tfred 11151111in C*111+11 IMO. SUBIACO, THURSDAY JULY 20, 1876.
PRICE 3D.
Central Board of Education shall receive re- Your Excellency with any further remarks. ports and collect statistical information, and We have the honor to be. shall in each year make a full report to the Your Excellency's most obedient Servants. Governor, who shall lay the same before the Legislative Council at its then next ensuing FRED. P. BARLEE, AND SEVENTY TWO. DUCTION, AS SHOWN BY Session. In accordance therewith we have Chairman, Central Board of Education. for the this our report honor to submit the OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. That from An Economical point year 1874. W. E. MARMION, J. HARDEY, Members, of view the present ElemenIn the report we had the honor to make for SEP. BURT, is working the year 1873 we entered fully into all tary Education Act (G. Randell, absent from the Colony.) IN accordance with the notice we well may be inferred from the fact that matters connected with the working of the LAURENCE S. ELIOT, gave in our issue of the 6th inst., we from the Report of the Centtal Board Elementary Education Act ; we suggested Secretary. have now the great pleasure of placing of Education of 14th April 1874, it ap- various alterations in the Law which met before our readers, the Report of the pears that while the Governnment with approval, and have been carried into His Excellency Governor Robinson, C.M.G. operation ; and we commented freely on the &c., &c., &c, Central Board of Education, to His Schools cost the public the sum of proceedings of District Boards. We beg to year the the Governer, for Excellency refer Your Excellency to that report, to TWO POUNDS EIGHT SHILLINGS Annual ReANNUAL REPORT ON ELEMENTRY which in reality there is little to add. 1874, also the Inspector's therein educated for each child port on ElementarySchools, for the same SCHOOLS FOR THE YEAR 1874. We still adhere to the opinions we then experiod-the Minute of His Excellency, EIGHT HUNDRED AND TWENTY NINE pressed, and repeat that the slaws,: of the and other Papers, relative to the Resystem of Education now in force mainly CIIILDREN In submitting to the Central Board of Edudepends on the exertions of those in the muneration of Schoolmasters, under the were being educated in Assisted various Districts in the Colony who have cation my Report on the Elementary Schools preser.t Elementary Education Act, the Schools at a charge to the Revenue been elected to administer the Law. We inspected during the year 1874, lam enabled Report of the Central Board, on the of only cannot shut our eyes to the fact that in many to state that the half -yearly examinations, rapeat and papers Minute Governor's instances shortly after the election of District rendered necessary under the Result System, ONE POUND EACH ! ! Boards, when the novelty of the position has have been regularly conducted during the to, and also a Supplementary Report on off, little or no interest is evinced by period under review. Government Schools-by the Inspector And that the Central Board worn and schools and teachers are left A third visit was made in December last -Mr. W. ADKINSON-for the half year in 1874 considered the Elementary Edu- members, without supervision. The transactions of the to a portion of the Eastern and Southern ending 306 June 1875. The Report cation Act to be doing its work well is past year have brought this very forcibly be- Districts, for the purpose of closing, as far as and papers which have now, for the evident from the following extract taken fore us, and the natnral result is that the practicable, the payments on " Results" to system is gradually getting into disrepuW, all schools, before commencing at the augfirst time, been placed in full before the from not from any defect in the system itself, but mented rates authorised by the Amended general public, show most conclusively, THE REPORT OF TIIH CENTRAL BOARD from a want of attention in those who work Education Act. that the Elementary Education Act, of it. Under ordinary circumstances, and dating OF EDUCATION. 1871, as amended-is working well-is There are notable exceptions, which may from the protietsling inspeciiiin, the last" We do not hesitate to say, that though of a suited to the demands admirably be seen on reference to the figures in the able nan:ed examinations were not due until affords the principles of self help on which it is report of the Inspector of Schools, herewith March. 1877, community mixed a The (1i3Olice travelled in the performance the operative classes the means-at a bused are in our opinion, somewhat in enclosed. by the acksmall cost-of giving their children a advance of the people it is working satisWe submit, as in previous reports, a com- of the aloe, duties (calculated newleileeil ,11stanees in the several localities) sound English education-amply re- facto, ily," and from the Report of the parative statement of the number of Schools Was neur:y four thousand miles (311,-,6). and the cost per head to the munerates Teachers working under same Board of 30th November 1875, in and Scholars, Colony ; and we estimate that if the Com1.-NUMBER OF 8(11,8 LS. its provisions-has been the means of conjunction with the Inspector's Report, pulsory Clauses are properly carried out it The number of Government Schools affording Education, at a comparatively in which the Central Board fully con- will be necessary to provide at the least remaining in operation in the last quarter of small increased public expenditure to curs, it is idle to contend, that the an additional thousand pounds in the Educa- 1873 was:',9. During the cer-espending quarter present Education system, is not giving tional item of the Esainates for 1876. appear of le74.there were 66. .Nine ELEVEN HUNDRED AND TWENTYon the whole, the best possible proof of No. of Ate!, 41+ C, pe on the li-t of the latter year which were not Year. No. of he 3 II atndii . schools. scholars. its adaptability to our requirements. It includeil in the former Return , viz EIGHT MORE CHILDREN, has often and often been alleged that Newcastle, re -opened 1874 63 2373 1641 2 15 5 is71 educated by being than were fl A lliiine Reys', Northam, Boys' mew Depart 2 13 5 80 2336 1637 1872 GOVEIINMENT SCHOOL TEACHERS is accomARE the government in 1871, and wen!, Roebourne, Eeverley (town), Wanne80 8 j .liteandale. established 1874. tee, Yet he plishing in a Educational point of view ;;.. 2 8 0 1873 64 1694 2367 UNDER I'AID OY, The school in the following localities were all that was from the introluction of .1874 1838 2 12 2 68 2558 What is the TEUTII ? From the tensed horny before the end of the year the Act, expected or desired. We would 11872 13 763 0 16 4 Mdldie Swan, Canning, Timber Station. Inspector's Report it will be seen that of 1137 only ask our readers to read carefully the Milken Government ,'7,eliools which The Government School formerly held at 1873 529 1 0 0 15 1084 and impartially, the official papers, we the Canning Police Station has been transhave been working under both systemshave placed before them, and we have 0 18 1244 186 L1874 ferred to the Canning Landing, in 1871 the aggregate Salaries of the not the remotest doubt, that they will, Three new Assisted Schools have been A strong feeling still prevails and especially without hesitation endorse the conclu- Teachers thereof amounted to added to the list during the past year, in the Perth and Fremantle Districts, that all making the total number of such schools now FINE HUNDRED AND THIRTY POUNDS, e sion at which we have arrived. buildings for Government Schools should be in operation 18. shall now proceed to give, and in 1874 to no less than provided from Public Funds. Unless such There are thus, in all, 84 Elementary an opinion is endorsed by the Legislature and OUR REASONS FOR PUBLISHING THESE EIGHT 111,NDli ED AND TWENTY-TWO Your Excellency, we do not conceive we Schools wholly or in part supported from POUNDS, NINETEEN SHILLINGS, AND should be justified in changing the course we Punic Funds. OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. TEN PENCE, have hitherto adopted and on this subject In the subjoined table these Elementary We have been induced to do so from The assertion that Government School we specially refer Your Excellency to para- Schools are arranged according to departgraph 5 of our report dated 14th April, 1874, ments a desire that the public should be Teachers have not been as highly paid and the remarks of His Excellency Governor Asaisted Government placed in possession of FACTS relating under the present Education Act, as Weld thereon. Schools. Schools.
THE ELEMENTARY EDUCA- 1874 they were educating no less 1871-ITS than TION ACT OF WORKING SINCE ITS INTRO- TWO THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED
!
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;
1
;
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,
(7+
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to the working of the present Elementary before its introduction is thus summarily, Education Act, and thus be enabled and we opine, most conclusively disto form just conclusions in reference posed of. The
Our contemporaries have not RESULT SYSTEM gone sufficently into the practical working of the present system, while from against which so much has been written, time to time, letters have been freely in- is, as is clear, from the Inspector's Report serted in their columns, condemning the of 1874-was what was really required, the present Educational system as falling because in INSTRUCTION as short ofour wants, unjust to teachers, and Inspector remarks:-The results of last ever and always calling for immediate year's examinations prove a very decided emendation. Many of our anonymous improvement in the progress and soundnewspaper writers-have, there can be no ness of attainments, especially in the doubt-written without having before lower standards. As the Inspector of them sufficient data from which to form Schools Report shews the Result fair and reliable opinions, while many System to work well, we shall in our which others, have written in a spirit of pre- next issue the complaint judice, and sometimes, in a tone of the only District Board in the Colony hostility towards an Act which never has formally brought against the workhad their support, and which, no matter ing of the Elementary Education Act, The District Board of Albany. how beneficially it could be proven it viz had worked, would never secure their For these sympathy or adhesion. strange and urgant reasons only, have we been induced to place our readers in OF THE possession of the official documents in question. Central Board of Education. thereto.
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REPORT
THE PUBLIC BENEFIT THE EDUCATION ACT CONFERRED,
WESTERN AUSTRALIA.
will be apparent from the Inspector's Office of the Central Board of Education. Perth, 27th April, 1875. Report, which shows that while in 1871 SIR, the government only educated Sixteen By the sixth section of "The Elementary Hundred and Forty-four children ; in Education Act, 1871," it is enacted that the
Some of the District Boards have brought under notice that the attendance of scholars for one hundred and eighty days in each year necessary to secure the Government Grant, as laid down in section 20 of the Elementary Education Act, is in excess of what can fairly be expected, but experience has shown us that such is not the Case. During the past year there are instances of children who have attended fifty days in excess of the stipulated time. Schools are open for five days in each week, and, allowing for holidays, scholars will still exceed the attendance of one hundred and eighty days if they omit one day in each week. The Compulsory Clauses of the Act are being generally adopted throughout the Colony, but they are at the same time very loosely enforced. As all schools are now paid by results, it is the interest of teachers to secure the regular attendance of scholars ; and in their efforts to this end it is only reasonable to expect they should be supported by District Boards. It is a simple farce to put the Compulsory Clauses of the Act in force in a District anti allow them (as has been the case in more than one instance) to be evaded with impunity. Some difficulty has arisen in the minds of Justices of the Peace as to their power to bear and determine cases and in enforcing the infliction of fines on parents for the nonattendance of their children at school, and we therefore advise that a short addition to the Act be made to set this question at rest by clearly conferring the necessary powers to Justices in Petty Sessions.
Boys' Schools Girls' Schools
... ...
...
Infants'
and Infants,1 under mistress ... Boys, Girls and Infants under master ...
Mixed,
Girls
3 3
5 23 24
2
7
IL-ATTENDANCE. Appended hereunto will be found the usual tabular statements (App. 1 and 2) skewing the average attendance at the several schools for the past year, as compared with that preceding. Columns are added, exhibiting the progress made under the above head for the whole period covered by the operations of the Elementary Education Act. It will be observed, on reference to these Appendices, that the aggregate number of scholars in daily average attendance between the 1st January and 31st December, 1874, was, in Government Schools, 1836 ; Assisted Schools, 936 ; total, 2772. Compared with 1873 these figures shew an increase, of 249, viz 142 in Government Schools, and 107 in Assisted Schools. Viewed in connexion with the measures taken during the past year to give full effect to the compulsory clauses of the Education Act, I venture to think that the increase, as shewn above, (although slightly in excess of the increased rates obtained for some years past) is scarcely so much as might ;
reasonably have been expected. Except at Fremantle and (to a much smaller extent) the Vasse, school attendance has, as yet, benefitted but very little by the adoption of Compulsory By-laws in the several districts. 1 The following abstract of Ap. in The report of the Inspector of Schools is and 2 exhibits the net increase or e so full, and affords so much detail informa- the aggregate attendance in ea tion, that we think it unnecessary to trouble Educational Districts
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