E.—2.

Appendix A.]

Day and evening classes for adults as noted below have been established and directly controlled by the Board. The figures show the number that attended each class.

These classes have proved extremely successful. The Board records with pleasure the hearty local interest evinced and support accorded in connection with the most of them, and believes there is good ground for anticipating for them similar success in future years. The financing of these country classes for adults must, however, always be a serious consideration, as, after providing for the emolument of the teachers employed, there is but little, if any, margin from the fees and capitation to meet contingencies. School of Art: The total number of pupils receiving instruction by means of the School of Art was 643, including 116 day students, 176 evening students, 133 day students of the Technical School, 139 teachers attending Saturday classes, 33 teachers attending week-day classes, 41 teachers attending at Oamaru special classes, 100 Training College students, and 13 teachers attending a special course to prepare them for their certificate examination. Training-classes for teachers were carried on as follows » Dunedin —Drawing, design, brushwork, modelling, cookery, needlework, dressmaking, physiology and first aid, agriculture (elementary and advanced), vocal music, elocution, physical training. Oamaru —Drawing, design, brushwork* modelling, elocution. The capitation received for all manual and technical instruction classes during the year was £2,615 6s. 7d., or £580 2s. 3d. more than for 1910. Mural Instruction at District High Schools: The advisability of introducing at the district high schools in this district the Department's scheme of rural instruction was considered by the Board in 1910, but in consequence of the disfavour with which it was regarded by the majority of the School Committees and headmasters concerned the Board did not deem it prudent to proceed with it at that time. The question was, however, reopened in June last, when it was found that the attitude of the School Committees and headmasters had so altered that they had withdrawn all opposition to the scheme, and were prepared to give it the very heartiest support. The Board accordingly decided to make arrangements for the introduction of the scheme at the beginning of 1912. The work of initiating the scheme has been very heavy, involving as it has done the drafting of suitable programmes of instruction, the appointment of two qualified teachers in agricultural science, one teacher in woodwork, one in cookery, and one in dressmaking, besides the erection of the following buildings : Balclutha —Cookery and science rooms and enlarging of woodwork room; Tokomairiro —Cookery and science rooms and alteration of woodwork room; Lawrence—Woodwork, cookery, and science rooms; Mosgiel —Science room; Tapanui—Woodwork, cookery, and science rooms. All these buildings are now in course of erection. A grant for the necessary rooms at Palmerston has not yet been sanctioned by the Government. As may be inferred, the cost of providing the above-mentioned technical rooms has been large, and the acknowledgments of the Board are due to the Government for the favourable consideration accorded to the applications for grants in connection therewith that the Board has found it necessary to make. As much expedition as was possible has been exercised in the erection of the buildings, but much yet remains to be done before the scheme can be considered in proper working-order. So far, however, the prospects are most encouraging, and the Board believes it is not too optimistic in expecting from the scheme, when fully inaugurated, the most beneficial results. Owing to the public-spiritedness of local bodies and private persons at Boxburgh, Alexandra, Clyde, Cromwell, and Naseby in agreeing to provide for two years half the salary of an Instructor in Rural Science, the Board was enabled to engage a third agricultural instructor, whose work will be confined exclusively to the goldfields district. The following is a summary of the receipts and expenditure in connection with the special and school classes for manual and technical instruction for the year 1911 : Expenditure—Maintenance (salaries, materials, &c), £3,696 18s. Bd.; buildings, fittings, and apparatus, £630 13s. sd. : £4,327 12s. Id. Eeceipts—From Government: Capitation, £2,615 6s. 7d.; buildings, fittings, and apparatus, £678 2s. 4d.; fees, £549 2s. 3d.: £3,842 Us. 2d. Dr. balance for year, £485 os. lid. Finance. —A statement of the Board's income and expenditure for the year is given in Appendix B. The following statement shows the sums expended under the various headings during the past three years: Teachers' salaries, moulding lodging-allowances —1909, £72,542 19s. 9d.; 1910 £75,554 13s. 7d.; 1911, £78,048 10s. sd. Payments to School Committees for incidental expenses—l9o9, £5,947 10s. 9d.; 1910, £5,416 14s. 9d.; 1911, £6,220 12s. sd. Erection, enlargement, and improvement of school buildings, purchase of sites, house allowances, manual and technical buildings, and apparatus—l9o9, £23,607 Bs.; 1910, £15,576 Is. 6d.; 1911, £16,302 13s. 2d. The receipts for school buildings include grant for maintenance, £10,728; special grants for new buildings, £4,155 4s. ; house allowances to teachers, £938 13s. Id.; rents, £30 65.; rebuilding, £8; local contributions, £155 18s. lid.; deposits on contracts, £118 135.; special grants for technical school buildings, and furniture, fittings, &c, for same, £678 2s. 4d. : total, £16,812 17s. 4d. The main items of expenditure on buildings were: General maintenance (repairs, alterations, and small additions), £10,201 Is. Bd.; rebuilding, £8; new buildings,

XXIII

Typewriting. Shorthand. Cookery. ! Dressmaking. Wool-classing. Book-keeping. Balclutha Milton . . Lawrence Clinton .. Owaka . . Waiwera Stirling .. 9 16 9 1.0 16 7 14 27 31 28 24 18 24 18 13 13 19 38 21