E.—l

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The introduction of a classification system based solely on the personal qualities, attainments, and service of the teacher, and providing salaries based on classification and independent of the position held by the teacher, has tended to encourage teachers to train for higher qualifications, and has at the same time eliminated the competition for special positions to a very large degree. It is expected that the service will become considerably more efficient under the new system.. The increasing proportion of University-trained teachers of home science is noteworthy, and with the maintenance of a high standard of practical as well as scientific training in the Otago School of Home Science the effect on the work done in the schools should be wholly beneficial. Incidentals and Material. A liberal provision was made in the year 1921 for the cost of material and other incidentals in connection, with, manual-training classes. Capitation was paid at the rate of l|d. per pupil-hour for woodwork, lfd. for cookery, and Id. for agricultural and other science, with the result that the Boards were placed in a favourable position as compared with former years. In 1921 orders were placed in London by the Department for handwork material for the ensuing year to be supplied direct to the Education Boards for distribution among the schools. This innovation is proving on the whole satisfactory, the quality of the material being fairly good, the quantity barely sufficient, and the cost considerably below the capitation payments of over £12,000 for the year 1921 on account of the same material. While it is not intended that the materials supplied shall be too rigidly standardized for the Dominion, it was found that considerable economies could be effected by supplying in bulk the same type of material for the same purpose to all the Boards. It is not expected that handwork exercises should find a definite place in the time-table of subjects in any school, but that recourse should be had to these Concrete modes of expression whenever the subject in hand offers opportunities of better maintaining interest, driving home the lesson, and training the intelligence by these means. In such circumstances teachers may often be able to obtain better results by the adaptation of local waste materials collected or supplied by the children themselves to the illustration in a concrete form of principles or facts which are to be impressed on the mind of the pupil. The Department's total payments to Education Boards for the year 1921-22 on account of manual instruction amounted to £75,924. The following are some particulars of the amounts payable to the Boards for the maintenance of manual classes for the year 1921 : — £ Salaries of Instructors (including part-time and overtime payments) .. 36,816 Capitation for material and incidentals .. .. .. .. 22,156 Capitation for handwork classes .. .. .. .. .. 12,697 Travelling-expenses of instructors .. .. .. .. .. 3,876 £75,545 Staffs of Primary Schools. (TableElinE.-2.) The number of teachers employed in the primary departments of public schools in 1921 was 5,816, or sixty-one more than in the previous year. Of the total number 5,260 were adult teachers (1,772 males and 3,488 females) and 556 were pupil-teachers (141 males and 415 females). The increase took place in the number of males, there being ninety-seven more male adult and twenty-seven more male pupil-teachers, but twelve fewer female adult and fifty-one fewer female pupil-teachers, than in the year 1920. In addition to the staff of adult and pupil-teachers 692 probationers (127 males and 565 females) were employed as compared with 580 (95 males and 485 females) in the previous year.