The Board considered that amongst, the suggested reforms there should be a relaxation of the hard and-fast rules regarding the pro gramme of instruction at present in force for all classes of schools, " how ever much they may differ as regards legality, number of teachers, attend ance of pupils, and other circum stances." As a matter of practice some jinsp-ctors, we believe, do give con sideration to the difficulties which mili tate against the success of the teacher, but even inspectors are considerably hampered by the cast-iron regulations and are unable to sanction changes in classification and in the pre scribed syllabus to meet the circumstances of schools where the whole of the subjects cannot be taught efficient,}. The regulation? ought to be more elastic, and when dealing with a number of educated men and women greater allowance might surely be made for the exercise of intelligence and discretion. Tiie opinion of the Otago Board that free dom of classification should be allowed to head teachers will, we imagine, be endorsed by educational experts in all parts of the colony.
