BOARD OF EDUCATION.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2764, 1 February 1882, Page 2

BOARD OF EDUCATION.

The ordinary meeting of the South Canterbury Board of Education was held to-day. Present—Mr H. Belfield (chairman), Rev. G. Barclay, and,Messrs Steward, Slack, Gray, and Walcot." ' The minutes of the previous meeting having been read and confirmed, the chairman stated that at the previous meeting he was authorised to accept tenders for the erection of four schools (at Redcliif, Makikihi, Scaview, and Gapes’ Valley), but in consequence of a hitch occurring in connection with the Seaview school, he had preferred Jo leave the matter for the Board to deal with. He had sanctioned,.the appointment of Miss Cox as tnistress of the Tim am Side School. Miss Cox was the most - suitable of the six' candidates for the post, but she had no certificate under the Hew Zealand regulations, and he had sanctioned her appointment subject to her obtaining a certificate at the next examination (Jan. 1883). QUESTIONS. , Mr Walcot asked why tenders were not called for painting the Timaru School before the 26th January, when the Board agreed to the work being done on the 3rd, so that the work might have been done during the holidays. The Secretar}’ explained that' as the Chairman was not authorised to accept a tender,- he understood that tenders must come before this meeting, and he therefore only advertised in time to get these tenders in for to-day. .Mr Steward remarked that if the fact of the School being closed had been brought before the Board, the Chairman would have been authorised to deal with the matter.

Air Steward asked why, when it had been arranged that the Waituna School should be examined before the harvest holidays, due notice of the date of the examinations was not sent.

The Secretary stated that notice of the date was sent tied days before. He went down to examino.the School on the 30tb, and found that the notice had not been received, and, the School had been closed.

Mr Steward said be brought the matter forward in order to suggest that longer notices should be given in the case of outlying districts, whose residents only got their letters by fetching them from considerable distances, and generally not oftener than once a week. ELECTION OF COMMITTEES.,, ~ The Secretary stated that so far as he had received returns, Committees hud been elected for all districts except Hunter, N<wth Orari, and Milford, but he had received no returns from Burke’s Pass, Opibi, Scotaburn, Pleasant Valley, and Winchester, i Monday, the 19th, inst was. fixed as the date for holding meetings in those' districts where there had been failure to elect. The Secretary said that no Committee would be elected for North Orari, as the" school was closed. He proposed to remove the furniture and apparatus for use ,in other schools. , . • •>' VACANCIES ON THE BOARD. The Secretary road a list of perso n nominated by the School Committees to fill the prospective vacancies on the Board as follows :—Messrs G. Barclay, H Belfield, M. Gray, J, 0. McKerrow, Dr C. J, Foster, Dr ; Hayes, and Dr M. Chilton. SCHOLARSHIP REGULATIONS. Tho Board discussed the modifications proposed last meeting in, the scholarship at considerable length, and the following were finally adopted :

In case of any scholar attending a school approved by the Board and not obliged by distance to reside away from home the value of the scholarship shall be £l2.

In case of any scholar attending school approved by the Board, and travelling by rail to and from such school, then in addition to the value of the scholarshipitself,travelling expenses will be allowed.

In case of any scholar attending a school approved by the, Board, and obliged by distance, to reside away from home, in addition to the value of the scholarship itself such aid will be granted towards Board and lodging ns the Board may deem expedient, not being less than £lO and not exceeding £35-

The number of the scholarships in each and nil of the classes will be determined from year to year by the Board.

. The Bpard will expect that holders of scholarships in Classes C and D shall continue their education at a High School, but in applying this regulation the Board will be guided by its own financial resources and the circumstances of the scholar.

That candidates he required to attend at a public school for six months prior to examination, instead of three • That the examinations in future be held on the second Tuesday in December.

That any holder of a scholarship in classes A. and B. shall devote one-half of the scholarship money to the payment of the public school teacher under whom he may study during the year, as required by the Act, provided that the pupil do not attend a High School, and provided also that sneh teacher shall be required to give efficient instructions to such pupil in secondary education.

It was resolved to request Archdeacon Harper, the Rev. B. T. Hallowea, and Messrs E. Wakefield and M. Gray to conduct the examination, as last year ; the examiners, together with the Rev. G. Barclay and the Inspector, to act as a Scholarship Committee. The Secretary stated that 19 applications hai been received for examination in Class A, 11 in Class B, 9 in Class C, and 2 in Class D.

The Secretary stated that an application had been received from one boy who had been a pupil nearly all last year at the High School, Regulation 5 required that candidates for scholar-hips should have attended a public school for three mouths prior to the application being made. This boy was taken from the High School and placed in a public school, but he had not been, in this school the three months required |to qualify him to compete for a scholarship. It. was agreed that the application could not be accepted. . ' Mr Barclay moved that the regulations now adopted be submitted to the Minister for Education for his sanction , and that upon that sanction being obtained they be brought into operation at once. In speaking to his motion, Mr Barclay , said he could not sea the slightest reason for postponing the operation of the new rules. They \yece admitted to be more just and equitable than the old ones, and he could not see how injustice could be done by bringing them into operation.

Mr Steward seconded the motion pro forma, but spoke against it 3 arguing that it would be unfair to those who had been preparing for the examination to alter the conditions of the competition at the last moment-

The motion on being put was lost, but a second one, omitting the proposal to bring the regulations into force ! at once, and proposing merely to obtainfhe sanction of the Minister : to the rib# regulations, was carried; • [’ : ' AUDIT OF ACCOUNTS. ■ It was agreed to allow a fee of one guinea to each Of the five larger schools to pay for the audit of their accounts, and to forward a notice to those schools that the fee would not be allowed in future. ( * ADVJ3ETISING. In reply to Mr Stewart the Secretary stated that tiie cost of advertising for" the year 188 L had been £3O lls 2d, of which £l3 13s 8d was fqr Government; advertisements and Gazette notices, over which the Board had little or no control, leaving only £l6 17s fid expended da advertising for teachers and tenders, and the expenditure of which had bean left* to his (the Secretary’s), discretion. The total amount spent for printing was about £BO, of which £3l was for the printing of the annual report, leaving £35 odd for general printing, quarterly returns, memo forms, etc. The general printing' was done at the ‘‘ Herald ” office’ at-’ prices as low as those, quoted from Christchurch. The Secretary gave a full explanation of his practice in -distributing the advertisements. The distribution of the advertising had been chiefly left in his hands, and the Chairman had not interfered except that, bn several occasions lie countermanded ‘ orders for.advertising sent to his paper, bn the score of expense. The Architect ■ had complained several times that tenders were not advertised enough. i Mr Steward, who said ho asked the questions on. account of something be had seen. in print, expressed himself perfectly'satisfied. . In reply to -Mr ' Barclay, whose question was similarly suggested, the Secretary stated that' he did riot, as was insinuated by the Chairman of the Tiraam Committee at the public .meeting of householders, ; fix the date of the pupil teachers examination so as to interfere with the opening of the school. They were fixed by the regulations of the Board to take place in the last week in January, and it would have been as fair for him r to charge the Committee with fixing the opening of the Scliool so as to interfere with the examination.

A .petition - was read signed by 2jopupil teachers, praying that the examination be held in the winter recess, and not during January, as it spoiled their Christmas holidays. The petition received but little' attention and notice of motion was, giyen by, Mr St#wind ' that the examination in future be'held in the third .week of January. ■''' ' ■ •

The Secretary mentioned another y matter of the nature of a charge bin.; ' At the lust meeting of the Timarn Committee it was said that the report of the examination held in December, 1880, was not sent in till the following September. It was sent in in February. Mr Walcot was under the impression that it was not received till months later. He would look the matter up. [Left sitting.] , ‘ |