E.—s

2

The total number of schools at which recognized classes were held was, for elementary handwork, 1,513, and, for manual instruction, 1,298. Payments by way of capitation and subsidies (£1 for £1) on voluntary contributions in money or kind, amounting in all to £31,830, were made during the year to Education Boards on account of classes for elementary handwork and manual instruction. The amount for the previous year was' £30,691. In addition, special grants totalling £2,033 in aid of buildings and equipment were made. New buildings or additions to buildings have been erected during the year, or are in course of erection, at Te Aroha, Dargaville, Te Kopuru, Feilding, and Palmerston South, while necessary equipment has been provided for classes at Te Aroha, Stratford, Rongotea, Kimbolton, Feilding, Greytown, Wellington, Oxford East, and Darfield. Of the various forms of handwork taken in the standard classes those that afford opportunities not only for useful manipulative exercises, but also for concrete illustrations of other subjects of the syllabus, continue to receive the most attention. Such forms include modelling in plasticine, and constructive work with, bricks, paper, and cardboard. The hand - and - eye training commenced in the Tower standards is continued in the higher standards through the medium of various forms of manual instruction. Of these, woodwork, cookery, and laundry-work continue to be taught on the central system and by special instructors. There are now over eighty fully equipped buildings for instruction in these subjects. Those in the larger centres take the form of special manual-training schools, while in the smaller centres accommodation is provided in the local technical school, secondary school, or district high school, as the case may be. During the year 507 classes for wood or iron work, and 782 classes for domestic subjects (cookery, • laundry-work, and dressmaking, associated in nearly every case with suitable instruction in domestic economy and hygiene) were held. Increasing attention still continues to be given to subjects bearing on the home, and there is evidence of a general advance in the methods of instruction adopted, due largely to the fact that the teaching staff is being gradually strengthened by the addition of teachers trained in accordance with modern ideas. Of the prospective teachers of domestic subjects who have taken advantage of the special bursaries provided by the Government in connection with the home-science courses at the Otago University, several, having completed the course for the diploma or the degree in home science, are now engaged in teaching. Compared with the previous year, the number of classes for domestic subjects shows an increase of 27 per cent. Instruction in elementary agriculture was given in 1,199 classes, as compared with 1,087 in the previous year. The instruction, which includes both observational and experimental work in connection with school gardens and plots, combined, in an increasing number of cases, with elementary dairy-work, is in most of the education districts supervised by special itinerant instructors. There are now nineteen of these instructors stationed in various parts of the Dominion. It is gratifying to note the continued interest taken in the work by School Committees, agricultural and pastoral associations, and by members of the farming community. In addition to numerous prizes offered for competition, contributions in money and kind to the value of about £500 have been received by Education Boards during the year. Such contributions carry a Government subsidy of £1 for £1. Full courses bearing on rural life with, in the case of girls, a domestic trend were carried on during the year in connection with the secondary departments of 55 per cent, of the district high schools (sixty-two in number) as follows : —

District. Number of Schools. Number of Pupils. Capitation earned. Auckland Taranaki i 1 8 6 8 4 2 6 98 67 204 210 96 85 59 165 £ 615 471 1,168 1,328 726 550 359 1,085 Wanganui Wellington Hawke's Bay... North Canterbury South Canterbury Otago Totals 1914 ... i 3-1 984 £6,302 Totals 1913 ... 88 1,016 £6,434