The Patea Mail. PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS SATURDAY, JULY 14, 1877.

Patea Mail, Volume III, Issue 236, 14 July 1877, Page 2

The Patea Mail. PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS SATURDAY, JULY 14, 1877.

Ix view of legislation in regard to education during the coming session of Parliament, it may not be amiss to note what lias been done by the Education Board in Patea during the three and a half years it has been in existence. Up to July, 1874, educational affairs in this district were under the control of the authorities in Eew Plymouth. About that time a Local Board was constituted. The first half-yearly report to the 31st December, 1874, sent in to the Superintendent of tiro Province of Taranaki, showed the position of schools and teaching at the time the Local Board took charge. Patea school was described as li an old worn-out building, very much dilapidated, and totally unfit for the purpose, and with a very meagre supply of books, and an almost total absence of school fittings, &e.” At Haw era, the Block House was used as a school, and Was described* as “ close, ill-ventilated, and very objectionable.” At Waihi, a private school had been established, which the newly constituted Board at once aided, Mamitahi, Kakaramoa, and 'VVhenuaknra, though needing schools, were totally unprovided for. Au intelligent and practical body of men had been chosen as membeis of the Education Board, and they were fortunate enough to secure, in Mr William Cowern, the services of an efficient secretary. Having taken stock, they found themselves practically without means or guidance. Everything had to be provided for. The Board was not above being taught, and applied for ami obtained the services of a capable Inspector (Mr Lee, of Wellington), to inspect and report as to the best manner in which to proceed. The Board aimed high. The intention was “ to establish as complete a course of instruction as possible, so that residents in the district could obtain for their children, if necessary, a high class education, without going to the expense of sending them to

collegiate schools out of the province.’ The advice p,ivvn by Mr .hoe was acted upon. Hooks, maps, &c., were at once obtained, and a plan of school (in advance of the then requirements of the district) adopted. Schools were first erected at I’atea and Hawera, and on completion, were supplied with modern school appliances, A system of internal management, suggested by the inspector, was decided upon rind steadily carried out. The only income on which the Hoard could depend, was the education rate and school fees, estimated at about ;£3OU per annum. School teachers salaries, with that of the secretary, at that time totalled £350 per annum. With an income ol hut £3OO, the Hoard proposed, during’ the year 187'), to raise teachers’ salaries, engage fresh teachers, and open schools at Maimtahi and Ivakanunea—schools at Carlyle and Hawera being then in course of construction. Deficiency of proposed expenditure over income was estimated at £ 1,000. Nothing' but what was urgently needed was proposed to be done. The Hoard trusted to getting assistance from the Provincial and Ceneral Governments, besides which, reserves were applied for and obtained, which raised the annual income to £7BO. Money grants were obtained, and the good effects'of the first year and a half’s work encouraged the Hoard to furtner effort, the result of which may, for the most part, be seen in the report presented to the Hoard by the secretary on the ulh May last, and afterwards printed and forwarded to the Minister of Justice.. The report, including School Inspector’s report of November, 1870, reprinted in the Patka Mail, showed that good schools, well supplied with educational requisites, and presided over by capable teachers, had been provided, and were in good working order. Hesidonces for teachers had been erected adjacent to the schools, and as mentioned in the report, The schools are distributed in the centres of population throughout the occupied land in the district, and will be all that is required for some time to come, and until the lands of the interior are sold and occupied. Everything lias been done in the most substantial manner, with the view of permanency and usefulness.” With the completion of the Ketemarae school, the work of the Hoard,- as regards placing within the reach of parents the means of obtaining a sound English education lor their children, will have been attained, with the exception that additions will be required to IL-iwera and Carlyle schools, to meet the wants of increased population. While linked to Taranaki, it was impossible, that the educational requirements of the district could ho properly understood or cared for. It was only by constituting a Local Hoard that the good results now attained could have been accomplished. The Patoa Education Board has not quite finished the whole of the work planned and intended to bo carried out, though sufficient has been done for present •requirements. It depends much upon the action of the Legislative next session wbetlier the good work so far (tone may bo continued and extended by the establishment of a central high school, where the higher branches of education may be taught. From the class of settlers in the district, there is every reason to believe a school of the kind named would be liberally supported. The Patoa School District, as at present formed, is quite large enough. It is sufficiently wide to require full attention on the part of individual members of the Board in working out the general plan, and to give each representative a special interest in attending to the wants of his own locality, and is yet small enough to prevent the growth of conflicting interests. This, in our opinion, is as it should be. Allied with either Taranaki or Wellington, the same amount of useful work could not have been accomplished, and we think that a hint may be taken from Patca, not only as to formation of school districts, but also as to the maimer of working and the objects which should be aimed at.