These grants may be increased by one-tenth or diminished by any number of tenths, according as the inspector's report on the school or department is favourable or unfavourable.

Admission to the department or school is open to every pupil who, after completing his twelfth year, passes the entrance examination. This examination will be conducted by the senior inspector. The examination will be held once a year, at a fixed time. The subjects will be those prescribed by the Commissioners for the fifth standard in the Irish national school code.

All the ordinary class-rooms must be fully seated, and there must be at least one teacher for every 30 pupils. Every teacher should have a separate class-room.

A fully-equipped science room must be attached to every advanced department or higher grade school in which the science course is taken.

As a rule no higher grade school or advanced department of a national school will be recognised by the Commissioners which does not command an average of at least thirty.

The teachers of these advanced departments or higher grade schools should, as a rule, have a University degree, and no teacher can be recognised in such department or school who has not previously obtained a certificate from the Commissioners stating that he is eligible for appointment to one of these positions.

Buildings intended to be used as higher grade schools or advanced departments of national schools must be of a superior type, both in construction and in the supply of teaching appliances.

We now proceed to give Your Excellency detailed information under various heads.

Vested schools.

School-houses and Teachers' Residences.

1. On the 31st December, 1903, there were 9,165 schools on our Roll, of which 8,720 were in operation.

*

2. Of the schools in operation, 3,486 were vested schools, the remainder were non-vested.

The vested schools were classified as follows:

erected Non-Vested Schools.

3. The non-vested schools include school-houses 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.

new

4. The number of applications for aid to new schools con- Number of sidered in the twelve months to 31st December, 1903, was 58. Grants to In 47 cases we gave the required assistance, either as grants for schools. building new premises, or as grants of salary and books. The remaining 11 applications were rejected.

Grants.

The erection and improvement of vested school premises are Amount of carried out under the direction of the Board of Public Works. Building On the first of April, 1903, the amount for which that Board was liable in respect of grants already made by us and notified to them was £43,493. In addition to this sum, w› had made grants amounting to £10,935 158. 10d., which had not been ready for notification to the Board of Works. The total liabilities, therefore, on that date amounted to £54,428 158. 10d.

As in previous financial years, we received in the year 19031904 a greater number of applications for such grants than the Parliamentary Vote would warrant us in sanctioning. We made, however, building and improvement grants in 213 cases. The following statement shows the condition of the grants and liabilities on 1st April, 1904

The grants made by us during the year ended 31st March,
1904, were apportioned as follows:-

Loans for improve

ment of schools.

5. We also approved of applications to the Board of Works for loans, to the amount of £3,873, for building, enlarging or otherwise improving existing non-vested school-houses.

Loans for We approved of loans in 50 cases to provide Teachers' Residences. Residences, and in 10 cases to improve existing Residences. The total amount of the loans approved was £13,245.

Free

Since the year 1875, when the Residences Act came into force, 1,540 applications for loans, and 75 applications for grants, have been approved by us. In a large per-centage of cases, however, the Teachers are as yet unprovided with suitable residences.

The number of free residences available for teachers of Residences. ordinary national schools, as returned by the managers, is 1,286. Their estimated annual value is £7,944 158. 4d.

Condition

6. The school-houses, which are vested in the Commissioners, of premises. and kept in repair at the public expense, are generally satisfactory as regards adequacy of accommodation, suitableness of sites, sanitary arrangements and general fitting up for school purposes. A large percentage of the school-houses vested in trustees are, we regret to say, not maintained in a satisfactory condition. The responsibility for the repair and maintenance of these schools devolves on the trustees. A considerable number of the nonvested school-houses, especially those recently built, are suitable for their purpose, and are well maintained; but in a preponderating number of cases the houses are unsuitable, and are not kept in a condition, either as regards repair or cleanliness of the premises, reflecting credit on the localities in which they are situated.

Local aid towards

repairing

school

houses, school

According to the Returns furnished by the school managers, building and the amount subscribed from local sources towards the erection of new buildings, additions to school premises, &c., was £29,347 28. 9d. According to the same returns, the sum of £29,475 68. 9d. was expended on repairs. &c., the sum of £8,716 4s. 2d. was expended on prizes or premiums, to encourage attendance, &c., and other local expenditure on the schools amounted to £16,861 15s. 8d. The total amount of local aid to the schools as teaching institutions was thus, £84,400 9s. 4d. Particulars of the local aid to the Teachers are given on p. 65.

prizes, &c.

Compulsory During 1903 no applications were received for power to acquire Acquisition sites for schoolhouses or teachers' residences under the Act of

of Sites.

1892.

Since the Act came into operation trustees have been authorised in 33 cases to acquire sites compulsorily.

Day Schools in Operation: Attendance.

7. On the 31st of December, 1903, we had 8,720 schools in Schools in Operation. operation. Since the date of our last Report, 90 schools were brought into operation-viz., 61 vested in the Commissioners or in trustees, and 29 non-vested; while 82 schools were placed on the "Suspended List," removed from the Roll of National Schools, or were inoperative at the close of the year. This gives a net increase of 8 schools in operation for the year ended 31st December, 1903.

The accommodation afforded in the schools was sufficient for Space 739,324 pupils, allowing ten square feet for each pupil.

accommodation provided.

8. Of the 445 schools on our Roll, but not in operation on Inoperative the 31st December, 1903, 223 were not completely built, schools. 177 were on the "Suspended List," chiefly owing to failure to maintain a sufficient attendance of pupils, 20 Model School departments were inoperative, having been amalgamated with the adjoining departments, and 25 other Schools were also inoperative for various reasons.

schools.

9. From the returns we have received, it appears that 8,440 Free schools were free of school fees to children over 3 and under 15 years of age. In 279 schools school fees, as authorised under the Act of 1892, were charged to such pupils. These fees amounted to £3,659 58. 10d.; pupils over 15 years of age paid £447 14s. 3d. as school fees.

10. (a.) The average number of pupils on the Rolls of all the Average schools for the year was 741,795.

No.on Rolls.

(b.) The average daily attendance of pupils for the year was Average 482,489.

(c.) The per-centage of the average daily attendance of pupils to the average number on the Rolls was 65.

daily attendance (all ages). Proportion of attendance to No.on Rolls.

Average

attendance

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, daily sec. 18, sub-sec. (5), in daily attendance was 471,657. The total (ages 3 to average attendance of those who were fifteen and above was 10,832, 15, and 15 or 2-2 per cent. of the total number in average daily attendance. and above).

for 75 days

or over.

(b.) The number of pupils over six and under fourteen years of Attendance age who made at least 75 attendances in the six months ended 30th June, 1903, was 309,708; and the corresponding number for the six months ended 31st December, 1903, was 251,607.

Attendance in each of sixteen years.

12. The following table exhibits for the last sixteen years(a) the number of national schools in operation, (b) the average number of pupils on the rolls, (c) the average daily attendance, and (d) the per-centage of the latter to the average number on the rolls:

Total

number on rolls.

Religious denomina. tions.

See Table A, pages 60 and 61.

13. The total number of pupils actually on the rolls of national schools on the 31st December, 1903, was 726,552.

14. The religious denominations of these pupils were as follows:

The population of Ireland in 1901 was 4,458,775 according to the Census Returns of that year.

For 1897 the numbers refer to the twelve months ended the last day of the month preceding the Results Examination in each School examined during the year 1897. The calendar year had been previously taken.

For 1898 and 1899 the numbers refer to Results periods of the Schools examined within the twelve months to the 30th September in each year. For 1900, 1901, 1902, and 1903 the figures are for the calendar vear.