EDUCATION BOARD,

Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 298, 16 October 1873, Page 6

EDUCATION BOARD,

The adjourned meeting of the Education Board vi as held on the 10th, there beingpresent his Honor the Superintendent (in the chair). Messrs Turnbull, Bastings, and Turton, Mr Hislop (Inspector), and Mr Sperrey (Secretary-) PROVINCIAL SCHOLARSHIPS. The following recommendation by the Inspector was read : — In terms of the resolutions of the Government, I have the honor to submit for consideration the enclosed draft of resolutions relating to the Provincial Scholarships. These are for tbs most part the same as the regulations formerly approved and acted upon, except as follows :— 1. As the Grcaromar Sghopls haye now been at work ior nearly four years, I veniurg to sub rnifc that their pupils may fairly be expected to cempete with those of the High School, whil* the pupils of the common schools should compete hy themselves. See proposed regulation, No. 1. 2. 1 venture to recommend that the age of corapfititors, and the standard of requirements should be i^ised. I have inserted sixteen instead of fourteen, $p the maximum age, and : raised the standard so high that any successful competitor should easily pass the entrance examination proposed by the High Scnool OpmmLision (paragraph 25, page 7, of their report). See the question of raising the age and standard clearly put in paragraphs 54 and 55, page 14 of High School Commission Report. 3. The Government limits $he perm to three ysars instead of five years as befoi-e, buj; see proviso suggested by me at end of Regulation No. 2. The Government has fixed the value at L3O yearly, with free education, being less than value of present scholarships. & cpuntry bom whose full board (fifty guineas) has been paid. The Inspector: Formerly there was a second scholarship, which was. competed for by the High School boys alone, the other being competed for by the district and common school boys. At that time the grammar ach^ols were scarcely in operation, and if in operation, onjy recently ; butjnow I think it' would not be fair to th.c district and common school boys to class them with grammar school boys.— Mr Bastings : B.ut j» }b fojr to class grammar school boys with the HJgh School ?— The Inspector t The boyp whp will compete from the grammar schools will come from the class of the Rector, who is expected to prepare them for the University. It was the only fair division that could be made, unless you give a third scholarship for grammar school boys alone. ~Mp Bastings : That iv the only difficulty— grammar schooj boys Trill have to compete against the High School, and have they the same advantages as the latter I—The1 — The Superintendent ; It will spurt them on.— Mr Bastings ;It gertapdy be a great victory for the grammar sshopj bpy/j if they should gain a scholarship against those from the High Sebool,-— Mr Turnbull : Perhaps it will be ag well to let it go thisyear, and see how it work*. -^Mr Tftrtoft Agreed with the recommendation of the Inspector, — The Inspector : I would like it to be seen that I only make the classification ot grammar school boys with those of the High School because there are only two scholarships. If there had been a third scholarship I should have recommended one for each class. — Mr Bastings : At all events, it is worth the experiment this year.— The recommendations were then adopted. |

A TBAIHINO SCHOOL IN DXT^ KDIK. The following letter from the Secretary to the Dunedin School Committee was read :— I have the honor to acknowledge your letter of 13th September with enclosure from the Inspector of Schools, re site for fourth scliooL The Committee have taken the same into consideration, and a deputation of tne wnole of the members have waited upon the Mayor and Corporation on the matter, and regret to stat« that the reply to their request that a portion of the Market Reserve in the Octagon should be granted, is to the effect "that the Corporation regret that they are unable to comply with the request." [The resolution above referred to also asked the Board to allow the teachers fees for teaching poor scholars, which the Board had not allowed since December, 1872.] Mr Bastings : Do you consider the teachers in Dunedin are badly paid?— The Inspector : The pupil tcachera are. —The Superintendent : What do the pupil teachers get now?— Their salaries rise from L2o.— His Honor : What proportion does the Government pay ?— The Inspector : The Government üßed to pay the whole up to the date of the passing of the minute of 1872 ; now they pay only two-thirds.— lv answer to Mr Turnbull, his Honor said that MrJJislop reported that to comply with the Committee's request would involve an expenditure of LI, 241. — It was resolved to refer the whole matter to the Government. A FOURTH CITY SCHOOL. The following lettei from the Secretary to the Dunedin school Committee on the above subject was also read :—: — I have the honor to enclose resolution agreed to by the Dunedin School Committee :—" i& site for Fourth School.— The Committee believe that the site indicated by the Inspector of Schools for a fourth school in Dunedin would be most suitable, and they, have waited upon the City Council, in whom the reserve is vested, to see if that site could not be obtained ; but they regret that the City Council expresses its inability to comply with the Committee's request." Under these circumstances, the Committee also much regret that they are unable at present to aid the Education Board in the obtaining of a site. The Committee herewith forward a petition received by them urging the establishment of a fourth school in Bell "Ward. Mr Bastings : I very much regret that the City Council cannot see its way to giving the site, because, with the funds at the disposal of the Government, it would be impossible to meet the wants of other districts if a site has to be purchased. If we had a site, we are prepared to go on with the erection of the building at once. His Honor : Surely the citizens are sufficiently interested to bring their influence to bear upon the City Council. If these reserves were intended to be used for anything, they ought to be used for such a purpose as this. Mr Turnbull : I understood that a public meeting was to be called by the School Committee to consider the Council's action. His Honor : I cannot conceive why the Council object to the reserve as a site for a school, for, after all, the reserve belongs to the community and was set apart for public purposes. It shows that the Government of the day was rather premature in relinquishing its power over these reserves when it did. Mr Bastings asked if ths Education Board would be justified in writing to the Corporation on the subject ? His Honor thought the matter should be referred to the Government. They could communicate with the City Council with a view to getting that body to reconsider its decision. Mr HISI-or said the following memorial was attached to the School Committee's letter :— "We, the undersigned residents and householders in that part of Dunedin being to the east of George street, beg respectfully to bring under the notice of the Board the crowded state of the Middle and North District Schools, and the great inconvenience, not unattended with danger, to which we are subjected by our children having to go such a distance through crowded thoroughfares to attend either establishment. We, therefore, respectfully request the Board to take immediate steps for the establishment of a District School in our part of the town, and we shall do all in our power to assist the Dunedin School Committee and the Education Board in carrying out this object. His Honor thought if the matter were properly laid before the City Council they might see the absolute necessity for the school, and alter their opinion. The matter was referred to the Government. THE HIGH SCHOOL. Mrs Burns' s application to have the boarding establishment separated from the Girls' High School was referred to the Government. Applications for new schools were received and dealt with as fellows :—Blackstone Hill, Clinton, Dumbarton Rock, Waikaia Plat, Ida Valley,' Athol, Oteramika, Murray's Flat — postponed, the two last mentioned pending Inspector's report; Upper Waireka, Miller's Flat, and Clinton to be subsidised under £)lass D ; Clinton allowed LSO towards bnildpg. The consideration of tb. c recommendation : of the f elect Committees of Provincial • Council, that the Queenstown spbool should ! be raised to a grammar school — Mr Mack- \ lin's application fur compensation for less of school > fees, by reason of the illness of his : scholars, was decliued.—Tbe sum of LSO was granted to the Kingston School Committee towards the expense of erecting a school, and LSO towards the teacher's salary. — The temporary appointment of Mr George M'Leod as b.ead master .of the Invercargill grammar school was approved. The Inspector reported on the Hampden school, and recommended that the school committee be informed that ihe Board has sanctioned the appointment of a sewing mistress for the school in ignorance of the whole facts ; that the master had not been consulted in respect of the appointment ; fckab the JB,oar<l jyould the question of granting a sewing mistress at its next meeting in January ; that the action of the Committee in deducting from the master's salary LlO to pay the sewing mistress could not be enforced, and that the Board declines giving its sanction to such reduction until the matter was further' considered in January. —The report was adopted. The Inspector reported in reference to the Waikari school, that as the attendance present and prospective fell short of the Board's regulations, the committee should be informed that $be Board's allowance for a sgwjng niistress w#nld cease on the 31st December, but that tfre board would pay the salary of a good pupil teacher and teacher of sewing, if a competent one could be got. The report was agreed to.