E.—2

[Appendix A.

WELLINGTON. Sl&t— Education Board Office, Wellington, 31st March, 1912. In accordance with the requirements of the Education Act, 1908, I beg to submit the following report of the Education Board of the District of Wellington for the year 1911. -Board.— At..the annual election Messrs. J. G. W. Aitken (City) and A. H. Vile (Wairarapa) were re-elected; and Mr. H. Freeman was elected instead of Mr. H. R. Elder, Hutt-Horowhenua. The following was the membership of the Board at the end of the year : Wellington City Ward 'Messrs. J. G. W. Aitken, W. Allan, R. Lee; Hutt-Horowhenua Ward—Messrs. H. Freeman, W. H. Field, J. Kebbell; Wairarapa Ward—Messrs. W. C. Buchanan, M.P., A. W. Hogg, A. H. Vile. At. the August meeting Mr. R. Lee was re-elected Chairman. Hie Board's representative managers of technical schools were: Wellington—Messrs. Aitken, Allan, and Field; Petone—Messrs G. London and D. McKenzie. The Committee of Advice of the Training College was composed of the following members: Mr. W. Lock, representing South Island Boards of the Middle University District—Marlborough, Nelson, Grey, Westland; Mr. G. Carson, representing North Island Boards of the Middle University District—Taranaki, Wanganui, Hawke's Bay; Professor Brown, representing Victoria College Professorial Board; Mr. R. Lee (Chairman) and Mr. T. R. Fleming (Chief Inspector), representing the Wellington Education Board. Mr. Lee acted as Chairman. Number of Schools.—At the end of 1910 there were 160 schools in operation. During 1911 new-schools were opened at Pori, Whakapuni, Manuhara, Mona, Maunganui, Waihoanga, Aohonga, Makerua, Carrington, and Normandale, while a small school at Admiral Bun was closed. Thus at the end of the year there were 169 schools in operation. Attendance.—The average roll and attendance for the respective quarters and the year were :— ~ . Average Roll. Average Attendance. Mai ' ch •■• -■- ■■■ •■■ ... ... 17,614 16,380 June •■■ •■ ... . . 17,662 15,728 September ... ... ... ... 17,734 15,470 December ... ... ... ... ... 17,955 16,347 Year ... .. ... 17,741 15,981 Last year for the first time the law required the child to attend " whenever the school is open.' An increasing degree of regularity was at once observed, March quarter reaching an average of 92 per cent. But severe epidemics widely prevailed during the following quarters, so that the percentage for the year was but 90-1, an extremely good result in the circumstances. The corresponding figures for the preceding years were: 1909, 896 per cent.; 1910, 88"9 per cent. The co-operation of parent, teacher, and Board has resulted in a steady growth of the habit of regularity, and it is to be added that the wise support of the Board's efforts by the Magistracy has made the way of the transgressor increasingly hard. It may be confidently affirmed that the system of periodic report of absentees, of transfers, and withdrawals is so nearly complete as to enable the Board to know and pursue any parent in. the Wellington District who seeks to evade the law. Teaching Staff.—The following are the numbers of teachers, pupil-teachers, and probationers who were in the Board's service at the end of the year :— TT . „_ , , Men. Women. Totals. Head ot bchools... . . ... ... ... 69 9 78 Sole teachers ... .. .. ... ... 26 65 91 Assistants ... ... ... ... ... 54 192 246 Total adults ... ... , . 149 266 415 Pupil-teachers . . ... ...10 53 63 159 319 478 Probationers ... ... ... ... g 20 28 Total, including pupil-teachers and probationers ... ... ... ... 167 339 506 Of the adult teachers, 133 men and 217 women, total 350, possess certificates; sixty-five were uncertificated, six of whom were holders of a license to teach. The percentage of fully certificated teachers has risen from BPB to 843. Instruction of Teachers.—The courses of instruction held for teachers were as follows: At Wellington—Art and handwork classes by Miss Lee, assisted by Miss B. MacKenzie; singing by Mr. Parker; physical measurements and physiology by Mr. Stuckey; woodwork and cardboardmodelling by Mr. Howe. At Masterton—Drawing by Mr. Grant; singing by Mr. Parker; physiology and hygiene for women by Miss Lazarus; drill for men by an officer of the Cadet Department. At Greytown—a fortnight's continuous instruction in agriculture and nature-study, undertaken by twenty-one teachers, under the guidance of Messrs. Davies and Cumming. At Pahiatua—A course of lessons in agriculture by Mr. Cumming. But for the unsuitability of the railway time-table, the attendance at the Wairarapa classes would have been much larger than was possible in the circumstances. For uncertificated teachers, selected on the recommendation of the Inspectors, a course of continuous instruction was held at the Normal School in February, 1912, with a view to assisting them to obtain certificates. Special instruction was given by Mr. Lomas, who was in charge of the course, and by Mr. Webb, and by Misses Mcßae, Cray, and MacKenzie, and the teachers

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