5

E.—6

has been provided for technical classes at Auckland (school of mines), Otahuhu Wanganui, Palmerston North, Hawera, Bull's, Taihape, Wellington, Petone, Napier, Nelson, Westport, Christchurch (School of Engineering, School of Art, and Technical College), Rangiora, Timaru, and Dunedin (School of Art and Technical School). In addition to special centres for manual instruction in the larger towns, there are now over forty well-equipped buildings for technical instruction as compared with twelve in 1901. As in previous years, classes in places where buildings specially adapted for the purpose have not yet been provided have been carried on in the local schools or in suitable rented buildings. In certain districts a good deal has been done in the direction of providing some facilities for technical instruction in the smaller and more remote centres. Thus in the Wanganui district classes were held at thirty-six, in the North Canterbury district at fifteen, in the Nelson district at nine, in the Hawke's Bay and in the Taranaki districts at eight, and in the Auckland District at seven such centres. In some districts, such as Wanganui and Auckland, the instruction is given wholly or partly by special itinerant instructors with very satisfactory results ; in others local instructors are in charge of the classes. The most complete arrangements for instruction in rural areas are probably to be found in the Wanganui district. 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 .. .. .. 110 115 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 £1-5 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 on the roll was 61 per cent. Some particulars as to the age and sex of students are as follows:—

Classes. Number of Centres. Number of Classes. Number of Students. " Special " classes .. " Associated " classes " College " classes .. 100 23 2 929 745 154 8,197 6.219 652 Totals 125 125 1,828 1,828 15,068 15,068

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