RURAL DEPOPULATION.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLV, Issue 3978, 10 July 1915, Page 3

RURAL DEPOPULATION .

School attendance figures in Now : South Wales suggest that the drift of j population from country to town con- j tinues. “During 1914,” says the Min- ] ister for Education. “the average j quarterly attendance increased by J .11,349 over tlie figures for 19.13. This j in itself is gratifying evidence oi the | growth of population, hut the fact- j that the population is crowding into 1 the city, rather than taking part in j the development of rural industries, is j shown by the fact that 5941 pupils, j equal to 52.3 per cent, of the increase, were found in attendance at metropo- j litan schools. i “That the urban population of the j State is increasing out of all propor-'j tion to the settlement in rural dis- j trie.ts is further emphasised by tlie - fact that 4712 of the- additional pupils 1 equal to 41.5 per cent, of the total in- j crease, are found in attendance at the ] larger country schools. In tact, there j was an increase of only 697 pupils in j country schools with an attendance of j 50 pupils and under; in other words, j 93. S per cent, of last year’s great in- j crease came from G‘27 schools with an j attendance of 50 pupils or over, while | only 6.1 per cent, of the increase is j found in the remaining 2631 small j schools ” >