100

E.—l4.

447. What do you'consider should be the lowest minimum certificate required by a male or a female teacher required in a school of from 36 to 40?— I should think, aD2or an El. 448. What do you consider should be the highest minimum certificate for the headmaster of the largest school we have ?—A CI, I think, should fit any master for any school. 449. And the same for a female ? —I think so. 450. What would you expect in the District High School ? —There should be a graduate with a Bl or an Al. 451. Mr. Hill] Approximately, what is the present average attendance of your school ?— Between 230 and 240. 452. What is your staff at the present time ?—Eight—headmaster, four assistants, and three pupil-teachers. 453. You have noticed the staffing under the proposed scale?— Yes. 454. You would have then a headmaster, three assistants, and three pupil-teachers ?—Yes. 455. That would be the staffing for the primary school?— Yes. 456. What is the difference between this staffing as proposed and the present staffing?— Merely an assistant. 457. A mistress ?—Yes. 458. Then, as your school is constituted a District High School, you simply have the difference between the staffing recognised under the proposed scale of one female assistant ?—Yes. 459. What salary does she receive?—£l2s. 460. Then, your District High School is carried on at a cost of £125 ?—The rector gets extra. 461. Under the scale what would you get?—£2so or £260. 462. What is your present salary?—£27o. 463. Then, the difference between what you receive as a primary-school teacher and as a secondary-school teacher is about £10 a year?— Yes. 464. You make complaint that it is unfair to expect so much from the headmaster ? —Yes. 465. Do you not think your school would be better organized and more efficiently taught in many ways if you could give more time for supervision, and had more assistance in the whole of the secondary work ? —Yes. 466. Suppose an assistant master were to be appointed in conformity with the suggestions the department has issued, do you think it would be better for the well-being of your school ?—I think it would be very beneficial. 467. You feel that the present arrangements make it extremely difficult for you to carry on satisfactorily ?—Yes, very difficult. 468. Inasmuch as you have the secondary and primary work to control ?—Yes. 469. What is the maximum number one of your certificated teachers could manage ? —I see no reason why a properly certificated teacher could not teach up to 50, although I think 40 would be better. 470. Do you think it is more difficult to teach a school of 35 with all standards than a single standard class of 50 pupils ?—Yes. 471. Would you pay more salary to the teacher of the school of 35 in consequence ? —Yes. 472. If a scale were drawn up whereby you could dispense with pupil-teachers and substitute trained assistants, do you think it would tend to the efficiency of schools?— Yes. 473. Do you think you could carry on your school with greater efficiency if you had assistants instead of pupil-teachers ?—I think so. Of course, it depends upon the assistants very largely. 474. I am assuming trained assistants ?—There are some pupil-teachers I prefer to assistants. I have had cases where I would prefer a second-year pupil-teacher to an assistant. 475. Supposing your school was staffed by a headmaster, first assistant, and other junior assistants, do you think that staffing would be more efficient than under your present arrangements ? —Yes. 476. In Standards 1., 11., 111., and IV. the responsibilities of the teachers are almost identical: would you pay them the same salary, or nearly so ? —I would be inclined to give the Fourth Standard a somewhat higher salary than the teacher of Standard I. 477. But would you make as wide a difference as is proposed under the suggested scale?—l think the difference between an assistant receiving £80 and the second assistant receiving £140 is a little too great. 478. Do your assistant mistresses do work of a similar character to the assistant masters?— I have only one assistant master. 479. Supposing you were to allot the work in your school, and you had two assistant mistresses and two assistant masters, would you expect the assistant mistresses to be able to take the same classes as the assistant masters ?—Yes. 480. You would expect the same standard of efficiency ?—Yes. 481. You would like the assistant mistresses to get as high a classification as possible ?—Yes. 482. Do you pay an assistant mistress the same salary as an assistant master?—No; the salaries differ. 483. Do you think she should receive the same salary for the same class of work ?—Yes; of course, in a large school the first assistant master and the first assistant mistress would not do the same work. 484. Mr. Hogben.] There is no necessity to interfere with the primary-school salaries; the District High School is not within the scope of the Commission except so far as it affects the salaries in the primary school. You stated that the number of teachers at the Whangarei High School was three ? —Yes. 485. Will you enumerate the teachers ? —Headmaster, assistant, and female junior assistant during the last, second, and third terms of the year.