1876. QUEENSLAND. REPORT OF THE BOARD OF Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command. To His Excellency WILLIAM WELLINGTON CAIRNS, Esquire, Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of Queensland and its Dependencies. MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,— In accordance with the direction contained in the eleventh section of "The Education Act of 1860," the Board of General Education submit this their Sixteenth Annual Report of the condition of the schools under their supervision, together with a Statement of Accounts. GENERAL. 1. The sickness which prevailed during a considerable portion of the year, incapacitating teachers as well as pupils, could not fail to have an injurious effect on the condition of the schools. Notwithstanding this depressing influence, the Board are gratified at being able to renew the assurance conveyed in previous reports that the work of Primary Education has been, on the whole, satisfactorily performed. 2. The following is a comparative Statistical Summary of the Board's operations during the past two years: Parliamentary Vote for Education under the Board Local Subscriptions towards school buildings (with Savings Bank interest) and their travelling expenses) Salaries and Allowances of Teachers Buildings, Furniture, and Repairs ... Total Expenditure out of Parliamentary Vote Namely, the three non-vested schools (E.C.) at Spring Hill; the non-vested schools at Gregory Terrace, Helidon, (R.C.) and Walloon (R.C.); and the provisional schools at Lake's Creek and Samson Vale. † One of these (Nebo) was purchased, and one (Middle Ipswich-formerly Ipswich E.C.) was taken on lease. Of the 36 non-vested schools in operation in 1874, one (viz., Logan R.C.) became a provisional school; two (viz., Ipswich E.C. and Oxley East) were converted into vested schools; and eight (viz, Brisbane South E.C., Fortitude Valley E.C., Gregory Terrace, Helidon R.C., Walloon R.C., and the three E.C. schools on Spring Hill) were closed. Some of them, however, were in operation during a portion of 1875. Of the total number (29) of non-vested schools in operation during the year, 21 were connected with the Roman Catholic Church, 6 with the Church of England, and 1 with no particular denomination. Of the 40 provisional schools in operation in 1874, five (viz., Bundaberg North, Helidon, Nebo, Nudgee, and Rosewood) became vested schools, and two (viz., Lake's Creek and Samson Vale) were closed. The total number of new provisional schools established during the year was This includes teachers employed during part of the year only. The total number in the service of the Board at the end of the year was 595, of whom 467 were employed in vested, 86 in non-vested, 39 in provisional schools, and 3 at the Diamantina Orphanage. See note to Statement of Accounts, p. 7. therefore 12. since the establishment of the Board : 3. The following is a comprehensive summary of the operations of each number of vested schools to thirty. This number does not include the five provisional and two non-vested Schools which became vested, making up the total increase in the instruction of the children in the Diamantina Orphanage. vested* and 12 were provisional schools. The Board also made provision for the which were taken under the Board's management, numbered 35; of which 23 were as during the previous year, was yet very considerable. The new schools opened, or 4. The increase in the number of schools in operation, although not so great weeks in the year. children who derive substantial advantage from the schools. + This is reckoned on the aggregate attendance, in which there may probably be some few pupils counted twice, and some who may only have attended school for a few days or If the cost were calculated on the average attendance, it would appear double; but the average attendance is very far from representing the actual number of This number would probably be fairly approximated by an addition of 50 per cent. to the average. * See note on page 1. year 5. A detailed statement of schools opened during the year, together with such vested schools as were completed ready for opening in 1876, is furnished below: Teachers' residences are attached to all the above Vested schools, with the exception of Nos. 2, 12, 13, 15, 22, 27, 28, and 29. 6. Although the foregoing statement is somewhat less imposing than that furnished in the Report for 1874, it is sufficient to show that the educational requirements of the colony are still rapidly increasing. 7. The efforts of the Board to establish new schools, or to enlarge existing ones, were restricted during the year by the smallness of the amount available for the purpose. The expenditure on buildings in 1874 exceeded £29,000, and the Board feel justified in saying that, large as the amount was (caused partly by the exceptionally high cost of material and labor), the work performed was necessary, and the money was well laid out. The expenditure on school buildings in 1875 has been less than £20,000, and the total expenditure for all purposes only slightly exceeded This is the amount of local subscriptions in cash towards both schools, together with £22 18s. forfeited by a contractor; credit was also allowed for the land, £232. †The Non-vested school was held in this building during a portion of the previous year. exceeded that for the previous year. The expenditure for 1874 exceeded that for 1873 by £32,000, or at the rate of about 66 per cent.; the expenditure for 1875 exceeded that for 1874 by £3,000, or at the rate of less than 4 per cent. 8. The following is a list, with particulars, of schools in course of erection during the year, or in reference to the proposed establishment of which action was taken : It may be seen that the above list is considerably larger than that furnished in last year's report, and, although a large proportion of the localities named are at present aiming at nothing better than Provisional Schools, it is to be hoped that these, if established, will, as they have so often done in times past, serve to pave the way for schools of a higher class. ATTENDANCE OF SCHOLARS. 9. The average attendance at the schools was much affected by the prevalence of sickness during several months of the year; it was, however, notwithstanding, a little over 50 per cent. of the aggregate, and it may safely be assumed that not less than 25,000 children received substantial benefit by more or less regular regular attendance, and that the remaining 8,000 whose names appear on the books derived some advantage from the schools. The increase in the aggregate attendance in 1873 was 2,261, or about 10 per cent.; in 1874, 5,269, or more than 22 per cent. ; while in 1875 it was 4,631, or nearly 16 per cent. TEACHERS. 10. The number of teachers and pupil-teachers (674) increased during the year by 84, which is little more than half the increase in 1874. The additions to the staff would have been much larger but for the scarcity of the required material. Fifteen classified teachers (married and single) arrived from the United Kingdom, having obtained free passages from the Agent-General, and two landed at their own expense. The arrivals in the previous year numbered (21) twenty-one. The married men, and one or two of the single ones, have been placed in charge of schools, and the others have been appointed assistants. With the exception of female candidates for pupil-teacherships, and inexperienced persons applying for appointments as teachers of Provisional Schools or probationers, the number of local applicants for employment is very small. The staff for the year, however, gives one teacher to 25 pupils in average attendance, and, if this proportion obtained in all cases, there would be nothing to regret. It must be remembered, however, that the attendance in most of the Provisional Schools, and in some few of the Vested Schools is considerably below 25, and that this deficiency has to be added to the numbers taught by other teachers. Instances have occurred of one teacher being required single-handed to control and instruct from 60 to 180 children. It must also be borne in mind that a considerable number of the 674 teachers were engaged during only a portion of the year. 11. This being the last occasion on which the Board's opinion of the teaching staff of the Primary Schools of Queensland can be expressed, its members desire to place on record their conviction that it would be difficult to find a body of public servants possessing a higher sense of duty, and discharging that duty with more ability and conscientiousness, than have been displayed by the Primary School teachers of this colony. 12. The following table shows the number of teachers of each class employed during the year, with their salaries* : These are exclusive of the allowance in lieu of school fees, which varied during the year from £20 to £191 per annum. Masters of vested schools, not provided with residences, receive also an allowance in lieu of rent, varying from £25 to £50 per annum. |