Appendix O.j

XLIII

E.—l-2.

duration of the school year is not so commendable. Only three schools maintained a number of half-days exceeding 420, and seven of the schools that were not closed for part of the year failed to open on 400 half-days. The average number of half-days in the schools that were in operation lor the whole year was 407, and this signifies that vacations and holidays reached an average of over eleven weeks. The reduction of opportunity indicated by these figures must lead to either inefficiency or over-pressure. A further condition affecting the majority of the schools is the absence of certificated teachers. Of twenty-nine sole teachers only four hold certificates. It is true that ten others have passed the Junior Civil Service or Matriculation Examination, but quite half the number have no qualification beyond a proficiency certificate. A special effort is being made by means of correspondence classes to enable teachers to prepare for the certificate examination. It must be recognized, however, that the full course for the Teachers' D certificate in one effort is quite beyond the powers of most of the teachers in remote localities, and their studies will be confined for the present to the subjects of the first group. It will be a great relief in such cases if candidates are allowed to take the examination in two sections. There would be the additional advantage that a pass in one of these might be useful as a basis of selection where no applicants for positions hold full certificates. The schools of the district have maintained a good standard of efficiency. The instruction of the secondary classes of the District High School has been very successful. From the point of view of record at examinations, live of the pupils occupied places among the first hundred in the list for the Dominion in connection with the Junior Civil Service Examination, and a number passed the Matriculation at the end of three years' work. The lower classes give promise of equally good results in the future. Of the primary schools, the majority have been recorded as at least good in quality of instruction, and the greater part of the remaining number as satisfactory. None of the schools at the end of the year were in an inferior state of efficiency. In spite of the absence of special qualification of a number of teachers, careful classification of the pupils and energetic and persistent attention to good methods of instruction combine to maintain a good standard of work. The certificates granted to the Sixth Standard pupils were fifty-eight proficiency and eight competency certificates. The number on the roll during the annual visits was seventy-seven. The respective percentages are 75 and 14. It is to be expected that the rate of passes in this district will be high, as in very few localities do the home duties of school-children interfere with their regular attendance. The average age of pupils in Standard VI has fallen this year to thirteen years ten months. While this compares favourably with that of other districts in former years, it is still regarded as high, and the position is affected by the number of pupils retained in the preparatory classes. For the past year the percentage of the latter is 39 of the number on the roll. This is certainly a large proportion, and, as far as teachers can control the conditions, should be reduced. Any pupil that at the beginning of the year has reached the age of seven and has made a fair amount of preparation should be allowed to attempt the work of the First Standard. The raising of the average ages of pupils in standards has been attributed to exaction of an excessive course from the junior classes, and. due care should be exercised to prevent at this stage the unnecessary loss of a year. The English subjects of the course have in general been well prepared. The reading has included careful preparation of a reader, the School Journal, geography, history, and health readers, besides in some cases supplementary readers. The treatment of the subject has been intelligent, the chief defect, noticeable to a limited extent, being incorrectness of pronunciation. Pupils, and even teachers, are affected in this respect by their environment, and it is difficult to cope in school with habits formed elsewhere. The grammatical portion of their studies has usuallybeen successfully mastered, and the schools should in future be able to devote attention to constructive exercises in composition. While the pupils present few verbal inaccuracies, the form and treatment of subjects is more mechanical and less spontaneous than is desirable. There is too little exercise of imagination and of powers of interesting narration and description. In arithmetic, wherever steady application throughout the year has been the rule, the pupils seldom find difficulty in either oral or written examples. A good system of numbers is followed in the preparatory classes, and the teaching in all divisions follows good methods. While this is the general rule, there is in a few schools a neglect of clear statement in the working of the exercises. When intelligent presentation and accurate detail are combined the results are completely acceptable, but not otherwise. The general experience in connection with the preparation of geography is in accord with that of this district. Teachers fail to select from, the suggestions of the official_ programme a course suited to the conditions of the particular school. The mathematical, physical, and commercial geography are not taken in due proportions and correlation. While, for example, a definition of latitude is known, its effect on the climatic conditions of a continent under study is not observed. A detailed course will for the coming year be issued to all sole teachers, and it is hoped that more definite results will be reached. The drawing has generally been meritorious in execution, although it has usually been limited in scope. Its correlation with other subjects and the extension from the study of models to that of objects based on them in form has not received much attention. Exercises in this direction may well take the place of much of the line drawing from copies. The additional subjects in most of the schools, including those under sole teachers, have formed an important part of the programme of work. In many of the small schools a course is presented in all these subjects. Apart from the occasional omission of singing and temporarily of handwork, a full programme is presented. While the general value of the preparation in history is low, in a number of schools a limited but definite course is well prepared. Nature-study, health, and needlework form a valuable part of the instruction. Singing is included in the majority of schools. Its value is much reduced by the lack of training in tone.