37

E.—2,

Dental Clinics. —Clinics are in operation at Christchurch East, Beckenham, Sydenham, Woolston, Temuka, Timaru, Hokitika, and Greymouth. These institutions are highly appreciated by the parents in the districts in which the clinics are situated, and the Board would like to see similar surgeries or travelling clinics instituted, so that country children may participate in benefits that must be derived from the treatment given. General. —While the Board has very little opportunity to intiate or carry out desirable reforms (its activities being so severely restricted by regulations), the members and officials have endeavoured to carry out their duties with one main objective —the good of the child. This desideratum is sometimes in danger of being lost sight of under pressure of the claims and importunities of Committees, teachers, and other sections of the community, and the Board, if it can do little else, serves the useful purpose of maintaining the balance between the pupils and those who, perhaps unthinkingly, regard their claims as of more importance. The Board desires to place on record its appreciation of the unfailing consideration and courtesy shown by the Hon. the Minister on all occasions when matters have been placed before him, and to the officers of the Department for help and advice given during the year. I have, &c., W. P. Spenceb, Chairman. The Hon. the Minister of Education, Wellington.

OTAGrO. Sir, — As required by the Education Act, 1914, I have the honour to present the following report of the Education Board of the District of Otago for the year 1926 : — Board. —The personnel of the Board at the end of the year was as follows Urban Area —Messrs. James Wallace, J. H. Wilkinson, R. H. S. Todd, and Leonard Sanderson ; North Ward —Messrs. George Livingstone and. James Mitchell; Central Ward —Messrs. James Smith and James Horn, M.P. ; South Ward-—Hon. I). T. Fleming, M.L.C., and Mr. Parker McKinlay, M.A. Attendance. —It is a matter of some concern that the attendance in this province continues to show a tendency to gradually decline. The falling-off between 1924 and 1926 is 739, but of this number fully 415 children are accounted for by the opening of the junior high schools in Oamaru and the high school in Balclutha. The decrease cannot be attributed in any large measure to the growth of attendance at private schools, as during the same period the increase at these schools was 85, and the roll numbers of the primary departments having increased from 1,993 to 2,078. The actual falling-off over the two years may be put down at under 250. Finance. —The income for the year amounted to £318,190 Bs. 4d., and the expenditure to £315,417 13s. 2d. On the 31st December, 1926, the credit balances in Special Accounts totalled £11,032 175., and in the General Accounts £7,522 17s. lid. Expenditure shows an increase of £18,282 2s. Bd. Inspection of Schools. —The Inspectors' estimate of the general efficiency of the schools is as follows : Excellent or very good, 8 per cent; good, 46 per cent. ; very fair, 36 per cent. ; fair, 10 per cent. This shows a decrease of 13 per cent, in the two higher groups, and a corresponding increase in the two lower groups. The Inspectors report that two reasons may be adduced for this. In the first place, they found that the full effect of the infantile-paralysis epidemic of 1925 really appeared in the work of the upper classes of this year. The second reason they attribute to the prevalence of epidemics, from which very few schools escaped. The following table shows last year's results in comparison with those of the previous four years : —

Proficiency. —For the first time in this district .a synchronous examination was carried out by the Inspectors. On the Bth November the pupils of all schools worked specially prepared papers in certain of the subjects, and these were returned to the Inspectors with the head teacher's estimates. On the 30th November the outlying schools were examined in English and arithmetic by means of a further synchronous examination, while the pupils in the city and certain other schools were examined in these subjects by the Inspectors. All the pupils were thus examined in their own schools. Elementary Agriculture. —The report of the Senior Instructor in Agriculture is included in the Inspector's report. The Board notes with pleasure that appreciation of the aesthetic side is finding increased expression annually in the improvement of the school-grounds, and that the cumulative effect of recent years' development of this aspect is now showing to distinct advantage in many of the schools.

Year. I Good. Very Fair. Fair. Weak. | ~~i Per Cent. | Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. 1922 .. .. .. 17-3 504 25 7-3 1923 ...... 10 45 33 9 3 1924 ...... 10 47 33 9 1 1925 .. .. .. 13 54 29 4 1926 .. .. .. 8 46 36 10