Standards of Education.

Mr R. D. Stewart moved the adoption of the report on standards of education.

The Committee reported:—That the reading books in use in the schools inculcate true moral teaching, and that the teachers are in complete sympathy with such teaching. The Committee reaffirms the urgent necessity for freedom of classification, and urges that great harm to education has resulted from the individual pass system of examination. In reference to a remit from Taranaki, asking the Institute to express its opinion that the spelling for Standard I. should not go beyond easy words of two syllables, the Committee has no recommendation to make. The Committee desires to place on record page 8 its appreciation of the efforts of the Minister for Education and the Education Department to give effect to the recommendations of the Council re the syllabus; it believes that the new syllabus is a great improvement on the old, and would urge that a year's trial should be given to the new before making any recommendations with regard to it, although, in the opinion of the Committee, the requirements in drawing are beyond what can be reasonably expected to be done in one year of school work. The Committee recommends that the syllabus be referred to the District Institutes, with the request that the Institutes will report on the working of the syllabus to next year's meeting of the Council; the reports to reach the Secretary to the Institute not later than Dec. 1, 1892.

Mr Pilkington seconded the motion for the adoption of the report.

The report as a whole was then adopted.