Educational Conference.

Manawatu Herald, 22 July 1899, Page 2

Educational Conference.

The following resolutions were agreed to :— " That in ihe opinion of this Conference it, is desirable to amend the Educatfon Act in I the following direotion— (a) To abolish the present system of capitation grant ; (b) to empower the Governor' in Council to make regulations for fixing the capitation allowance payable to Boards throughout the colon v upon the average attendance at each school, snch allowance to be on a graduated scale, the amount per pupil in average attendance being largest in the case of the smaller Bohool?, and becoming le9P as the average attendance increased." "That in any case when an epid raic break* oui causing ft decrease in th 3 teachers' salaries', the capitation granfc from the'oovernnvn 1 ; should he calc.ulat«d jon the previous year's attendance." 11 Tba 1 : the School Attendance Act be amended by demanding not less than six attendances in a week, and not les3 than thirty attendances in four consrfcutivd w«fck< whan the schools are npsn nine times in each week, and not less th*n two third* or the po«ibld number of attendances when tha school -j ure op^a lean I bin nine turns; th it an exemption certificate cm be given by either the committee, head teacher or truant inspector ; and that; section 7 be amended by providing thit an px mpiion eeriifioUn hi rrqiir^d in t -ad of tha m ppctor b^ing re* quired to proVe good health." '• That the voiiog f.ir members fur Board* should take placd on onej&ny iod that the individual vote ot the members of a committee be recorded instead of a3 at present by the com' mittees. "The committee on a graduated scale of capitation grant, frport^d (bat the limited time at its disposal rendered it impossible to prepare such a graduated scale ai the importance of the subject demanded. It rponmimnded that the prineip'e be affirmed and the urgent necessity of in3reaßing the allawanoe all over the o>lony be impMß3©d on the Go* vernmeot, and that fb' computing allowance upon a graduated scale the annual payment to each Board ba not less that &i per pupil per annum, the smaller districts to receive special consideration over and above the £4 The report was adoptpd. 14 That the principal teachecs ol a qchiol shall have full discretion to arrange hia pupils in different classes for different suljects, accord iog to thnr ability and proficiency with regard to these subject J * That notwithstanding anything contained in tbn resolution the pupils of a school shall si 111 be ivgar.kd as belonging to some standard claa?, on the ba ; i-t of the average attainments in essential Bubjpcts." " That the Government be re* *p^ctfully moved to increase the grant for manual and technical instruction by materially increasing the capitation allowance under the Manual and Technical Elem^tary Instruction Act ani by providing fund-) for the erecti >n and furnishing of the necsgsary class room. That in tho distribution of money devoted to the purposes of manual and technical instruction, couutry districts should rpepive special consideration by the extension of the prespnt pradaMnn in the capitation.'' " That in determining the promo* tions of the pupils from standard to standard the following be the sub. jectg which the teacher shall rigard as forming tha essential basis of promotion : (a) Beading, (b) spelling and dictation, (c) writing, (d) arithmetic, (0*) composition and the

grammatical bans of composition." " That the above subjects ha regarded as obligatory in every school." " That a second group of subj cte, partly obligitory and partly certifical and optional, bs regarded as suhj-cts in which the individual proficiency of tha pupil in reference to ptandaid promotion may be disregarded, and that these be called class subject?, viz.- (a) drawing, (b) geography, (c) history and social economy, (d) obj et lesson and science, (• ) manual training." •• That in a single-handed school, that is, one having one certificated teacher, drawing and geography be obligatory class* subject*, but that no other class subjects may be taken in such a school, prrvided that, wi*h the consent of the board, manual occupations may be substituted for geography on conditions that gen. graphical readers be ua^d through, oat the classes concerned as supple. menlary reading books." 44 That in all other schools drawing and geography be likewise regarded as obligatory class subjects, and that such schools take up throughout the classes one other class subject selected from the group, (1) history and social economy, (2) science and object lessons, and (8) manual training, provided that in classes below standard 8 object lessons and manual occupations be tooth included, and that in standards 3 6a history reading book be used as a supplementary reader in any class or classes in which history is not taken as a class subj°ct."