EDUCATIONAL.

Westport Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1184, 12 June 1874, Page 4

EDUCATIONAL.

[WESTPORJ 1 EVENING STAlt.] At the last meeting of the JN T elson Central Board of Education, a report of the Finance Committee was adopted, containing a series of suggestions from which the following are extracts : —The Committee ascertaining that the sum of £8740 would be required for expenditure during the ensuing educational year, that the number of inhabited houses in the Educational Districts is 3307, and that the Education rate collected, including the payments from 3500 children, had averaged only £2OOO a year Cor three years past, saw that reformation in the method of collecting the rate was urgently needed. The Committee therefore suggest,

'■lst. That a rate-book, showing all the houses and householders liable to pay education rate, with the extent of their liability, be annually prepared by the rate collector or collectors, not later than July Ist. " 2nd. That, immediately after its preparation, such portions of the rate-book-as concern each Local Committee be submittted to such Committee for revision. " 3rd. That rate collectors be made directly responsible for whatever amounts, standing in the rate-book, remain uncollected at the end of nine months from the levying of the rate, except where such amounts shall be shown to be exemptions made by Local Committees, or to some other sufficient cause." Having considered a memorial from the teachers of public schools for increase of salary, the Committee express regret that the estimate of expenditure will not admit of any addition to the present scale of salaries, except at the cost of restricting*the extension of the Board's operations. Tho Committee also express opinion that length and the efficiency of service should be taken as the basis of any further increase of salaries, and recommend that the present rate of salaries bo adopted for the current Educational year. In his rcporc on reading prizes offered by the Central Board, the Inspector, Mr Hodgson, says :

" These examinations, by exciting a keen and very general spirit of emulation throughout our Provincial schools, have accomplished more good than I at first anticipated. In many instances it is evident that both teachers and scholars have been induced to devoto more time and pains to a branch of education that has hitherto scarcely received the attention to which it isfairly entitled. As many of the teachers, very properly made a point of being present during the reading, they

thus enjoyed another of those opportunities of comparing the results attained at other schools with those achieved at their own, that are still, unfortunately, too rare. " Such friendly competitions as these tend to abate that overweening estimate of their own teachiug powers, that isolation is to apt to engender in those whoso work is never submitted to the salutary test of public comparisou. " I trust, therefore, that the Central Board will contiuue to encourage by the offer of annual prizes, a competition that has already done so much at so small a cost."

Referring to the result of the examination at the West Coast Schools the report says that. "As no convenient centre could be found at which the candidates from the West Coast Schools could meet for examination, the examinations were made at each school by the Inspector alone. " On the whole, the reading of both prose and poetry was of fair quality, though it was noticeable that several of these schools that had been longest at work did not succeed so well as some that had been more recently opened. " The first prize was won by John Ormond, of St. Patrick's school, Charleston ; the second fell to Charlotte Crumpton, of Blackett street, Charleston. Minette M'Donald of Westport, Sarah Melody of St. Mary's Ahaura, bjth deserve honorable mention,"