1925-1926-1927 - Department of Education and Skills

35tended to decline considerably. Parents and pupils appear toregard the Act as implying that a pupil's primary educationshould be completed at fourteen, and that there is no furtherobligation to attend school, no matter what standard of proficiencythe pupil has reached. Perhaps a stronger reason is thatthe older pupils are more required at home for assistance in farmwork since pupils between eleven and fourteen cannot be so employedfor irregular periods. The increasing demand for secondaryeducation also tends to diminish the number of older pupilsin the Primary Schools. It is worth noting, ho-wever,that duringthe two years or so prior to the introduction of compulsory attendancethere was an improvement in the attendance in manyof our schools. This was to some degree attributable to the Americanimmigration regulations forbidding the entrance ofilliterates.'I'he increased attendance in our schools has considerably accentuatedthe question of adequate accommodation. Many buildingsthat were formerly adequate for requirements arc now overcrowded,white schools that were already congested are now dangerouslyso.The question of the repair and upkeep of school buildings isone that calls for serious consideration. Where the schoolhousesare not kept in due repair, the buildings have a comparativelyshort life; and the original state grants are to a large extentwasted. Some managers in poor western districts have as manyas ten or twelve schools under their care, and the cost of theirupkeep in a storm-swept country is very serious.In my last report I commented on the lack of taste apparentin the manner in which the interior and surroundings of too manyof our schools are kept. On the other hand, however, there is aconsiderable section of OUl' teachers who keep their school-roomsand the school surroundings in a tasteful and becoming manner,that cannot fail to have a. definite cultural influence 011 theirpupils. But it is exceedingly infrequent to find our school wallsadorned with copies of good pictures, and as copies of famousmasterpieces can now be obtained cheaply, it is a pity that a fewof them do not find a place in the wall decoration scheme ofevery school.'I'he front plots of a number of schools have nicely kept flowerbeds, aud in some cases rose bushes '0J' creepers arc trained alongth e school wall. But I should like to see flowers grown aroundour schools to a much greater extent than is the case at present.There are only a few cases of schools provided with plots suitablefor practical work in connection with the rural science programme.School libraries are practically non-existent, but large numbersof teachers avail themselves of the facilities provided hy ·heCounty Library Scheme in County Galway, and get supplies of,