E.—lβ

11

I would point out that, owing to the limited area of land, further extension of the school-buildings at the infants' and main school is undesirable, as even now the unsatisfactory conditions existing constitute a serious drawback to the successful preparation and training of the children. Eecently an interesting experiment was carried out by Mr. Alfred Levi, oculist, for the Napier School Committee. Mr. Levi instituted a series of tests for the discovery of faulty or defective eyesight among the children attending the upper division of the main school. Four hundred and fifty-seven children were tested, with the following results : 159 had normal sight; 241 were slightly hypermetropic, or far-sighted ; 46 were far-sighted, with weak sight, or esthenopia ; 11 were suffering from myopia, or short°sight,'two being very bad cases. Seven children were blind, or nearly so, in the right eye, and seven others had a similar defect in the left eye. In ray report to the Board several years ago reference was made to the absence, or nearly so, of myopia among the children. Even now there are very few instances of short-sighted children in the country schools, and nine of the eleven tested in Napier appear to have developed myopia in consequence of the bad light supplied in several class-rooms at the school. As a rule, the Board schools are excellently lighted, and it is the situation of the Napier main school that is the sole cause of the bad quality of light in certain of the class-rooms. Much valuable information as to the growth of myopia and other forms of defective eyesight would be obtained were similar tests made at intervals in a number of the principal schools of the district. In nineteen districts where there are schools no residence is provided for the teacher in charge. I have observed in Native districts the residence is deemed an essential part of school-buildings, and much of the success that has attended the work of the Native schools can be traced to the supply of neat and well-arranged buildings, and I am convinced it would be a great gain to education were a similar plan followed by the Board when erecting schools in this district. Fifty-three schools have been inspected and examined. These contained 6,202 pupils, compared with 5,923 for the corresponding period of 1891. The presentations in standards, including 43 pupils in the class above Standard VI., numbered 4,026. Ninety-two of these were absent from examination, 142 were excepted, 780 failed, and 2,970 passed for promotion to a higher standard. The following summary contains information for each standard, and the total results are also given for the corresponding period of last year : —

The interpretation of this table is interesting. It shows that out of 6,202 pupils in the public schools at the time of examination forty-three had passed through Standard VI., and that 3,983 were considered by the teachers capable of passing in one or other of the standards. If the 198 failed, excepted, and absent pupils in Standard I. are deducted from this number there remain 3,785 pupils who have passed in a standard at some time or other. The 2,970 passed pupils for the year, or 47-7 per cent, of the whole, simply represent the number of pupils who have passed, the requirements for promotion to a higher standard; but the 3,785 pupils, or 61 per cent, of the whole, represent the actual number who have passed a standard either this year or in some previous examination. To obtain a standard " pass " three conditions must be satisfied. The pupil must be examined in a standard not already passed; he must display satisfactory knowledge in all the " pass "-subjects of the syllabus of instruction ; and he must bo present in class during the examination of the standard pupils in the " class "-subjects. In each standard, reading, writing, arithmetic, spelling, and drawing are " pass "-subjects, and above the First Standard new subjects are introduced, either " pass or " class," so that a wide course of instruction is prescribed for every pupil passing through the standard course. It will readily be seen that many children receive instruction in subjects beyond the three E's, and all those marked as failures in any standard above the First have already satisfied the requirements in the standard next below the one they have now failed to pass. Nor do the failures necessarily mean ignorant or dull pupils, but they include the weak, the sick, the irregular, and in too many cases the class of unfortunates whose parents fail to realise their parental duties, and who keep their children from school for the most trivial and paltry reasons. It seems doubtful whether force—or, in other words, the enforcement of the compulsory clause of the Education Act—will cure the indifference of parents who have themselves received an indifferent training; still, it must be confessed that force is the only instrument in government with which it is possible to touch some human hearts on behalf of their offspring.

Classes. Presented. Absent. Excepted. Failed. Passed. Percentage of Passes to Presentations Average Age of those that passed. Yrs. m. ibove Standard VI. itandard VI. V. ;, iv. „ in. ii. i. 43 196 418 648 824 898 999 2,176 1 5 11 29 16 30 5 8 22 32 49 25 45 139 194 145 114 143 145 266 421 618 719 801 73-3 64-4 66-1 77-4 82-6 82'6 14 1 13 0 12 3 11 4 10 3 9 5 'reparatory Totals 6,202 92 141 780 2,970 74-5 11 8 Totals, 1891 5,923 75 142 742 2,851 74-7 11 9