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No. 1. EXTRACT FROM THE THIRTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION. Native Schools. Number of Schools. At the end of the year 1913 there were 107 Native village schools in operation, four schools having been closed temporarily—one on account of the smallpox epidemic and three owing to the difficulty in obtaining teachers. During the year 1914 the four temporarily closed schools were reopened, five new schools were opened, and one school was transferred to the Auckland Board of Education. The number of schools in operation at the end of 1914 was thus 115. In addition to the Native village schools, three primary mission schools for Maori children and ten boarding-schools affording secondary education to MaoTis were inspected by the Inspectors of Native Schools. Throughout the Dominion there were 566 public schools at which Maori children were in attendance. Thus the total number of schools under inspection where Maori children were receiving instruction was — Native village schools .. .. .. .. .. .. ..115 Native mission schools subject to inspection by the Education Department .. 3 Public schools at which Maori scholars were in attendance.. .. .. 566 Total number of primary schools .. .. .. .. 684 Native boarding-schools affording secondary education to Maoris .. .. 10 Total .. .. .. .. .. .. 694 The following table shows the number of Native village' schools in each grede, as compared with the number for the previous year:— Table H.—Number op Native Village Schools in each Grade. 1913. 1914. Grade I (9-15) .. .. .. .. .. .... 2 Grade lla (16-20) .. .. .. .. !. .. 9 13 Grade llb (21-25) .. .. .. .. .. ..14 10 Grade 111 (26-35) .. .. .. .. .. .. 30 29 Grade IVa (36-50) . . .. .. . . .. . . 30 36 Grade IVb (51-80) \. .. .. .. .. ..20 18 Grade V (81-120) . . .. .. .. .. .. 4 7 Totals .. .. .. .. ..107 115 New School?. New schools are to be established at Ruatahuna and Maungapohatu, Urewera country ; Moerangi, near Raglan ; Kaitaha, East Coast; Whakarewa (Kaiuku), Mahia Peninsula ; while the Department has agreed to take over from the Auckland Board of Education the buildings at Purua No. 2 public school, and re-erect them for the purposes of a Native school at Kaikou. In all these cases, with the exception of the two first-named, the acquisition of the sites has been completed and the buildings should be put in hand during the current year. Roll Number and Attendance. The number of pupils on the rolls of Native village schools at the end of the year 1914 was —Boys, 2,726 ; girls,[2346 : total, 5,072. Included in these numbers are 289 boys and 262 girls who are Europeans, leaving 4,521 Maori children. The average daily attendance, in actual numbers and as a percentage of the average weekly roll number, for each of the years 1913 and 1914 was as follows : — Average Attendance. Per Cent, of 8011. 1913. 1914. 1913. 1914. First quarter .. .. .. .. 4,201 4,343 87'4- 87-4 Second quarter .. .. .. .. 4,297 4,222 87'1 83-3 Third quarter .. .. .. .. 4,068 4,458 83-1 88'5 Fourth quarter .. .. .. .. 4,000 4,515 85'0 88-4