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settlements attending for the most part the ordinary public schools. There were 119 Native village schools in operation in 1919, all excepting two being situated in the North Island. Two schools were temporarily closed during the year and one permanently so ; two schools were reopened and one new school was opened, so that the number of schools open at the end of the year was the same as in the preceding year. In addition to the Native village schools, five primary mission schools for Maori children and ten boarding-schools affording more advanced education to Maoris were inspected by the Department's Inspectors. Throughout the Dominion there were also 531 public schools at which Maori children were in attendance, this number being twenty-two more than the corresponding number for the previous year. Thus the total number of schools under inspection where Maori children were receiving instruction was — Native village schools .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 119 Native mission schools subject to inspection by the Education Department . . 5 Public schools at which Maori scholars were in attendance . . . . .. 531 Total number of primary schools .. . . .. . . 655 Native boarding-schools affording secondary education to Maoris .. .. 10 Total .. .. .. .. .. .. 665 The following table shows the number of Native village schools classified according to grade for the years 1918 and 1919 : — 1918. 1919. Grade I (average attendance 9-20) .. .. . . 18 17 „ II i (average attendance 21-25) .. . . . . 13 14 ~ II ii (average attendance 26-35) . . . . 27 27 lIIa i (average attendance 36-50) .. .. 37 38 „ lIIa ii (average attendance 51-80) .. .. ..16 15 ~ Mb (average attendance 81-120) .. .. .. 8 8 ~ IVa (average attendance 121-160) .. .. .... 119 119 Roll Number and Attendance. The number of pupils on the rolls of Native village schools at the end of 1919 was —Boys, 2,763 ; girls, 2,435 ; total, 5,198 —134 more than in the previous year. Included in these numbers are 354 boys and 294 girls who are Europeans, leaving a total of 4,550 Maori children. There was a slight decrease in the numbers in 1918 owing, probably, to the withdrawal of a number of Maori children from a Native school for enrolment in a private school ; this loss in numbers has now been recovered. The following are some figures for the years 1918 and 1919 in connection with attendance at Native village schools : — 1918. 1919. Number on rolls at end of year .. .. .. .. 5,064 5,198 Average weekly roll number .. .. .. .. 5,044 5,190 Average yearly attendance .. .. .. .. 4,338 4,485 Percentage of regularity of attendance .. .. .. 860 864 Small increases in all of the figures will be observed, the regularity of attendance being also better than in the previous year. When the special conditions pertaining to the Native schools are taken into account the attendance compared with the record for public schools may be regarded as reasonably good. Of 119 schools, forty schools attained a percentage regularity of 90 and upwards and ninetyseven schools reached the figure of 80 per cent, or over. The number of pupils on the rolls of the Native mission schools at the end of 1919 was 167, and on the rolls of the Native boarding-schools 434. The total number of children on the roll, at the end of the year, of Native village, mission, and boarding schools visited and inspected by the Inspectors of this Department

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