E.—1

17. LENGTH OF POST-PRIMARY COURSE. The returns compiled in 1934 by teachers show also the duration of the postprimary course taken by pupils who have now left school. Summarized, the position is as follows : —

Table Q1.

No returns have been obtained from post-primary schools giving the actual length of school life of each individual pupil, but from the information summarized in the above table it is possible to give an approximation of the average length of the school life of those pupils who left school in 1934. For this purpose a pupil leaving in his first year is taken to have a school life of one year and so on till those leaving in a fourth year or later are taken as four years only. Some pupils stay for five or six years, but this fact is compensated for when it is considered that many pupils leaving in their first and second year cannot be said to have a school life of one and two years respectively. The following figures are given, therefore, with the reservation that they are not compiled from exact information, but they are nevertheless not far from being correct: — Average Length of School Life. Y. M. Secondary schools . . .. . . .. .. 210 Combined schools .. . . . . . . . . ..29 Technical high and day schools .. .. .. ..23 Secondary departments ol district high schools . . .. ..23 All post-primary schools .. .. .. .. ..26 In the case of pupils who enter upon post-primary courses and leave during the same year, information has been obtained showing in months the duration of the school life of such pupils. The information received is tabulated in the table below. It will be noted that the totals are slightly below those shown as leaving in the first year in Table Q 1 preceding. This difference is due to the fact that Table Q 2 concerns those pupils who commenced and finished their courses in the same year, while Table Q 1 includes in " leaving in first year " pupils who, though in the first year of their course when they left, actually commenced that course in a previous calendar year or at a private secondary school.

24

! I ! Secondary | Combined antXhS ! Dis * ri , ct All Schools. Schools. Schools. i) ay Schools. Sohools - Number. i Cent, j Number - Cent. Number - I Cent. | Number - Cent. | Number - j Jent. Leaving in first year .. 639 13 131 18 1,198 29 627 32 2,595 22 Leaving in second year 1,295 27 162 22 1,383 34 572 29 3,412 30 Leaving in third year .. 1,042 21 202 28 794 20 324 17 2.362 20 Leaving in fourth year 1,878 39 229 32 673 17 422 22 3,202 28 and later Totals, 1934 .. 4,854 100 724 100 4,048 100 1,945 100 11,571 100 Totals, 1933 .. 4,501 .. 648 .. 3,919 .. 1,996 11,064 Difference .. +353 .. +76 .. +129 .. —51 .. +507