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EEPOETS OF EDUCATION BOAEDS.

AUCKLAND. Sib, — Auckland, March, 1901. In compliance with section 102 of the "Education Act, 1877," the Board presents the following report of its proceedings for the year 1900 : — Boaed.—The members in office at the beginning of the year were : Messrs. L. J. Bagnall, J. Blades, T. Cooper, E. Farrell, E. Hobbs (Chairman), S. Luke, J. Muir, J. E. Eeed, and Dr. McArthur. Messrs. Hobbs, Muir, and Eeed retired in March, 1900, and were succeeded by Messrs. W. Lambe, J. D. McKenzie, and N. A. McLeod. Mr. Bagnall was chosen to succeed Mr. Hobbs as Chairman. Twenty-one meetings of the Board were held during the year, with an average attendance of (nearly) eight members. The meetings of the Board are now held every four weeks, a committee of four members meeting every fortnight to deal with matters of finance and the selection of teachers for appointments. Mr. Theo. Cooper has resigned his membership upon his acceptance of the office of a Judge of the Supreme Court. He had been continuously a member for more than seventeen years, and had rendered valuable service during that period. The members to retire in August next are Messrs. Bagnall, Farrell, and Luke. Schools. —At the end of the year there were 381 schools in operation, an increase of three upon the number at the end of 1899. New schools were opened at Manukau North Head, Matamata, Mahoenui, Manawaru, Te Puna Point, Tangihua No. 2, and Tahekeroa. Schools were reopened at Kaurihohore and Long Bay, both half-time. The following schools were closed owing to the withdrawal of population : Waiomio, Bowentown, Waikoukou, Pepepe, Maramarua South, and Oropi. The last-named school has been since reopened. Of the 381 schools, fifty-four are half-time, and the number of separate schools is reckoned by the Department as 354. In nearly one-fourth of these the average attendance is less than 20. In 250 schools the average attendance is less than 50. These figures indicate the exceptional position in which the Board is placed as regards the maintenance of primary education throughout this large and scattered district. It is manifest that the cost per head of educating a thousand children in fifty schools of twenty each will be far greater than the cost of educating the same number in twenty schools of fifty each. A fair comparison of the cost per head between these two extremes cannot be made. In the Auckland District settlement is so scattered and remote that the Board is obliged to establish and maintain a large number of small schools at a cost which is quite disproportionate to the income earned by capitation grant. It is the aim of the Board to extend the means of education into the remotest corners of the district, which comprises an area of more than 20,000 square miles ; but to endeavour to gauge the cost of this policy by a comparison with the cost of administering an evenly-populated district of half the area is to apply a test at once fallacious and unfair. Tbachbbs. —The number of teachers employed at the end of the year was 797 (333 males and 464 females), besides seventy teachers of sewing. This number is distributed as follows : Head teachers, 354 ; assistant teachers, 206; pupil-teachers, 237. The disproportion of pupil to adult teachers is more apparent than real, for under the description of " pupil-teacher " are included many certificated teachers of mature age, ranking as ex-pupil-teachers or junior assistants. It cannot, however, be denied that the pupil-teacher element preponderates too largely in the scale of staffing the schools of this district. It is much to be desired that ex-pupil-teachers should have the privilege of undergoing a course of training at the end of their apprenticeship in order to become fitted for higher positions. With a staff of about eight hundred teachers it is impossible to avoid frequent changes, if any regard is to be paid to the claims of teachers to promotion. The frequent illness of teachers necessitates the employment of a large staff of relieving teachers and involves other changes. More than one-tenth of the personnel of the teaching staff is changed every year through resignations and withdrawals from the service. During the past year eighty-five teachers left the service, and ninety new teachers were taken into employment. A larger supply of male teachers is urgently needed, particularly for out-districts where there is no suitable accommodation for a lady teacher. A few uncertifieated teachers are still employed in outlying districts. The remuneration of teachers, according to a colonial scale, is a matter which has occupied public attention during the past year. The Board has expressed its willingness to assist the Department with its advice and suggestions in the preparation of a colonial scale of salaries; but up 10— E. 1,