E.—2.

[Appendix A.

twenty-seven schools painted outside and twelve inside; twenty-two residences wholly or partially painted and papered inside; nine residences provided with additional conveniences. During the year an extensive addition to the accommodation for the Dunedin School of Art was provided. The old two-storied building at one time used as the Model School and Gymnasium in connexion with the Normal School (now the Moray Place School) was altered and equipped for the purposes of the arts and crafts section of the school at a cost of £965 2s. Bd. Manual and Technical Instruction. —[See E.-5, lteport of Manual and Technical Instruction.] Truancy. —B6o notices were served on parents and guardians for infringements of section 153 of the Education Act; fourteen notices were served on parents whose children were not on the roll of any school; 324 cases of irregular attendance were investigated; thirty-eight penalty summonses were issued under section 153 of the Education Act. Under the above thirty-eight summonses, thirty-six convictions were obtained. Two cases were withdrawn owing to the production of doctors' certificates. The fines for the year amounted to £8 9s. It is interesting to note that ten years ago (in 1903) it was found necessary to issue 587 penalty summonses for the non-attendance of children at school, that out of those 518 convictions were obtained, and that fines amounting to £61 were imposed. The decrease for the past year to thirty-eight penalty summonses, thirty-six convictions, and £8 9s. fines, furnishes convincing evidence of a wholesome change in the views of parents regarding their responsibility for the regular attendance of their children. The percentage of attendance at the city and suburban schools and those in the larger centres is excellent, in some cases reaching 96 per cent., and but for the long-continued wet weather of the past year there is no doubt that the percentage over the whole district would have been considerably higher. Training College. —The total number of students enrolled was 117, thirty-six being males and eighty-one females. Of these seventy-nine were from Otago, twenty-four from Southland, eleven from South Canterbury, one from Hawke's Bay, one from Nelson, and one from Wellington. The allowances paid to them or on their behalf were : Bursaries, lodging-allowances, and travellingexpenses, £5,677 195.; College fees, £1,171 os. 3d. : total, £6,848 19s. 3d., or £997 19s. Bd. more than in 1912. The report of the Principal of the College will be found in Appendix Dof E.—2. Certificates. —Proficiency certificates were gained by 1,156 pupils (141 more than in the previous year), and competency certificates by 136 pupils (twelve less than in the previous year). Incidental Expenses of Schools. —The sum paid to School Committees to meet incidental expenses was £6,087 6s. 10d., equal to 6s. 3-f-d. per unit of the average attendance and 9fd. per unit more than the minimum the Board is required -to pay. The total amount raised locally by School Committees for general school purposes during the twelve months ended 31st March, 1913, was £2,270 6s. 10d. Secondary Classes at District High Schools. —In December last the numbers in the secondary classes at these schools were as follows: Balclutha, 61; Normal, 48; Tokomairiro, 42; Lawrence, 36; Palmerston, 24; Tapanui, 24; Mosgiel, 22; Port Chalmers, 17; Alexandra, 13: total, 287, or nineteen more than in the previous year. * School Libraries. —Fifty-one School Committees participated in the grants given by way of subsidy by the Department and by the Board for providing books for school libraries. The amounts ranged from £10 to 65., totalling £161 15s. lid., the Department's contribution being £99 ss. 7d. and the Board's £62 10s. id. Conveyance of Children. —Ever}' year shows an increase in the amount of capitation claimed for the conveyance of children to school. The total payments for last year were £1,409 3s. Id., or £74 13s. 4d. more than in the previous year. Pupils attending fifty-eight different schools in the district participated in the grant. The capitation payment of 2s. 6d. per head for the board of children who have to live away from home to attend school amounted to £91 17s. 6d., or an advance of £51 ss. over the previous year. Inspection of Schools. —The report of the Inspector of Schools will be found in Appendix C of E.-2. The estimate of the efficiency of the schools is as follows : Excellent or very good, 30 per cent.; good, 42 per cent.; satisfactory, 22 per cent.; fair to inferior, 6 per cent. School Committees. —The thanks of the Board are tendered to the School Committees of the district for the interest they continue to manifest in the welfare of the schools with which they are connected, and for the willing and efficient help they render to the Board in the carrying-out of its functions. I have, &c, The Hon. the Minister of Education, Wellington. James Mitchell Chairman. SOUTHLAND. Sm, — Education Office, Invercargill, 31st March, 1914. In compliance with the provisions of section 174 of the Education Act, 1908, the Education Board of the District of Southland has the honour to present the following report for the year 1913 : — The Board. —During the year Messrs. Thomas Mac Gibbon, J. Crosby Smith, and J. C. Thomson retired, and in the annual election held in July Messrs. Horace E. Niven, Alexander Lowrie, and J. C. Thomson were returned, the last unopposed. The Board passed resolutions appreciative of the services of the retiring members, Messrs. T. Mac Gibbon and J. C. Smith, the former of whom had served the district as a member of the Board for twenty-one years, and the latter for seven years. The members of the Board at the end of the year were Messrs. H. A. Archdall, John Fisher, Duncan Gilchrist, Alexander Lowrie, William Macalister, John Mac Gibbon, H. E. Niven, J. C. Thomson, and W. N. Stirling. Mr. Fisher was re-elected Chairman in August. The Board's representatives on Southland High Schools Boards are Messrs. William Macalister and W. N. Stirling; those on the Gore High School Board are Messrs. D. Gilchrist, J. Mac Gibbon, and H. E. Niven; while Mr. T. Mac Gibbon represents the Board on the Otago University Council. Board Meetings. —The Board held twelve ordinary and three special meetings during the year, and the Executive Committee of the whole Board met twenty-three times. The attendance of

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