E.—2

[Appendix A.

TARANAKI. Sir,— New Plymouth, 18th March, 1915. In accordance with the provisions of section 39 (1) of the Education Act, 1914, the Education Board of Taranaki has the honour to submit the following report of its proceedings for the year 1914. At the beginning of the year the Board comprised the following members : Mr. Harold Trimble (Chairman), Messrs. G. A. Adlam, A. Mel. Bradbury, A. H. Halcombe, W. McL. Kennedy, R. Masters, A. Morton, W. Rogers, and J. Young. At the March meeting Mr. W. L. Kennedy resigned, and at the special election held on the 7th May, 1914, Mr. Edward Marfell was elected unopposed. In accordance with the provisions of the Education Act the following members retired in July : North Ward—Arthur Herbert Halcombe ; East Ward —William Rogers ; West Ward—Augustus Mclnnes Bradbury ; and at the election held on the 27th July Messrs. Bradbury and Halcombe were re-elected Cor their respective wards, and Frances Joseph Mackay was elected a member for the East Ward in the place of Mr. William Rogers. At the meeting of the Board held on the 26th August Mr. Harold Trimble was re-elected Chairman. New schools have been erected and opened at Mimi and Waiau, and the Pungarehu and West End schools have been enlarged. New residences have been erected at Pukeho and Raupuha, and the Lincoln and the Warea residences have been enlarged. The Huirangi School and the Oaonui residence were destroyed by fire and were reinstated during the year. At the end of the year there were 100 schools open, including two half-time schools. Ninety were held in buildings the property of the Board, and the balance in buildings leased to the Board by settlers. Fifty-five of the head* teachers had residences attached to their schools, and the others werj in receipt of house allowance, i The number of teachers in the service of the Board was 209, graded as follows : Sole teachers, 1 43 female and 9 male; head teachers, 16 female and 31 male; assistants, 69 female and 11 male; pupil-teachers, 1.7 female and 1 malj ; probationers, 11 female and 1 male. At the annual examinations' for pupil-teachers and probationers one gained a pass for the C examination and four for the D, and six gained partial passes for D. I At the scholarship examination candidates from the following schools qualified : — Bayly Memorial Scholarship : New Plymouth Boys' High School, 6 ; Stratford District High School, 1. The scholarship was gained by a candidate from the New Plymouth Boys' High School. Board's Senior Scholarship ; New Plymouth Girls' High School, 8 ; New Plymouth Boys' High School, 8 ; Stratford District High School, 7 ; New Plymouth Technical School, 1. The scholarships were granted to four candidates from the New Plymouth Girls' High School, four from the New Plymouth Boys' High School, three from the Stratford District High School. The National and Board's Junior Scholarships : Stratford District High School, 10 ; West End School, 6 ; New Plymouth Boys' High School, 5 ; Inglewood, 3 ; New Plymouth Girls' High School, 2 ; Tariki, 2 ; Frankley, 1 ; Ngaere, 1 ; Norfolk, 1 ; Toko, 1 ; Whangamomona, 1. The National Scholarships were granted to one candidate from the Inglewood School and one from the West End School. The Board's Junior Scholarships were granted to three candidates from the Stratford District High School, three from West End, two from Tariki, and one each to the Norfolk, Toko, Waitara, Whangamomona, and New Plymouth Boys' High School. The Taranaki Scholarships were won by a pupil of the Stratford District High School and of the New Plymouth Boys' High School respectively. The receipts of the Board from all sources, including £2,476 14s. 9d. credit balance from 1913. to £46,110 2s. lid., while the expenditure was as follows : Administration, £3,499 Is. Bd. ; teachers' salaries, £27,510 15s. lOd. ; secondary education, £1,380 14s. Bd. ; manual and technical, £3,787 is. 7d. : buildings, £5,869 10s. lOd. ; training of teachers, £271 3s. lOd. ; leaving a credit balance of £3,791 14s. 6d. The following is an abstract* showing the number of schools, teachers, and pupils attending schools in th: district, beginning with the year 1877, to the present time : —

The relations of the Board with the Education Department, its official and teaching staff, and with the School Committees, have been most cordial and pleasant throughout the year. Harold Trimble, Chairman. The Hon. the Minister of Education, Wellington.

II

Year ending Schools. Hoad Teachers. Assistants. Pupilteachers and Probationers. Total. Roll Number. i Average. 1877 .. 1882 .. 1887 .. 1892 .. 1897 .. 1902 .. 1907 .. 1912 .. 1913 .. 1914 .. 23 37 35 46 60 71 81. 94 97 100 23 37 35 46 60 70 78 93 96 99 7 11 9 12 18 38 45 71 81 80 2 6 26 27 29 22 23 29 28 30 32 54 70 85 107 130 146 193 205 209 726 1,985 2,395 3,148 3,845 4,706 5,096 6,139 6,198 6,389 496 1,290 1,597 2,351 3,018 3,904 4,246 5,381 5,496 5,807 >d into five--yearly peri. ids from 1877 * Condensi to 1912.