1150
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 53

3. The schoolroom shall be available for use as a polling-place for the election of a member of the General Assembly, if so required by the Returning Officer.

4. The head teacher shall make provision for the regular cleaning of the schoolroom, the offices, and all other buildings, as arranged for by the School Committee.

5. The premises, including the outbuildings, shall be swept and dusted daily, and washed with sufficient frequency to keep them thoroughly clean.

6. The head teacher is responsible for the safe custody of the school buildings and furniture.

7. Teachers as occupiers of the residences shall be responsible for the condition of the buildings, and shall be required to undertake such repairs as in the opinion of the Department are due to negligence and not to fair wear and tear.

8. No alterations or additions of any kind shall be made to existing buildings, nor shall additional buildings or sheds be erected without the authority of the Department.

9. When a teacher leaves a school he shall leave all the premises clean and tidy for his successor; neglect in this respect will be held highly unbecoming in the teacher.

10. As the necessity arises the teacher shall effect such small repairs as are required to maintain the residence, the fences, and the gates in good order and condition. The garden shall be cared for, and the teacher shall do such work on the remainder of the school grounds as will keep them in good order. It is to be understood that in all cases the school site is intended for school purposes, and that a teacher’s right to use a portion of it for private purposes is subject to the condition that the efficiency of the school and the necessities of the children are not, in the opinion of the Department, impaired thereby.

VI. DISCIPLINE.

1. Teachers shall do all in their power to secure the good behaviour of their pupils, and to train them in the formation of good habits, both in the school and the playground, and when proceeding to or returning from school.

2. All degrading and injurious punishments shall be avoided. In particular no teacher shall strike any child upon the head. A violation of this rule may subject the offending teacher to dismissal.

3. Corporal punishment may, as a last resort, be inflicted by the head teacher only, and on the responsibility of the head teacher, who shall at once enter the particulars in the log-book.

4. Corporal punishment may be inflicted for offences against morality, for gross impertinence, or for wilful and persistent disobedience. It must not be inflicted for failure or inability to learn, or for trivial breaches of school discipline.

5. The teacher of a school may, with the approval of the Minister, forbid the attendance of a child on the following grounds, viz.: (1) Want of cleanliness; (2) conduct such as is liable to injuriously affect the tone of the school and set a bad example to the other scholars; or (3) danger of communicating a contagious disease. In the last case and in serious cases under (1) and (2) he shall act promptly upon his own judgment, but shall report the matter forthwith to the Department.

VII. SCHOOL AGE.

1. “School age” means any age between the years of five and fifteen, reckoned in each case from the last preceding birthday.

2. Subject to the discretion of the Inspector, a child that is below school age or a child that is above school age may be allowed to attend school for instruction, but in no case shall the name of any child that is below the age of five years be entered on the school register, nor shall his attendances be taken into account.

VIII. LEAVE OF ABSENCE.

1. Subject to the general regulations made by the Public Service Commissioner, leave of absence may be granted, but this can be obtained only by the direct sanction of the Department, and every application for leave shall be accompanied by an explicit statement of the reason for making it. This rule shall apply to every member of the staff of the school recognized by the Department and in receipt of any salary.

2. The absence without leave of any teacher or assistant teacher for any half-day on which these regulations require that school shall be held will be taken as prima facie evidence that such teacher or assistant teacher has resigned.