E-l

62

Of the nine Education Boards four show net credit balances totalling £6,507, and five show a total net debit balance of £6,185. Of the Technical School Boards or Managers (nineteen in number) eighteen show net credit balances totalling £16.733, and one a net debit balance of £2,765. The following is a summary of the expenditure by the Government on technical instruction during the financial year ended the 31st March, 1918 :— £ Capitation .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 79,816 Subsidies on voluntary contributions .. .. .. .. 2,154 Home-science bursaries .. .. .. .. .. .. 1,542 Grants in aid of material for class use .. .. .. .. 2,003 Grants for buildings and equipment .. .. .. .. .. 6,898 Grants for rents of buildings .. .. .. .. .. 1,217 Conveyance of— Instructors .. .. .. .. .. .. £261 Students .. .. .. .. .. .. 126 Free pupils .. .. .. .. .. .. 2,856 3,243 Examinations .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 291 Inspectors'salaries and travelling-expenses .. .. .. .. 1,241 War bonus to instructors .. .. .. .. .. .. 1,911 100,316 Less recoveries (examination fees, &c.) .. .. .. .. 117 £100,199 The expenditure was at the rate of £4-8 per student, as compared with £4-3 for the previous year. Included in the total expenditure is £3,473 from nationalendowment revenue. SPECIAL SCHOOLS. Work of the Special Schools Section. The extensive field of the work of the special schools section of the Education Department includes (1) the care of destitute, uncontrollable, or delinquent children committed to receiving-homes or industrial schools, and all juvenile offenders transferred from gaols to industrial schools, and the investigation in all cases of children brought before the Courts, and supervision in cases where the probation system is applied ; (2) the education and care of deaf, blind, or feeble-minded children over the age of six years ; (3) the supervision of all children under the age of six years who are — (a) maintained apart from their parents or guardians, (6) aelopted with premium. Dependent Children and Child-welfare. Reforms in the System. As a result of a review of the whole system dealing with destitute and delinquent children and juvenile offenders, a commencement was made during the year with the carrying-out of the following reforms : — (1.) Extension throughout the whole of the Dominion of the juvenile probation system. (2.) Establishment of probation homes. (3.) Variation of functions of certain of the residential industrial schools, involving extension of boarding-out system and application of the probation system in approved cases to the inmates of these schools. (4.) Establishment of central store and purchasing system providing for the equipment and supplies of all Government receiving-homes, industrial schools, and special schools, and an extension of the system of exchanges of produce and commodities between schools. (5.) Adoption of approved system of stores and accounts at all schools, and centralization of collection of inmates' wages and payments for boarded-out children.