17

B.—lβ

some of its details, alterations are thought to be advisable, and even necessary, yet in its comprehensiveness and general tendency it has been welcomed as a most able and scholarly achievement. In nothing more than education can it be at the present time so truly said that "the old order changeth, yielding place to new," and it is in its successful endeavour to meet the requirements of the modern spirit of education that the new syllabus is so distinctly in advance of previous efforts. If it does no more than put an end to the laborious memorising of text-book matter prepared for the sole purpose of examination requirements, it will have done good work. It is in method more than in matter that the greater change has been made, and in our opinion that is the direction in which a chenge was most urgently needed. At a first glance there would seem to be in some of the schemes of work a suggestion of quantity which is somewhat depressing; but a closer inspection has shown that in every instance quantity is in reality subordinated to quality. But while every scope and encouragement is given to the teacher to show his own power of initiative and individuality iii the selection of such programmes of work as he can do justice to, the necessity of his equipping himself to meet modern methods and ideas is made sufficiently obvious. As a matter of fact, in some respects the new syllabus is in advance of the present means of administering its provisions in their true spirit, and its full force will not be felt until regular training colleges are available for our young teachers, and our schools receive more generous treatment in the matters of accommodation, equipment, and staffing. However, these are matters for which provision will, no doubt, be made in the near future. In the meantime, the honest, able, and conscientious work done by our teachers in the past makes us feel that we can confidently rely on their cheerful co-operation in the endeavour to make the new syllabus the success it deserves to be. We have, &c, T. E. Fleming, M.A., LL.B.,) T . .fl , , F. H. Bakewell, M.A., '(Inspectors of Schools. The Chairman, Wellington Education Board.

Summary of Results for the Whole District.

HAWKE'S BAY. g] R , Inspector's Office, Napier, 29th March, 1904. The seventy-nine schools that were reported by me as being in operation at the date of my general report a year ago, have now increased to eighty-six, with every promise of a further increase during the coming year. This increase in the number of schools does not represent a large increase in the number of pupils for whom accommodation has been provided. Among the seven so-called new schools, Waihora contains four pupils, Pakarae five, Patoka ten, and Mangatoro fifteen. The other three schools —viz., Mangateretere, Hatuma, and Mahora —contain a fairly large attendance, but most of the children have been drawn from the schools immediately surrounding them. Such schools represent the extension of settlement beyond the limits of the larger town centres, and they further represent a new aspect of school expenditure that is becoming r.-ecessary wherever special settlements are opened for selection by the Government. Hatuma, Mahora, and Elsthorpe are examples of successful schools in special settlements, but it can hardly be said that the attendance at Mangatoro has justified the expenditure of so much money on the erection of buildings. The selectors in the special settlements known as the "Willows," in Poverty Bay, and Argyle, between Waipawa and Hampden, are applying for the erection of a school, but it appears to me that the interests of each district would be better, met for a year or so by provision being made for a coach to carry the children to and from the nearest public school. Last year attention was drawn to the need of painting and otherwise improving the interior of the school buildings in the majority of school districts. Many years have passed since the rooms

3—E. Ib.

Classes. Number on Roll. Present at Inspector's Annual Visit. Passed. Average Age of the Pupils in each Class. Standard VII. VI. V. IV. Hill. I530 1,189 1,574 1,816 1,991 1,953 1,781 4,953 519 1,158 1,519 1,778 1,935 1,880 1,722 4,212 946 1,240 1,502 1,648 1,705 1,648 Yrs. mos. 14 3 13 8 12 11 11 11 10 11 9 10 8 8 7 0 Preparatory... Totals 15,787 14,723 8,689 11 2* * Mean of a'erage age.