37

£.—1

Following are some particulars regarding day and evening classes in operation during the year. The number of places at which recognized classes were held 1909. 1910. was .. .. .. .. .. .. 110 116 The number of classes in operation was .. .. .. 1,702 1,828 The number of individual students was .. .. .. 14,137 15,068 The capitation on attendances was .. .. .. £18,498 £22,441 The annual rate of payment per student was .. .. £I*3 £I*6 The classes were divided as follows :—

" Special" classes— i.e., classes established by an Education Board or by the Governors of a secondary school—still continue to be the most numerous and the most widely distributed. Most of the rural technical and continuation classes come under this heading. " Associated " classes, or classes conducted by managers representing bodies contributing to the funds of the classes, have increased but slightly, chiefly for the reason that the areas of influence of the bodies conducting the classes are more restricted than in the case of classes conducted by bodies such as Education Boards, whose districts are of considerable area. Thus it is the exception rather than the rule for an association to conduct classes at more than one centre. " College " classes, or classes controlled by University Colleges, necessarily show but a very slight increase. There has been an increase for the year of about 7 per cent, in the number of classes in operation and in the number of individual students under instruction. The proportion of new entrants to the total number of students en the roll was 61 per cent. Some particulars as to the age and sex of students are as follows:—

. About 91 per cent, of the total number of students under instruction were in attendance at classes held for the most part in the evenings. The remainder were under instruction at various day technical schools to which reference is made hereafter. The occupations of students attending day and evening classes may be summarized as follows:— Number ot Percentage- of Students. Totals. Commercial pursuits .. .. .. .. .. 2,537 16-8 Professional pursuits .. .. .. .. .. 2,690 17-9 Students .. .. .. .. .. .. 2,552 16-9 Domestic pursuits .. .. .. .. .. 2,888 19-2 Agricultural pursuits .. .. .. .. .. 1,305 8-7 Various trades .. .. .. .. .. .. 2,553 16-9 Other occupations not included in above .. .. . . 543 3-6 15,068 100-0 It is evident from the above figures that the technical schools as a whole are providing instruction adapted to the requirements of most classes of the community.

Classes. " Special " classes .. " Associated " classes " College " classes .. Totals Number of Centres. : Number of Classes. Number of Students. 100 929 8,197 23 745 6,219 2 154 652 125 1,828 15,068 125 1,828 15,068

Under Twenty-one Twenty-one Years of Years of Age. Age and over. Totals. Males Females 4,683 3,128 4,255 3,002 7,811 7,257 Totals 8,938 6,130 8,938 6,130 15,068 15,068