13

E.—6

TARANAKI. Extract from the Report of the Education Board. Stratford District Ilii/Ii School. —Despite the changes in the school Etaff, the work of tin: Stratford District High School's secondary department retains a satisfactory efficiency. The school now provides, in addition to the ordinary literary studies, full courses of training , in domestic and rural science and in commercial work. For these subjects special instructors, in addition to the ordinary staff, arc employed. 'I , he whole of the work of the school has a bias towards agriculture, and that important subject is taken as a study in every class. WANGANUI. Extract from the Repobt of the Inspectors of Schools. During the year the district high schools suffered greatly through changes in the teaching staff. It is a thousand pities more young teachers do not prepare for secondary-school teaching; but so long as they avoid science during their University course so long will they be of little service in the district high schools. We do not remember a time when teachers of the type we require were so scarce. From this cause our district high schools are languishing : the largest; department, which a few years ago had more than eighty pupils on the roll, has now about half that number; three of the smaller departments have a desperate struggle for existence, and disestablishment is threatening. In two instances the departments are prospering) and in these cases the staff has been permanent and the instruction regular and efficient. We do not think the failure of the smaller departments is to be taken as indicating that there is little demand for secondary education in the country districts. We ascribe the failure to lack of efficient teaching and to lack of continuity in the instruction. The Board's special vocational courses in animal husbandry and in shearing were well attended by pupils from the Wanganui Technical College and the district high schools. HAWKE'S BAY. Extract from the Report of the Inspectors of Schools. The following table shows the roll number at the end of the year in the district high schools :— Boys. Qirls. Total. Hastings ... ... ... ... ... 11l 20 39 Waipawa ... ... ... ... ... 23 20 43 Woodville ... ... ... 16 16 32 58 56 114 Towards the end of the year the Department decided to establish a district high school at Waipukurau. This is preparatory to providing a technical high school for that part of Hawke's Bay. Plans of buildings have been submitted to the Department. Meanwhile secondary work will be commenced under temporary conditions. In course of time, with proper application of such endowments as the Howard bequest, this school should rival the Agricultural College of Hawkesbury, in New South Wales. Of the works in these divisions generally it may be remarked that in studies bearing on vocation, such as agricultural science and dairy science, there appears to us to have been great progress in education during recent years—progress more marked than at any other stage of primary or secondary work, infant-room teaching possibly excepted. Arrangements are in hand to extend the facilities for a commercial education at Hastings, at which centre there is a .movement to disestablish the district high school with a view to instituting a technical high school. Extract from Report of Education Board. As in previous years, the first- and second-year pupils of the secondary departments of the district high schools took the rural course. The aim of the course is to provide a good general education in secondary subjects, and also to prepare the pupils for the Public Service Entrance Examination. The science work has been continued for the third and fourth year, thus enabling pupils to take science for their Matriculation Examination. The following table shows the numbers on the rolls of the various schools at the end of the years 1918 and 1919 respectively : —

The average attendance of pupils in the secondare' departments for the year was as follows : Hastings, 40; Waipawa, 50; Woodville, 34: total, 124.

School. ('lass. Roll at End of 1919. Roll at End of 1918. Hastings Rural —Senior Junior Matriculation Rural—Senior Junior Matriculation Rural —Senior Junior Matriculation 18 17 4 12 22 9 10 14 8 te 26 5 12 22 4 9 19 4 faipawa f oodvillo Rural course totals Matriculation totals 93 21 104 13 Grand totals 114 117