E.—s

40

Statement of Receipts and Expenditure for the Year ending 31st December, 1911, in respect of Special, Classes conducted at Inglewood.

WANGANUI. Extract from the Report of the Education Board. The amount of money raised locally for the purposes of manual and technical instruction was £414 10s. lid. In the matter of building, the new Technical College at Wanganui, opened on the 28th September by the Hon. G. Fowlds, was completed at a total cost of £10,000, not including equipment. The College, which now claims 156 individual day and 295 individual technical pupils, is destined to play a great part in the education of the young people of this district. Towards the end of the year a new building at Manaia and an additional room at the Hawera School were put in hand. The total enrolments for the year were 3,139 —in the Centre, 1,612 ; in the North, 838 ; and in the South, 689. It has continued to be the Board's aim to keep in the forefront the teaching of agriculture. In the primary schools, in the secondary classes of district high schools, and in teachers' instruction classes, instruction in agriculture and dairy-work have accordingly bulked very largely. Thirty-six pupils taking the rural course at the district high schools paid a visit to Mr. E. Short's Almadale Farm, near Feilding, staying there the better part of a week, under the charge of Mr. J. Grant, 8.A., Agricultural Instructor. Lectures and instruction were also given at the camp by experts especially qualified for the work. The thanks of the Board are due to Mr. Short for placing at the disposal of the boys his prize stock for the purposes of observation, to Mr. and Mrs. Dunlop for kindness shown to them while they were in camp, and to the experts who gave their services free. The Board desires to acknowledge from the following bodies donations towards the agricultural scholarships : Taranaki Farmers' Union, Wanganui Agricultural and Pastoral Society, Feilding Agricultural and Pastoral Society, Executive Council Wellington Branch New Zealand Farmers' Union. These scholarships heighten the interest of the pupils in their work, and also induce some of the most promising to stay longer at the schools than they would otherwise do. Towards the close of the year Mr. Grant, Supervisor of Agricultural Training, visited the principal agricultural schools and colleges in New South Wales and Victoria, gathering valuable information regarding the methods of agricultural instruction in these States. One result of his visit is the appointment of Mr. Banner, of the Hawkesbury Agricultural College, to the charge of the Southern Technical District and the Feilding Technical School. Mr. Banner's qualifications and ability are such as to lead the Board to believe that his sphere of usefulness will extend considerably beyond the radius of school-work. Saturday classes for the instruction of teachers were held at Hawera, Wanganui, Feilding, Taihape, and Palmerston North. The subjects of instruction were art (five centres), practical agriculture, agricultural science, and handwork (one centre each). The annual grant of £220, together with the capitation earned by the classes, was found to be about £20 short of the amount required to meet the cost of the classes. In addition to the subjects named above, instruction in vocal music was given at Hawera, Wanganui, Taihape, and Feilding. No portion of the grant may, however, be expended in the teaching of this subject. The Board's Administration Fund is therefore called upon to contribute about £60 per annum, the cost of giving this instruction. The most popular subjects were agriculture, handwork, singing, and drawing. Extract from the Report of the Superintendent of Manual and Technical Instruction. For several reasons a rearrangement of the staff has been found necessary. Owing to the erection of the new Technical College at Wanganui, the directorship there has fallen into the hands of the Principal of the College, Mr. Armour, and the Vice-Principal, Mr. Varney. Mr. Watkin is to be transferred to the central office as Board's instructor of drawing, and his position at Feilding is to be filled by Mr. A. 0. Banner, of Hawkesbury Agricultural College. New South Wales. Mr. Banner will undertake agricultural work at the primary and district high schools' secondary departments in the South, setting Mr. Grant free for work in connection with the Wanganui Technical College, the three district high schools, and the primary schools in the Central District—quite enough, for one man. Mr. Clark, who previously took woodwork in the North, has been attached exclusively to the Technical College, and unfortunately his place has not yet been filled. Towards the close of last year Mr. Hawson, instructor of book-keeping in the Northern District, finding the work unremunerative, threw up his position. It is now proposed that the North shall have a manual and technical staff of its own. This arrangement would save travelling-expenses, and would also admit of superior organization. The ideal arrangement would be for each district to have its own staff, and there are indications that by the end of the present year (1912) the ideal will in all probability be realized. At the beginning of the year 1911 an effort was made to secure for Mr. Hambly constant employment in wool-classing; but, apart from work offering in connection with the rural course at the district high schools, little was done, and towards the end of

ho- Receipts. Japitation on special olasses lent furniture, fittings, and apparatus .. lubsidies on voluntary contributions fees iharge for requisites tefund .. )r. balance at end of year £ s. d. 9 2 3 110 64 9 0 50 0 0 25 2 6 0 13 6 0 9 0 2 8 9 Expenditure. £ s. d. Dr. balance at beginning of year .. .. 38 19 6 Salaries of instructors .. .. .. 38 9 8 Office expenses (including salaries, stationery, &c.) .. .. .. .. 5 5 1 Advertising and printing .. .. .. 2 11 3 Lighting and heating .. .. .. 0 10 0 Insurance and repairs .. .. .. 1 13 10 Kent .. .. .. .. .. 1 10 0 Material for class use .. .. .. 0 5 0 Caretaker .. .. .. .. 0 15 6 Contracts (new buildings, additions, &c) .. 39 2 3 Furniture, fittings, and apparatus .. .. 24 3 11 £153 6 0 £153 6 0 R. G. Whetter, for Secretary.