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1. REPORT OF THE CHIEF INSPECTOR OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS. Sir, — T have the honour of submitting my report on the primary schools for the year ended the 31st December, 1937 : — The Inspectorate. The District Inspectorial staff numbers thirty-seven. The most significant event of the year was the transfer of Mr. A. F. McMurtrie, Senior Inspector of Schools at AVanganui, to the position of Staff Senior Inspector in the Head Office. This was necessitated by the great increase of work due to the many problems which of recent years have arisen in the sphere of primary education. Mr. McMurtrie's place was filled by the transfer of Mr. W. J. Boden, Senior Inspector of the Nelson District. To the vacancy thus created, Mr. IT. C. N. Watson, of the Wellington Inspectorate, was promoted, but within a few months his sudden and untimely passing left the position again vacant. For the remainder of the year Mr. E. Partridge, of the Wellington Inspectorate, discharged the duties of the position in a very capable manner. Education also lost a very enthusiastic and efficient officer in the late Mr. N. H. S. Law, Inspector of Schools, Auckland, within a year of his anticipated retirement from the service. A tribute must be paid to the loyal and efficient service of Mr. G. T. Palmer, of Otago, who retired in the middle of the year. Consequential changes included two new appointments, those of Messrs. A. C. Rowe and J. H. M. Finlayson, to the Otago Inspectorate, and the transfer of Mr. R. W. D. Maxwell from Otago to Auckland. The Inspectors have rendered excellent service to the schools and the Department, and in their professional capacity their advice has been freely sought by the Boards and as ungrudgingly given. As there seems to be misunderstanding on this point by some outside the Education Service, it is pertinent here to say that the Inspectors are consulted by the Boards on practically every aspect of education except that of finance, while it is the invariable practice of Boards to have the Senior Inspector sit with, them at their meetings. Experience has shown that this can be done without embarrassment to either Board or Department. The outstanding feature of 1937 was the abandonment of the annual examination of the pupils of Form II (Standard VI) for Certificates of Proficiency and Competency. Legislation in 1936 and the issue of regulations in 1937 to implement this legislation have now left in the hands of teachers in charge of schools the responsibility of issuing to pupils that have completed a course in Form II a Primary School Certificate. This certificate will replace both the Proficiency and the Competency Certificates formerly issued. The change has been welcomed by both teachers and Inspectors of Schools. It has saved the Inspectors the labour involved and the time spent in preparing tests and in assessing the merits of the candidates, though it must be said that the evolution of the previous system had been in the direction of accrediting without examination a higher and higher percentage of the pupils recommended by the teacher in charge. To the teachers the change has brought a more real sense of freedom and a relaxation of the nervous tension caused by the anxiety of parents that their children should secure a Certificate of Proficiency, and by the tendency of the public to assess the efficiency of a school by the percentage of such certificates gained. Within the class itself the curriculum can now be better adapted, so far as such circumstances as staffing and equipment allow, to the needs of the individual pupils ; in the past where external tests were applied great care had to be taken to ensure that these tests covered work which all Form II pupils throughout New Zealand could reasonably be expected to have done. This, however, did not preclude originality of treatment or richness of curriculum, and such were gradually developing under the system of accrediting ; but the fact remained that there was in many schools a natural tendency to keep within the orbit of the papers usually set. . The inclusion, also, of English and arithmetic as compulsory subjects caused an undue amount of time to be spent on them, to the detriment of other aspects of cultural development. Now, however, freedom is felt to be much more real; the aptitudes and consequent needs of individual pupils can be recognized, suitable courses can be planned, and so long as the pupil has completed the course a Primary School Certificate will be issued carrying with it all the privileges formerly associated with the Certificate of Proficiency. It is only natural that many teachers have asked what is meant by completing the course. It was not deemed wise at this early stage to lay down any definite rules, for the teachers should have time to reflect and discuss the matter among themselves. It was said, however, that the pupils concerned should have attended regularly, applied themselves with diligence, and have gained a reasonable knowledge of the work. Teachers, of course, do not want to grant or withhold a certificate if other teachers are not granting or withholding certificates in the case of pupils of similar ability. A request was also made that in doubtful cases an Inspector of Schools should decide ; but as this would probably involve the setting of some test and the subsequent reintroduction of an external examining authority it was felt that the teacher in charge should assume the responsibility. The issue of such a certificate naturally raises the questions : Is the certificate to represent, like the Certificate of Proficiency, an absolute standard of attainment by which the public may be guided in its selection of persons for employment, or is it to be regarded chiefly as an indication that the pupil has reached a stage at which he should transfer to a post-primary school ? It is interesting to note that in England no certificate is issued at the conclusion of the primary stage.

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