruction required under the new scheme, and the extension of workinvolved by the new syllabus, necessitate the increase of the school hours, which we therefore recommend should be five per day. The remarks made in former reports in regard to the methods of teaching still apply in the case of many schools. The methods adopted in the preparatory divisions are the most satisfactory, and we are inclined to think that there is more real teaching done in these classes than elsewhere in the school. There is yet evidence of the lack of preparation of lessons, and of the tendency on the part of the teacher to proceed aimlessly in his treatment of a subject. No teacher is wholly justified in neglecting to prepare his work, though there may be some excuse for one who has had many years of experience in teaching the same standard classes; and yet we feel that many of our less-experienced teachers make no preparation at all, and rarely, if ever, make reference to their manual of school method -if, indeed, they possess one. We again regret that the demands upon our time—which, indeed, seem to become greater year by year-—have precluded our paying special visits for organizing purposes to the schools in which we feel assistance is required. We trust that under the new system of education assistance will be in some way afforded us so that this very necessary work may be accomplished. Assistance has again been granted by the Department to teachers who, desirous of improving their status by qualifying for certificates, have taken advantage of the opportunity of obtaining tuition through the medium of recognized correspondence classes. Teachers were notified that a liberal contribution would be made towards the payment of their fees ; applications for leave of absence to attend the examinations have invariably been granted ; and yet we find that a relatively large number do not avail themselves of the opportunity. Various difficulties are alleged for this—e.g., that the practical certificate in agriculture required by the regulations cannot be obtained by a teacher in an isolated position. The fact that year by year teachers do qualify shows, however, that this difficulty is not insuperable. Out of 108 head teachers in the service at the end of the year, forty-four were certificated ; five years ago the number was twenty-six. There seems to us to be no reason why the younger members of the staff at any rate should not make the necessary effort to obtain the certificate : their status as teachers would be undoubtedly improved, and the severe penalty to which they are subject at present would of course be removed. New Scale of Salaries and Syllabus. The Education Act, 1914, provides that the salary payable to the head teacher in a Native school should not be lower than the salary payable to a teacher in a similar position in a public school. As the result of this a new scale of salaries will come into force from the Ist January, 1915, bringing an increase to all head teachers, while the assistants will also receive an addition to their salary. The following table shows the gradual increase in the amount paid in salaries for each period of five years since 1904 Number Average Total Year. of 'Attendanee Salaries. Teaehors. of Pupils. £ 1904 .. .. .. .. ..177 3,083 15,902 1909 .. .. .. .. ..198 3,680 22,177 1914 .. .. .. .. ..243 4,385 29,010 The introduction of the new scale of salaries and of the new syllabus of instruction makes necessary the complete revision of the regulations relating to Native schools. This is now in hand, and the new issue should be available shortly. As we have already indicated, the new syllabus will in most respects conform to that prescribed for the public schools. Inspection of Schools. The following table shows our estimate of the efficiency of the village schools inspected during the year 1914 :— Number of . Schools. Very good to excellent .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 34 Satisfactory to good . . . . . . ' . . . . .. .. 68 Inferior to weak .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 10