3
E.—2
Otorohanga, on the Waipa, a place well inside of the King-country, a new school* will be opened very shortly; when once a proper start has been made there should be a very good attendance there. School buildings have been erected at Pukawa, near Tokaanu, on Lake Taupo, but school work has riot yet been begun; it seems probable that some special arrangement will have to be made if this is to become " a going concern." The negotiations which culminated in the agreement that a school should be established in the district, and that the buildings were to be erected at Pukawa, were not conducted on the usual lines :it seems to me that this is to be regretted. Inexpensive side-schools are about to be opened at Kenana and Matihetihef, the former in connection with Peria, the latter with Waitapu. Arrangements of this kind must be considered merely temporary ; they are often of use as aids when a pressing difficulty has to be met, or they may afford the department time and favourable opportunity for seeing how the educational arrangements of a district may best be placed on a more permanent footing., Tenders have been asked for for the erection of new buildings at Eotoiti. The old building was destroyed by fire some years ago, and it is only within the last few months that a sound title to a site on the shores of the lake has been secured. There should be a capital Native school here for many years to come. The attendance at the two schools at Eangitukia and Tikitiki, on the banks of the Waiapu, is so much larger than it was expected to be that it is impossible to continue to work the two schools jointly, in accordance with the original intention. A residence should be erected at Tikitiki, and an independent teacher should be appointed. Tenders have already been called for for the erection of a substantial addition to the schoolhouse at Eangitukia. The Te Teko school had to be closed after the Tarawera eruption in 1886. The Natives are very anxious to have it reopened under the care of the first master of the school. As this master was extremely successful here, it would probably be a good plan to accede to the wishes of the Te Teko Maoris. Schools in Eull Woek. The geographical positions of the schools form the basis on which they are grouped. Much information with regard to the literary work of individual schools and their general efficiency as educational institutions has been tabulated and printed in the Appendix. Table No. 6 gives the results obtained by examination only. In Table No. 7 these results are combined with those obtained by inspection. Additional particulars relating to individual schools will be found in the following paragraphs. The Far North. — District Superintendent, Mr. H. W. Bishop, B.M. Te Kao, Parengarenga Harbour. —The children were working with great heartiness and enthusiasm. The department has thought it advisable, however, to comply with the master's request for removal to a less isolated school. Ahipara. —This school was not getting on quite so satisfactorily as it was when previously visited; local squabbles about apparently trivial matters had injuriously affected it. Pukepoto. —Pretty fair results were obtained. The Natives were talking of resuming the work of wheat-growing. It would be a very good thing for them if they depended more on this kind of work and less on gum-digging. Pamapuria. —Good work is always shown here, but the Natives are not so enthusiastic about their school as one could wish. Peria. —There is to be a side-school at Kenana conjoined with the Peria school. Through fever epidemics, and, possibly, general unhealthiness of the site, the population of Peria has become too small to support a school. It seems not unlikely that the proposed arrangement will answer well, for a time at all events. The Peria people have always been ardent supporters of the school, and those at Kenana have long been trying to get one in their own kaainga. Te Ngaere. —A fair amount of success followed the reopening, but the school is not to be relied on. The population of the district though large is scattered, and the school buildings are in the wrong place. Bangiahua. —After having been closed for a considerable time in consequence of an outbreak of Hauhauism, Rangiahua (formerly called Upper Waihou) has been opened under new and more favourable conditions, and gives fair promise of success. Mangamitka. —At this school, which was formerly an extremely good one, the results were entirely unsatisfactory. The reasons for the shortcomings were not obvious. Motukaraka. —The master appears to have been much maligned. Careful inquiries, as well as the examination results, show that much honest and effective work has been done here. Whakarapa. —All things considered, there is reason for believing that a substantial advance has been made during the year. This school is more Maori than any other in the colony. Waitapu. —As usual, the school did extremely well at examination. As, however, there appeared to be little chance of putting an end in any other way to the misunderstanding existing between the master and the Natives, it has been decided to remove the former to another school. It is proposed to work Waitapu along with a side-school at Matihetihe, a settlement on the coast, and distant about six miles from Waitapu. Whangape. —There has been very gratifying improvement in the English pronunciation here, where the difficulties arising from isolation may, without exaggeration, be called appalling. The progress made shows what a man can do if he will not allow himself to be beaten. The civilising influence of the school continues to be great. Waimamaku. —The master" somehow let the school slip through his fingers as it were, and,
* Opened in March. f Opened in February.
Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.
By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.
Your session has expired.