EDUCATION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 636, 13 October 1909, Page 9

EDUCATION.

'■■;■■: MINISTER'S ANNUAL REPORT. - .SOME FACTS AND FIGURES.' -From the thirty-second annual report of the how Zealand Minister for Education (Hon 0 -I'owlds), which was presented to Parliament yesterday, the following interesting facts and figures relating to the progress and condition of public instruction in the Dominion havo been selected for publication as being of general interost:— '■ v The Schools. ' ' : n,;ti;n h l^ a i of th<s yow-1003 there were 1998 cicaso ot 35 in the number open in 1007. Mora than a quarter ot t hcse-50i-aro small-schools »f,?M ? TMr "''o attendance of less than 15. Soe-toacher schools number 1299, ■op 05 nor 1 ?;^ 11 tho rolls of tho schools of tho Dom n on there' were at the end of 1908-147,428, an increase of C3W The average attendance was 127,11)0, or 87.1 per cent £V d VM 6n '".thepublic schools thew were second. The chifdren-in the South Island are beV tor attondera than tuoso in the North. "Several Education Boards," mentions the Minister, "call, attention to apractico that"seems to be that the law inflicts no penalty unless a child is absent-without reasonable -excuse at least three half-days out of ten, keep their children from school one day a week. It may be exJfiWA thß ' lnt i r f P ? f tho """ton «Xd the State, to amend the Act so as to provide that every.chid must attend school wfionever it is open, unless some reasonable ground for exemption can bo shown."- - ■ : „ T , h <! ™ isiß S of tho standard rcquirdd for u certificate of ■ proficiency, introduced by tho liadthe effeot of lessening the number of suc'l certificates awarded. - The perebntnges of pupfls who gamed certificates of proficiency anS certificatesi of competency respectively In the two years 1807-8 are shoifn below:- ' ■' ''"'' :;: ; "n W\ ' >. . , ;.' Percent. Per Cent Gained k certificates of ' -terrene. ■. profieienoy ■ ;.. 59,00 mm Gained certificates of • competency. :. 23.38 . ... 25.29 No certificate- - .„. ■■ 17.02 - .„ -12.75 ':'■•'..■. ' - 100.00 - .. • '■ 100.00 : . 1 •-■'.■ :■•:.: ." •■'.'■•• Free.Books. w! 0r ? lnB t° the question of- free scVl iT 4 \, f ° r W W :V um • £3MO w «> availabla in January lost, the Minister observes :-"As tho grants did not begin until January 1 1909, the nlatter is not strictly one for the sSflt^ oport! A ut hB interesting to w!ni h i ,t^ w all the boards Rave .accepted the conditions of the grants. Thl '*&? a &° FTPS' ■«">-«l0P«on of a uniform series or- reading-books, , was strongly condemned, by nenrV all the experts coLlted, as tending to a cast-irbn uniformity of method li.i'K- 0 . , B ? T $ S > P9W™* woro to bo rpublished m the Dominion, tho cxpenso of nubli; cation. wouloVbo out of all proportion to the ffnefih sought to;be'gained, .if the quality of ■Sit. « bore;o , n .y £ ?ft of .'comparison with that of corresponding books produced by leadSL£T? ,n and the cost of ffi? 1 f .«'M;ti»e.to i tim 0 ; to brimj tho con.tents up-to-date, would bo almost prohibitive' O-Durmß-.tho year 1908 (tho second year of . issue) tho monthly free distribution of, the ' . henool Journal to-children' was— P-irf T increasing number of., private and - secondary' schools are purchasing copies, tho present rate ' f .A ß L l,e, ? B „ lc ' 7B . o ' for I" three parts. • ' (t . Although;",- the: Minister states, "the ' «,°fw a lt, I,ms1 ,ms s ri marily at being. instructive I rather-than rocreative, tltoto is ample evidonco from tho inspectors and teachers that its an?vm nce " nc , n ;, mo , nth ■■'» welcomed by the ami that'its influenco tends to the desirable cud of fostering the habit and th» L°i? ,"/ rea ' lins - i l * *ff«w-tann most ofCLrK e l 1 ? Mo 'J s ' r ?i l l 6rSin 'that,'being composed .largely-of articles -belonging 'to well, defined seriesl •of Courses, it preserves a con. tinuity.. absent'from ordinary.readers."-..; ,---'•; 'Tho Toachersi -'-'.-v"'.'/ ■ u. n l emol ?w in ? , '" I * t , a m,ll!h larger number of' «omen that! of: men leaves tho profession after f dT'W of „ 6<! W'«, some idea. of. tho oxtont tojVhich New Zealand has been affected .by the Rortoral -tendency .all. ovor.-'the world towards' the increase of women in the teachinfi' profes. formed from,.tho fact that, out ora. total ftf ; „4los,p6rsoiiß engaged.in .1908' in, the work of,:pubhc .instruction—adult primary school-teachers," - 1 ,.' .pupil-teachers, --' secondary, teachers, anct. trAining-colleg6 students—loß3 >vere. men, and 2422 were .wornon.- - : aho teachers' -salaries bill, calculated on tho rate, paid ill Dobombor, 1003, totalled X 503302 •ffi*r«' lg ?j^-'' ie i 26 ' 85, .- M; ' ns Compareil with' : £W I 17s. ;ld. in December,' 1907. By excluding teachers in ,very-small schools, and pupilteachers, and deducting house allowances pay. able to head.toachers for whom:houso allowances .are not provided, the net average salary of-the adult teacher-during tho last two years may'lie stated as follows:—''.'

;:'-■ :: -.'•'•'- 1907. '•' '."■ 1308. ■ '.'■ ■,;■■■- ■'.'. •- £ s. d. .-. -Men ...,,;...;..;: 102, o 3 105 1 0 ■ ; ..; Women ... ...'lls 03. 115 13 ,fi ; : All adults'... ,:.,. ,148 17-7. 143 8.. 1 W ■ Those -will bo considerably higher l under the Act, which. camo, into force, on January ': The teachers, employed in primary', school work m f the, Dominion at- the end of lOCS numbered M moro than in December,- 1007, «n. - '°t a i>'24s3 were fully certificated, while 001, or .26.9 per cent., of .the whole, either possessed no recognised examination' status or haa not yet completed tho necessary qualifica- • n 'n£ he -' Corrospondin ß' P°rcontngo for 1907 was -28.2.•.-..■•'.-■ .'-.- :,.-,:.

'10/ta ? u "?.°f • £ . 4 D. 'MB Os. id.'was spent during MOB in; the: training of teachers, while an additional amount of. .£8321 lis. 2d. was disbursed in, grants for special .instruction and railway concessions. Commenting on the general work of tho several training institutions in the Dominion, the Minister observes:-"It may bo necessary ■ to define i tho ' courses still .further, so far as that can be done without'.intorferina with, the .freedom of/ the -several : colleges to sliapo own programmes, as, unfortunntely, there seems to bo atondoncy. at present to avoid the study of natural science, without wnieh no teacher can' be said to be properly equipped for his work. It: is also. a'question whether some pthor modification. of the regulations may not be desirable to prevent-some ot tho from. subordinating their legititraining, as ..teachers' altogether to the object of taking , a university degree. ' The course of training extends over two years, and it does not seem .expedient that this, period should be shortened, except In the,case of those wno have already graduated in the university and who may therefore bo considered as requiring only professional training in the colleges; for them one year would probably be sufficient. • •

■ //. i '''.■' -."/•■;.'.Cadet' Corpi, ■'.-' 31 of; this ■ year, there were in the Dominion 185 cadet companies, 111 'detachments,; and,. H sections, representing a total ■Btrength;of,'M,Bß6.cad«tß,- equipped with model Rifles (dummies") and a percentage, of ininia. ture Martini-Henry; rifles for target practice. :Dunng the summer of 1908-9, five camps were ~held,- seven, battalions, with a total strength of all ranks of 1343, being represented. -Eaoh ;oamp Was held: for a week (six days), and a capitation allowance of 3s. 6d; per head was :provided by the'. Department: towards tha expenses, together . with the loan. of necessary : equipraent. The total, expenditure for 1908 was 12s. Id. .