111

E.—l

General Statement of Receipts and Expenditure for the Year ending the 31st December, 1904— continued.

D. Barron, Chairman. C. Macandrew, Treasurer. Examined and found correct.—J. K. Warburton, Controller and Auditor-General.

CIRCULARS.

Education Department, Wellington, 16th June, 1904. (Circular to Education Boards.) I am directed to send, for the consideration of your Board, the following suggestions for the amendment of its Scholarship Regulations : — 1. As a consequence of the policy of granting free secondary education to qualified pupils and of the increase in the number of district high schools, it is suggested that the scholarships given by Education Boards should be more and more devoted to the maintenance of scholars from country schools who have to board away from home in order to obtain secondary education. 2. Education Board scholars may be admitted if they come under clause 3 (a) or clause 3 (c) of the Secondary School Regulations at all secondary schools except four in the colony, and at those four they may be admitted under clause 17. 3. The age-limit for junior scholars should be not higher than fourteen years, in order that the holders may not be too old to gain the full benefit of a secondary-school course. 4. The best date for scholarship examinations would be in November or December, as the school year in all the secondary schools begins with the calendar year. 5. The National Scholarships examination affords one means of obtaining free places at secondary schools, and Boards of Education may award their junior scholarships according to the marks gained by their candidates at such examination. This examination will in future probably be held in December. Some Boards have already adopted this plan. 6. The free places granted in the first instance under clause 3 or clause 17 are continued if the holder satisfies the conditions of clause 12 ; accordingly, in like manner, the Civil Service Junior Examination will be available for such Boards as desire it as an examination for the purpose of awarding their senior or continuation scholarships. It is proposed to reduce the fee to those candidates who are not also candidates for entrance into the Civil Service of the colony from £1 to 2s. 6d. These arrangements come into force at the examinations in December next. 7. Board regulations should provide that their scholarships are not tenable with National Scholarships, or with any other scholarships or exhibitions, except as indicated in clause 3 (a) of the Secondary School Regulations. 8. In case of removal of the parents from one education district to another provision should be made, if need be, for the continuance of the scholarship ; and, as far as possible, provision should be made for the variation, where necessary, of the scholarships of those removing from one part to another of the same education district. 9. In order not to clash with the Secondary School Regulations (clauses 10 and 11) the syllabus for the senior scholarships of the Board should not give preference to any subject except English and arithmetic ; nor should Latin be compulsory; nor should any pupil be compelled to take more than one foreign language, if any. G. Hogben, Secretary for Education. Education Department, Wellington, 28th June, 1904. The Secretary, Education Board, The Government having taken into consideration the general question of making allowances for the conveyance of children to school, I am directed to inform you that such allowances will be granted as follows :

Primary. ! Seconaary. Total. Liabilities. £ a. A. lue Primary : -Apportionment to Education Boards... 253 3 9 >ue Secondary: Apportionment to High Schools Board ients overpaid ... ... ... ... 14150 'utstanding cheques ... ... ... ... 2,371 19 3 £ s. a. £ s. a. 253 3 9 22 4 5 22 4 5 14 15 0 2,371 19 3