Sessional_Paper_1932 — Page 68

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where the Head now utilizes the full time services of a Mistress. Under existing con- ditions the Heads of Schools in addition to their ordinary scholastic duties are respon- sible for:-

(a) The drawing up of the monthly pay-sheets and payment of the teachers

salaries.

(b) The collection of pupils' fees, and the payment of these into the Bank.. (c) The disbursement of moneys in account of the school monthly bills.

The Commissioners understand that these financial duties are a source of aggravation to to the Heads of Schools, especially in large schools with an attendance roll of over six hundred pupils, and a large staff of teachers of varying salary grades. They consider that these duties more properly belong to the clerical staff of the Education Office.

(a) The duty of the drawing up of the monthly pay-sheets has only of recent years devolved upon the Heads of Schools. This devolution adds unnecessarily to the burdens. of the Heads by making them share unduly in the financial responsibility of the Depart--

ment.

(6) In regard to the collection of pupils' fees by the Heads of Schools, the Com- missioners consider that the present plan is cumbersome and ill-managed. During the sessions of the Commission it was tentatively proposed by the Commissioners that the pupils' fees should be paid at the Head Office instead of at the Schools, but the proposal was condemned as too difficult of execution. The Commissioners consider that the proposal is not impossible of execution. In the British schools the pupils have for long paid their fees termly not monthly; thus the payment of these at the Head Office should present no great obstacles. It was stated that in the case of Chinese schools it would not be practicable to collect fees termly, and that therefore the monthly payments by hundreds of pupils or parents at the Head Office would present a formidable labour to the clerical staff at the office. Nevertheless, the Commissioners feel strongly that the proposal should not be dismissed as impracticable. Every pupil is registered at his or her school under an Admission Number, (which should remain the same throughout the pupil's school life), and the Department could issue a receipt bearing the name of the School. the admission number of the pupil, the amount of payment, and the name of the month for which payment was made. This receipt should be presented by the pupil at the school, say, not later than the fifth of each month, and a check kept by each class- teacher in the class-register. The admission numbers of absentees or defaulters could be reported to the office by the Heads of Schools at a fixed date later in the month, and thus a check kept upon the payment and receipt of fees. This system of collection of fees would necessitate holding school entrance examinations before the beginning of the The payment of school fees at the Head Office is in accordance with the system in vogue in England, where fees are paid at the educational centres.

term.

an

(c) The Education Office should carry out the payment of school monthly bills. The present method proved itself unsatisfactory when there was a few years ago embezzlement of public moneys allotted for the payment of the monthly bills at Queen's College.

HOURS OF WORK IN SCHOOLS.

15. The Commissioners have had for their information the time-tables of each member of the Department, and as a result of their scrutiny of these time-tables the following observations and recommendations are made-

(a) The number of teaching periods per week in proportion to the number of correction periods allotted to each teacher is in some schools or sections of schools far too small, and points to considerable over-staffing. This applies particularly to Queen's College, King's College, and the Chinese Staff at Belilios Public School. In one case a full-time teacher has only ten teaching periods per week, in others some teachers have up to fourteen hours for corrections weekly; while in one school under a European Head three of the non-British Staff had no teaching time-tables at all. The Com- missioners consider that the Heads of Schools have not all shown the necessary strictness in seeing that a full day's work is done by all the members of their staff, but blame must also be attached to the Inspectors of English Schools for inadequate supervision of the time-tables. It is recommended that in no school should the correction period for any full-time member of the staff exceed five hours weekly.