9

E.—2

No Native schools were handed over to Education Boards during the year, but the attendance of Maoris has risen considerably since last year. The policy is .steadily followed of gradually transferring Native schools to the Boards as the extension of European settlement and the ability of the Maoris to speak English and to adapt themselves to European customs render the field suitable for the ordinary machinery of education. It is part of the same policy to assimilate the programme of work in Native schools as nearly as possible to that in public schools, and to make no distinction in point of salary between teachers in the two classes of schools. Europeans in Native Schools. There were 518 European children attending Native village schools at the end of the year. Children intermediate in blood between half-caste and European are reckoned as European. The following table shows the age, sex, and classification, of these children : —

Table Cb.—European Scholars attending Native Schools at the end of December Quarter, 1911.

Private Primary Schools. By section 170 of the Education Act, 1908, the teachers or managers of any private primary school may apply to have the school inspected, and the school thereupon becomes " subject to inspection," and no education given to children between the ages of seven and fourteen is deemed efficient, so as to be legal ground for exemption from attendance at a public school, unless it is given at home or in a school subject to inspection. There is therefore indirectly a compulsion on all private primary schools to become subject to inspection. Such private schools are inspected by officers of Education Boards. The following are the particulars in regard to these schools for the year 1911 : — Total number of schools inspected .. .. .. .. .. 183 Total roll number .. .. .. .. .. ~ .. 15,914 Average attendance .. .. .. .. .. .. 14,084 Total roll at annual examination .. .. .. .. .. 15,404 Number present at annual examination .. .. .. .. 14,233 Number present in preparatory classes .. .. .. .. 5,774 Number present in S6 .. .. .. .. .. .. 928 Number present in S7 .. .. .. .. .. .. 244 Number of proficiency certificates issued .. .. .. .. 581 Number of competency certificates issued . . .. .. .. 174 The standard of regularity of attendance was very satisfactory, being 88-5 per cent, of the total roll number. See also Table D 5 appearing on page 33. Classification and Examination. Table D is a summary for the whole Dominion of Table Dl on page 31, which shows the numbers in the several classes for the various districts. The proportion of pupils in the preparatory classes is still steadily increasing. In 1909 it was 36-66 per cent., in 1910, 37-15 per cent, in 1911, 37-30 per cent.

2—E. 2.

Class P. 81. 82. S3. S4. 85. SO. 87. Total. Years. O 3 o CO CO £ T- § "h 3 pq 3 i? .53 & ! 3 o .pi pq | * o a pq o & 3 op o 03 O CO 3 a 5 and under 6 .. 6 „ 7 .. 7 „ 8 .. 8 „ 9 .. 9 „ 10 .. 0 „ 11 .. 1 „ 12 .. 2 „ 13 .. .3 „ 14 .. .4 „ 15 .. .5 and over 20 11 38 26 29 20 15 13 13 6 2 4 1 1 2 4 9 7 4 1 1 .. 7 5 3 7 6 13 1 8 4 2 1 1 1 5 12 8 3 5 3 5 7 2 1 1 6 6 4 7 1 1 2 8 7 5 2 1 1 6 11 3 1 5 3 5 2 2 3 5 8 6 2 1 20 40 38 37 37 22 26 25 17 16 8 11 28 28 21 31 28 27 21 21 12 4 1 10 5 7 2 2 1 3 3 6 2 2 10 4 4 3 118 : 81 1 Totals 27 18 | 40 32 24 23 27 22 18 25 25 16 7 15 286 232