E.—lo

40

Mr. Petrie moved, Mr. Bossence seconded, That the meeting proceed to the order paper.—Carried. Mr. Bakewell moved, Mr. Wylie seconded, That the present five classes of certificates be reduced to three. On the motion of Mr. Gray, it was carried by 35 to 7 to refer this proposal to the Teachers' Certificates Committee. On Mr. Bake well's motion, the remit, " That in order to facilitate the system of transfer, the Department establish a uniform system of grading, to be applied to all primary teachers in the Dominion," was referred to the Teachers' Certificates Committee. On the motion of Mr. Bakewell, the remit, " That all certificates of proficiency be granted on the results of the Department's Junior National Scholarship and Junior Free Place Examinations," was referred to the Scholarships Committee. On the motion of Mr. Grierson, the remits, (1) " That geography, course A, in Standard VI, be removed from the list of compulsory subjects, and made a compulsory additional subject " ; (2) " That paragraphs 1 and 2 of clause 42 be expunged" ; (3) " That geography, course B, be more clearly defined " ; (4) " That in schools of Grades V and upwards the use of a suitable reader to supplement the instruction given in geography, course B, be made compulsory " ; (5) " That a definite course of instruction in civics be made compulsory in schools of Grades 5 and upwards," were referred to the Scholarships Committee. On the motion of Professor White, the remits, (1) " That in line 17 of clause 6 of the Eegulations for the Inspection and Examination of Schools the following words be omitted, ' the absence of a pupil,' and the following words be inserted, ' where a pupil is absent for some considerable time prior to and during the course of the annual examination, such absence' " ; (2) " That clause 20 of the Regulations for the Inspection and Examination of Schools be amended by the addition of the following words, ' Provided that in the case of pupils whose names are on the roll of any public school, no such notice be required '" ; (3) " That the ' standard of exemption' under section 142 of ' The Education Act, 1904,' shall be the Sixth Standard, and the certificate referred to in subsection (c) of section 142 of the said Act shall be a certificate of competency in the work of Standard VI or a higher standard " ; (4) " That in the case of the additional subjects referred to in clauses 30 and 33 of the Regulations for the Inspection and Examination of Schools, the requirements of schools in Grade IV be the same as for those of schools in Grades V to X " ; (5) " That it be clearly set forth in the Regulations for the Inspection and Examinatior of Schools that the details of the work outlined in clauses 37, 38, 40 to 57, inclusive, are intended to be suggestive, and not mandatory—i.e., to act as a general guide to teachers as to the lines on which suitable programmes may be drawn up," were referred to theJßegulations Committee. On the motion of Mr. Foster, the remit, (6) " That there be substituted for the present courses in geography two or more alternative schemes giving special prominence to topographical and' economic conditions, and to a study of the British Empire," was referred to the Syllabus Committee. On the motion of Professor White, the remits, (7) " That, though the use of suitable reading-books for the purpose of teaching geography and history should be encouraged, especially in the upper classes, no course of instruction in these subjects be considered complete which does not provide for a full shave of vivid personal teaching " ; (8) " That the teaching of course B, geography and history, be continuous in the classes S. 3 to 6, and that the regulations making it optional to omit these subjects during certain years or portions of years be modified accordingly," were referred to the Regulations Committee. On the motion of Mr. Harkness, the remit, (9) " That the following words be added to clause 22, section 18, Manual and Technical Instruction, ' Provided that on the recommendation of an Inspector of Schools pupils from any class may be included,' " was referred to the Scholarships Committee. Mr. Mulgan moved, Mr. Gow seconded, That, subject to the restrictions referred to in section 72, subsection (6), of " The Education Act, 1908," Junior National Scholarships be open to pupils from all schools which have been subject to inspection under the Education Act for three years immediately preceding the date of the Scholarship Examination.—Carried. Mr. Mulgan moved, Mr. Petrie seconded, That, in view of the many'excellentjtexi-books and classbooks now being brought out by leading publishing firms, the Department's " List of Class-books for Public Schools " be extended, and that a choice of books wider than now obtains be allowed to teachers in making selections in terms of the Department's memorandum dealing with the grant for free schoolbooks.—Carried. The Conference adjourned at 12.30 p.m. The Conference resumed at 2.30 p.m. > Mr. Fleming read the report of the Business Committee. The following committees were set up : — Syllabus. —Messrs. Grierson, Ballantyne, Braik, Fleming, Smith, Strachan, Morton, Bird, Foster, Gow, Goyen, Hendry, Dr. Anderson, Professor White, Mr. Harkness (convener). Training. —Messrs. Milnes, Gray, Watkins, Professor White, Messrs. Bakewell, Garrard, Milne, Hill, Ritchie, Isaac, Dr. Don, Mr. Gray (convener). Scholarshifs. —Messrs. Whetter, Richardson, Brock, Wyllie, Porteous, Browne, Plummer, Stewart (convener). Regulations. —Messrs.*«Petrie, Burnside.iSpencer, Strong, Crawford, Soott, Bossence. Cox, Bell, Mulgan (convener). On the motion of Mr. Mulgan, the remit, " That for each of the four training colleges two annual extension scholarships be established, open to all students at the end of their second year of training, and tenable for one year at some University college or its equivalent to be approved by the Minister of Education; that holders of scholarships be required to specialize in agriculture or in some science