E.—2

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Group IX. — Hawke's Bay, Taupo, Wanganui, Taranaki, and Wairarapa. The schools comprised in this group are : Tangoio, Te Haroto, Oruanui, Waitahanui, Tokaanu, Karioi, Pipiriki, Pamoana, Puniho, Pariroa, Papawai, and Turanganui. Of these, Oruanui and Waitahanui, in the Taupo district, began operations this year, the latter being too late for examination. Pariroa School, near Patea, fell so low in numbers and the prospects were so little that the school was closed and the buildings handed over to the Wanganui Education Board. Oruanui School made a capital beginning, the building being filled completely and the people being very enthusiastic. A night class for adults is being conducted, and a social evening held occasionally has done much to interest the people. . . The delay in appointment of a teacher at Tokaanu affected materially the welfare of the school, which has been further weakened by, first, the establishment of a Church school as Tokaanu, and, next, sickness and want of food among the people. These schools are not particularly strong as regards the work done in them ; indeed, at least half of them are below the mark. In one the reading consisted of mere repetition, and in another I found fingers frequently used in arithmetic. So firmly established had this habit become that new children put up their hands and performed the movements mechanically, being under the impression that this was the correct thing to do. Under these circumstances one could not be surprised at finding the arithmetic weak throughout the whole school. Papawai School was after a successful examination transferred on the request of the people to the Wellington Education Board. Group X. — South Island Schools. The Native schools in the South Island are : Waikawa, Wairau, Mangamaunu, Kaiapoi, Little Biver, Arowhenua, Waikouaiti, The Neck, and Buapuke. The work of these schools is, on the whole, fair ; there are four in which it is very good indeed. The attendance has been generally satisfactory, except in the case of Waikawa, which is again most unsatisfactory. The reports show that, in the Inspector's judgment, the. children were, except in one school, clean both in habit and person. Handwork is well done in several of the schools, and there is a workshop at Waikouaiti which is proving a very valuable aid. I regret to learn that the instruction of the preparatory classes is still conducted on useless lines,, and hope that the desired change in methods will be introduced without further delay. Wairau School was vacated during part of the year, as was also The Neck School on Stewart Island. Both these schools are now again in working order, new teachers having been appointed. Mission Schools. There are four mission schools which at the request of their controlling authorities are usually inspected and examined by the Education Department. They are: the Maori Mission School, Otaki; the Mission School, Putiki, Wanganui; Matata Convent School; and Waerenga-a-hika Mission School, near Gisborne. A new mission school has been established at Tokaanu by the Boman Catholic Church, and a mission school at Te Hauke, near Hastings, Hawke's Bay, by the Anglican Church. The Department has also agreed to inspect and examine these during 1906, the application in each case coming too late for action to be taken in 1905. The school at Putiki was examined some seven months after the former examination, and in spite of this the results obtained were very good, and the methods of teaching satisfactory. The attendance had been fairly good, though the number of children on the roll was not so large as it used to be. Otaki Mission School had, unfortunately, not been either inspected or examined for some two years. The attendance has not been very satisfactory, but the results obtained in the examination were very good. The discipline at Matata Convent School was capital; the extra subjects—singing, drawing, and drill—had made much advance during the year, and, indeed, the whole of the work showed a very substantial improvement on that of the previous years. I should like, however, again to call attention to the advantages to be derived from a thorough grounding in the powers of the consonants. The standard of the Waerenga-a-hika Mission School is, on the whole, high, and the results of the examination were very satisfactory, though it seemed to me that some of the children had been classified too low. Since last examination there has been a change in the staff, and the teaching of the lowest classes during my inspection was not at all satisfactory. It seems to me that the importance of the school demands the appointment of an assistant thoroughly qualified to take the work of ail the lowest classes. Further, there is a capital opportunity here for the establishment of classes in woodwork and agriculture, in which all the boys from Standard 111 upwards could take part. I strongly recommend the authorities of the school to give to this important question the attention it deserves. BOAEDING-SCHOOLS. The schools which provide higher or secondary education to Maori children are six in number—viz., Te Aute College (Napier) and St. Stephen's (Parnell, Auckland) for boys ; Hukarere and St. Joseph's Convent (Napier), Queen Victoria (Auckland), and Turakina (Wanganui) for girls.