School Inspector's Annual Report.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IX, Issue 124, 30 April 1885, Page 3

School Inspector's Annual Report.

Below we give some extracts from a summary of the inspector's report as published m the Wanganui Herald. Mr Vereker Bindou commenced his duties at the beginning of last March, having been detained m Auckland by a severe ilhiess. . . . School and Accommodation.— At the close of 1884 there were 74 schools m active work, with a roll of 5708, and a working average of 4278, or nearly /5 percent. During the year the me/ease had been 181 and 123 respectively. Of t&e ?4i seven were aided schools, with aii average attendance of 79. New schools' were opened at Mangaone, Terrace End, and Otakeho, and aided schools at Birdgrove, Kimbolton Boad, MomahaU, and Mara MaraTotara. At Terrace End the average attendance had been 83, and the Board purposed build- : i<r there. He also advised the shifting of "the present Palmerston school to some more extensive site at the southern end of the town. Some of the schools are. too close to-gether, hence attendances are low, and the salaiies not large enough to attract efficient teachers. In the play grounds good fences are an exception, and working bees are recommended to the settlers. Gravel, gymnastic apparatus, and saddle sheds are required by several schools. . Buildings, Furniture, &c.— AU bnild«n"B had recently heen pointed, but vrhue the exteriors of the .buildings look bright, the interiors are often very defective. The majority of the buildings are old and defective. These remarks did not auply to the new buddings at Manaia, Ngaire, Manchester, Beaconsfield, and Stanway. With regard to desks, he does not approve of the long length desks, and if placed together the teacher has no access, and if placed apart, the children have no support to their backs. The Board have decided to adopt the dual desks as used m Holland and other countries. Most. of the the schools are now well found m maps. Libraries have teen estab%hed m a few schools, but the books, as a rule, are too advanced for the pupils, and m some cases unsuitable.