E.—l

52

Staffs of Secondary Schools. (E.-6, 'Table K4.) The number of teachers on the staffs of secondary schools, excluding lower departments, in the years 1916 and 1917 was as follows :— , 1916. ~ , 1017. Males. Females. Total. Males. Females. Total. Regular staff .. ..175 148 323 174 175 349 Part time . . . . 41 45 86 37 43 80 Included in the regular staff of 349 teachers were 34 Principals and 315 assistants. The influence of the war is seen in the fact that since 1915 the number of female teachers has increased from 126 to 175, while the number of male teachers has remained stationary. Women teachers arc; now employed, to teach, the junior classes in many of the boys' schools —positions which were previously held by men. The Education Act of 1914 provides that the number of assistants in a secondary school shall not be less than one for every 25 pupils, and taking all the schools together the average number of pupils per assistant in 1917 was 24. Wax conditions have made it impossible in some cases to comply with this provision of the Act, with the result that in. individual schools the number ranged from 15 to 31. Including the Principals, the average number of pupils per teacher in. all schools was 21, the number ranging in individual schools from 15 to 29. The head teacher of a district high school generally takes some part in the secondary instruction, and receives from the Government the sum of £30 in addition to the salary he would receive as head teacher of a primary school of the same size. In 1917 there were in the secondary departments of district high schools 97 special secondary assistants —23 men and 74 women. Leaving out of consideration the head teachers, the average number of pupils per teacher was 23. This comparatively low average is dominated by the influence of the smaller schools of this type ; where the number in the secondary department is large the staff provided falls considerably short, and the amelioration, of the position in this respect in the case of secondary departments of larger size is urgently necessary. Salaries and Status of Secondary Teachers. (E.-6, 'table __) The total annual amount of salaries (including war bonus when paid) of teachers in secondary schools as at the rate payable in December, 19.1.7, was £97.923, to which sum should be added the value of board and residence, when provided by the Boards for teachers, amounting in 1917 to £1,536, thus making a total of £99,459. This figure exceeds the corresponding amount for the previous year by £8,626. Including the value of board and residence the annual value of salaries averages £13-3 per head of the average attendance, ranging in individual schools from £9-8 to £22-86, or, excluding Wanganui Collegiate and Christ's College Grammar Schools, from £9-8 to £18-57. In twenty out of thirty-four schools the range is from £9-8 to £13-88. Comparing the salaries of full-time teachers in boys' and girls' schools in cases where the controlling authorities have separate schools and staffs for boys and girls, it appears that in the boys' schools the salaries per head of average attendance average £.13-1, the corresponding figure in the girls' schools being £11-2. Full particulars relating to individual schools may be found in Table F_4 of E.-6. Salaries or allowances paid to teachers on active service have not been included in the figures. By the provisions of the Education Act, 1914, certain minimum salaries and minimum average salaries are payable to secondary-school teachers. The following figures indicate the average rates prevailing in 1916 and 19] 7 : — Average Salaries of Full-time Teachers in Secondary Schools. , 1916. , , . 1917. , M. P. All. Al. F. All. Principals .. .. 593 431 539 603 428 541 Assistants .. .. 266 186 228 284 193 237 Whole staff . . . . 306 204 260 325 210 267 lii the secondary departments of district high schools salaries are uniform, in accordance with the schedule to the Act. The average salaries actually paid