EDUCATIONAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1666, 25 January 1917, Page 2

EDUCATIONAL.

SPEAKING on the subject of scholarships and proficiency examination results at the Wanganui Education Board’s last meeting, the Chairman said the results were particularly gratifying to those who had supported the action of the Senior Inspector (Mr T. B. Strong) in his efforts to “quicken” the activities of many of the head masters who had been exhibiting an undesirable slackness in their administration. Although the proficiency examination had been stiffened by the Department so that it was estimated only (50 per cent, of the candidates would pass, the Wanganui district results showed an average pass of 70.1 per cent, and over 14 per cent, of competency passes, while last year, with an easier examination, the proficiency results only totalled 05 per cent. The scholarship results were especially gratifying, as double the number of candidates for national scholarships qualified, while one lad, who gained 716 marks out of 800 would probably top the Dominion. The Senior Inspector deserved the thanks of the Board and the community, and the teachers and pupils were to he congratulated on the excellent work done. Mr Strong said that the teachers deserved the first praise, to whom he paid a warm tribute for the manner in which they had risen to the occasion. The Chairman was right in his statement that the examinations were stiffer than in the past, and personally he did not anticipate a higher result than 00 per cent. It was a pleasant surprise to him, as it proved his contention that it was possible for the district results to be better than they had been.