E.—3

8

Inspection of Schools. The inspection and examination of Native schools during the past year conformed with the system inaugurated in the previous year. New groups of schools were inspected by several of the Inspectors engaged in public-school work, and the efficiency of the schools was very favourably reported on. Erom the point of view of efficiency the village schools may be classified as follows : Very good to excellent, 42 ; satisfactory to good, 66 ; inferior to weak, 10. During the year thirty-one certificates of proficiency and the same number of competency were gained by pupils in the sixth standards of these schools. General Remarks. The remarks upon the various subjects of the, school course have been curtailed principally owing to the need for brevity, but also for the reason that the comments and suggestions made in last year's report are considered applicable in many respects to the conditions still existing. English Subjects. —Reading; oral and written English; spelling and dictation; writing: In reading the chief defect, as was indicated in last year's report, is the absence of free thought-action, and of the power to express the thought-content of what is read. The importance of recitation is in many schools not appreciated, and consequently its value is negligible ; in other schools the amount of work taken is much too small. Spelling, dictation, and writing are generally quite satisfactory. English language : The results of the teaching in this subject have not yet reached a satisfactory standard in a considerable number of schools, and the schemes of work presented offer clear evidence that the teachers of the schools in question have very rudimentary ideas of how to proceed. In a previous report an indication of the points to be observed in drawing up a scheme of work in this subject was given, and during the past year the Department issued to all schools a pamphlet, " Teaching of English," which it was considered would prove helpful and instructive to teachers in preparing their schemes of work. It is to be expected that the publication will be put to better use than was found to be the case in one or two schools where the teachers had completely forgotten, that they had received it. It is satisfactory to observe that the Native school teachers' journal, Te Waka Maori, is devoting a considerable amount of space to a discussion on the methods of teaching English in Native schools, and it is felt that such attention to the subject should be productive of good results. Secondary Education. The following schools and colleges aim at providing a secondary training for Maori girls and boys : Queen Victoria Maori Girls' School, Auckland ; St. Stephen's Boys' School, Auckland ; Turakina Maori Girls' School, Wanganui; Hukarere Girls' School, Napier ; St. Joseph's Convent School, Napier ; Te Aute College, Hawke's Bay; Otaki College; Ilikurangi Boys' College, Clareville ; Waerenga-a---hika Boys' College, Gisborne ; and Te Waipounamu Girls' School, North Canterbury. The foregoing institutions have been established by various denominational bodies, and maintained by revenues derived from lands held in trust, or by funds provided directly by the bodies concerned. No secondary schools have been established by the Government for the special purpose of providing that form of training which is regarded as most suitable for the Maori, and consequently a limited number of free places is provided by the Department at several of the institutions referred to above. The free places or scholarships are open to Maori children attending any school and eligible under the regulations. The syllabus of work for the holders of these free places or scholarships is prescribed by the Department and is designed to secure such industrial training as is considered in the case of Maoris most desirable : elementary practical agriculture and woodwork for boys, and domestic science (including cookery, laundry-work, sewing, and dressmaking, health and hygiene, first aid and nursing) for girls. The number on the rolls of these schools at the end of 1917 was —boys, 23] ; girls, 256 : total, 487. Of these pupils ninety-five were free-place holders- forty-one boys and fifty-four girls. One free place was also held at Sacred Heart College, Auckland, and one at Auckland Grammar School. The results of the annual examinations in the Maori secondary schools referred to above indicate that in the great majority of them a high standard of efficiency is maintained. Several pupils were successful in passing the Public Service Entrance Examination at the end of the year. These schools undoubtedly afford a valuable training to the young Maoris, giving them a stimulus to practical activity and exerting a strong, healthy influence in shaping their destiny. ► Scholarships. A limited number of free places each of the value of £20 per annum and tenable for two years at one or other of the secondary schools referred to is provided by the Government for the Maori children who possess the requisite qualifications. Ninety-seven such free places were current at the end of 1917, ninety-two being held by pupils from Native village schools and five by scholars from public schools. Senior free places for boys take the form of industrial scholarships and are available for boys who wish to learn some trade, such as saddlery, blacksmithing, engineering, carpentry, or farming. At the present time no industrial scholarships are current, the explanation being that under the present abnormal conditions boys can secure higher wages in other ways and with very little trouble. In the case of Maori girls who are anxious to become nurses, senior free places in the form of nursing scholarships are offered to suitable and eligible Maori girls. Three girls—two at Auckland Hospital and one at Napier Hospital —having completed their day-pupilships, have become pro-