School gardens. Free Grants for ing. We have also sought permission for the payment of a small fee for the encouragement of instruction in gardening in suitable national schools. In England the subject is one for which a fee is allowed in public elementary schools. The Treasury have postponed consideration of this matter for the present, but we intend to press for a favourable decision, as we regard the subject as of special importance to Ireland. We have at various times considered the claim of provincial training colleges in Ireland to a share in the advantages of the Free Home Grants which are enjoyed by the metropolitan colleges. We are of opinion that it is not possible to defend the differences in treatment between the two classes of colleges. In the case of some of the provincial colleges the need for a concession in this matter is urgent, as the expenditure on their maintenance admits of no reduction consistently with the education, health, and discipline of the students. The Treasury have, however, refused to extend to any of the provincial colleges the terms which were allowed to the Dublin colleges in 1892. Inspector During the past year we have received sanction for the of Draw appointment of an inspector of drawing. The services of an expert in this subject have become necessary since the termination in 1905 of the services of the head organizer of hand and eye training and drawing, with his staff of suborganizers, who were employed in a temporary capacity up to that year. It has been reported to us that a falling off in proficiency in this branch of education has been observable both in the schools and in the training colleges. Increase tion staff. The successful and efficient inspection of the national to inspec- schools generally has become increasingly laborious in view of the limitation of the number of inspectors in recent years. Great additional labour has been thrown upon the inspection staff by the large increase in the number of elementary evening schools and by the spread and development of the Irish language, and we anticipate an increase in the number of schools in which the Irish language will be taught. It is expected that the appointment of four additional junior inspectors, for which we received the sanction of the Treasury during the past year, will meet our requirements in this matter for the present. Rejected Finally, we have to express disappointment that our proproposals posals for the provision of funds for many other very important educational purposes have not so far met with the favourable consideration of the Lords of His Majesty's Treasury. In previous reports we submitted for the consideration of Your Excellency the views which actuated us in making application for the sanction of several proposals of extreme importance. These included the establishment of elementary schools of a higher grade, a scheme of scholarships for pupils of national schools, grants of free books to the pupils, provision of out-offices for schools where none exist, and the payment of the expenses of cleaning, whitewashing, and heating the schools, and the purchasing of suitable desks, maps, and charts. We now proceed to give Your Excellency detailed information under various heads. School-houses and Teachers' Residences. 1. On the 31st December, 1906, there were 8,602 schools in Vested operation, made up as follows: schools 2. Of these schools, 3,569 were vested schools, the remainder were non-vested. The vested schools include (a) those vested in the Commissioners, and (b) those vested in trustees, under deeds to which the Commissioners are a party, for the purpose of being maintained as National Schools. The vested schools were distributed according to Provinces as follows: Non-vested Number of grants to new schools. Building The non-vested schools include school-houses erected from funds locally provided, or, in a few instances, from loans available under the Act of 1884, 47 & 48 Vic., cap. 22, and schools formerly vested, the leases of which have expired. 3. The number of applications for aid to new schools considered in the twelve months to 31st December, 1906, was 8. and in these cases we made grants of salary and books. 4. The erection and improvement of vested school premises are carried out under the direction of the Board of Public Works. On the first of April, 1906, the amount for which that Board was liable in respect of grants already made by us and notified to them was £37,064 178. 2d. In addition to this sum, we had made grants amounting to £12,395 158, 8d., which had not been ready for notification to the Board of Works. The total liabilities, therefore, on that date amounted to £49,460 128. 10d. The following statement shows the condition of the grants and liabilities on 1st April, 1907 :- The grants made by us during the year ended 31st March, 1907, were apportioned as follows: Erection of New Vested School-houses. Existing Vested School-houses. Enlargement of Other improvements School-houses. Amount of Grant. TOTAL. 1,036 6 0 2,393 8 2 5. We also approved of applications to the Board of Works Loans for for loans, to the amount of £1,655, for building, enlarging or otherwise improving existing non-vested school-houses. improvement of schools. We approved of loans in 35 cases to provide teachers Loans for residences, and in 6 cases to improve existing residences Residences. The total amount of the loans approved was £9,115. Since the year 1875, when the National School Teachers' Residences (Ireland) Act came into force, 1,673 applications for loans, and 75 applications for grants, have been approved by us. In a large percentage of cases, however, the Teachers are as yet unprovided with suitable residences. On the 31st December, 1906, according to returns received Teachers from the managers, teachers' residences were connected with Residences. 2,303 ordinary schools. In 988 of these cases the residence was entirely free to the teacher; in the remaining 1,315 cases the teachers paid rent or taxes, or both. The estimated annual value of the free residences was £6,815 5s. 7d. 6. According to the Returns furnished by the school managers Local aid the local expenditure on the schools was as follows: towards building and repairing schoolhouses, school New buildings or additions to existing schools, ... £ 8 d. 38,009 9 0 prizes, &c. 25,966 4 6 5,151 3 8 22,043 17 2 91,170 14 4 In addition, the local aid to the salaries of the teaching staff amounted to £19,959 18. Od., and £10,518 38. 10d. was provided locally for prizes and premiums for the pupils. Day Schools in Operation: Attendance. Operation. 7. On the 31st of December, 1906, we had 8,602 schools in Schools in operation. During the year 1906, 54 schools were brought into operation-viz., 42 vested in the Commissioners or in trustees, and the remainder non-vested. In 116 cases the grants were either suspended or withdrawn. This gives a net decrease of 62 schools for the year ended 31st December, 1906. Accommo The accommodation afforded in the schools was sufficient for dation provided. 829,101 pupils, allowing nine square feet of floor space for each pupil. The classification of the schools (exclusive of Model, Convent, Monastery, and Workhouse schools) in respect of the number of rooms available for school purposes is as follows: : two rooms, or a room and class-room, 5,830 1,817. 361 Inoperative schools, School fees. Pupils on the rolls Average daily attendance. Attendance for at least 75 days, 8. In addition to the schools in operation on the 31st December, 1906, 136 to which building grants had been made were not completely built, and 12 other schools were also inoperative for various reasons. 9. From the returns we have received, it appears that, in 245 schools, fees amounting to £3,474 18. 8d. were charged to pupils over 3 and under 15 years of age, and that all the other schools were free to such pupils. In 175 schools, fees amounting to £384 188. 3d. were received from pupils over 15 years of age, and, in 225 schools, fees amounting to £2,601 118. Od. were paid by the pupils for instruction outside school hours in special subjects. 10. (a.) The average number of pupils on the rolls of all the schools for the year was 739,009. (b.) The average daily attendance of pupils for the year was 493,558. (c.) The per-centage of the average daily attendance of pupils to the average number on the Rolls was 66.8. 11. (a.) The average number of pupils over three and under fifteen years of age, the limits of age defined in the Act of 1892, sec. 18, sub-sec. (5), in daily attendance was 481,353. The total average attendance of those who were fifteen and above was 12,205, or 2.47 per cent. of the total number in average daily attendance. (b.) The number of pupils over six and under fourteen years of age who made at least 75 attendances in the six months ended 30th June, 1906, was 333,831; and the corresponding number for the six months ended 31st December, 1906, was 239,027. |