E.—2.

[Appendix C.

The following table shows in summary form the number of certificates earned by the different candidates : —

The examination for proficiency certificates is held after the departmental examination for the Junior National Scholarships, and as late as possible in the school year. This throws a large amount of examination-work to be done during the Christmas holidays, but it has its compensating advantages, for the regularity at school is vastly improved and teachers are able to carry on their own term examination for promotions without anxiety. It is assumed that the Junior National Scholarship Examination and that for proficiency certificates are based on a similar standard, but a comparison of the results in the two examinations goes to prove that either the old standard of preparation in the Board schools is not being maintained or that the taking of extra manual instruction in the schools is of no benefit, but rather a hindrance in the examination for National Scholarships. Thus, in the recent examination for the Junior National Scholarship 153 pupils from forty-one schools —viz., thirty-eight Board and three high schools—were entered, and of the total number, seventy-two, or a little over 47 per cent., succeeded in obtaining 50 per cent, of the possible marks. Some efficient schools had not a single candidate with 50 per cent, of marks, and very few schools acquitted themselves with credit. These facts are mentioned in order to direct the attention of teachers to the need of studying the trend of the departmental tests in the scholarship examination, because there is no reason, as far as I know, why there should be different standards for the proficiency certificate. The papers examined by myself for the proficiency certificate showed traces of weakness here and there, but; on the whole, the papers gave evidence of careful training and preparation. My confreres also who took part in the examination found much of the work satisfactory, and some excellent. Subjects like reading, writing, spelling, elementary agriculture, woodwork, with cookery and dressmaking for girls, form no part of the scholarship examination, but much importance is attached to " general knowledge," in which two separate papers are given. General knowledge, as far as the Inspectors in this district are concerned, is taken orally, and unless more specific directions are given, I fear the children in country districts will be unable to compete against pupils who work under more favourable conditions. Our efforts are made in the direction of making " general knowledge " specially adaptive to environment, and this is fostered by us when visiting the schools representing different aspects of life. A country lad knows a good deal about birds, their nests, their eggs, and a score of similar local and interesting subjects, just as a town lad knows about trains, shops, and scores of other things that are not familiar to country children. Our examination aims to foster observation of a general character as applied to particular localities or conditions, and if the preparation is on wrong lines, the fault, I fear, belongs to myself rather than the teachers, for I conceive that nature-study, if it is to be worthy of the name, must, in the first place, be observational, and, secondly, it must be closely adapted to environment. But whilst directing attention to certain aspects of examination, the annual class promotions suggest a tendency to pass on into Standard VI pupils who are barely qualified to overtake the full demands of the final standard now that the work has been extended by the introduction of manual instruction. The desire to promote pupils who are somewhat below the requirements offers a great temptation to some teachers, but whilst it may be practised under certain conditions in the lower standard classes, it often leads to disastrous results in the upper. A good broad foundation in the preparatory classes, followed by rapid advancement in the earlier standards, is a plan that might be well adopted with advantage to the children, but above the Third Standard every step taken should aim at thoroughness in detail, and there need be no fear of pupils satisfying all fair tests required under the departmental regulations. During the past two years the number of children attending the Board schools does not show any large increase. Household schools have increased in number, but there have been no marked increases of pupils in the larger school centres. At the close of the year 1909 the children belonging to the Board schools numbered 10,194, and in December, 1911, the number had increased to 10,595, an increase of 401 in two years, which is less than 4 per cent. There are no districts except Matawai, near Motu, in the Poverty Bay district, where new schools are likely to be required during the year, unless the projected Napier-Gisborne railway formation should cause an influx of workmen with their families, as in the case of Otoko and Matawai. The school buildings are mostly in good order and condition, and where they are not attention has been called to them already in separate reports. A marked improvement is proceeding in school externals, and teachers are coming to realize the beneficial effects of training the children to cultivate habits of neatness by means of school-gardens and well-arranged grounds. Quite a number of schools might be mentioned where ideal conditions exist, but in all the old-established

XXIV

Number Schools. School. Total Entrants for Examination. Total examined. Absent from Examination. Certificates issued. Failed. Profioiency. Competency. 87 8 3 2 Board schools Catholic schools ... Private schools High Schools 696 63 8 19 634 51 7 19 62 12 1 431 34 5 12 134 10 2 3 69 7 "4 100 786 711 75 482 149 80