E.—l

111

The number of boys on the public school rolls is, as usual, greater than the number of girls, the proportion being exactly the same as it was in 1889. Out of every 1,000 pupils, 516 are boys and 484 are girls. With respect to the ages of the pupils, the distinctions made in the statistics of former years followed the lines indicated in the Education Act, which sets the limits of school age at five years and fifteen years, and of the age of compulsory attendance at seven and thirteen. The statistics for 1890, which are set forth in full in Table No. lin the Appendix (p. 1), are more precise, and show the number of pupils of each year, with respect to age, from five to fifteen. Beginning with children between five and six years old, they show that the proportion of such children to the whole number of the pupils on the roll in December was 7'3 per cent. The percentages for the succeeding years in their order are 10*7, ITB, ITB, 12, 12-2, 11-1, 9'9, 7-2, and 4-1; and the percentage of pupils above the age of fifteen is 1-9. Table Cis a summary of the information contained in Table No. 1.

TABLE C.—Age and Sex of Pupils, December, 1890.

It will be observed that the years of age to which the four highest numbers belong—each of these numbers being about 12 per cent, of the total number—are the years from seven to eleven ; that the two years with the next highest numbers are the years 11-12 and 6-7, with about 11 per cent, each; and. that next to these is the year 12-13, with about 10 per cent. The numbers for the years 5-6 and 13-14 are nearly equal, about 7 per cent. each. Only 6 per cent, of the pupils are above the age of fourteen, and less than onethird of these have passed their fifteenth birthday. There appears to be a decided tendency to a diminution of the proportion of children under the age of ten, the corresponding increase in the proportion of older children showing itself principally in the number of pupils between ten and thirteen, and slightly in the number between thirteen and fifteen, while the number above the age of fifteen shows a tendency to decline. It is satisfactory to observe that the proportion of pupils that have passed the Third Standard, or standards above the Third, is steadily increasing. It may

Education Districts. ire Maoj :is. Half-01 astes li 1 Maoris. 7ing as Hal: i-castes '. among Suropeaj living us. Total. I No. of Schools in which there were Native Children, Boys. Girls. Total. Boys. Girls. Total. Boys. Girls. Total. Boys. Girls. Total. Vuokland raranaki Wanganui Wellington Hawke's Bay.. rfarlborough .. •Telson }rey Westland •■forth Canterbury South Canterbury )tago Southland 73 12 55 16 56 53 6 14 3 47 126 18 69 19 103 39 1 3 2 11 17 3 2 11 50 1 6 4 22 173 11 16 6 19 7 2 189 5 14 0 23 11 362 16 30 12 42 18 2 285 24 74 24 86 7 9 259 11 31 11 81 11 4 544 35 105 35 107 18 13 84 8 25 17 23 3 5 "7 "4 11 10 3 8 11 11 10 5 9 21 13 13 20 1 1 "l 1 1 11 7 32 43 1 9 5 28 42 2 20 12 60 85 11 14 15 43 43 12 20 11 37 42 23 34 26 80 85 3 9 5 12 15 Totals for 1890 Totals for 1889 251 233 162 136 413 369 56 40 35 28 91 68 328 330 333 334 661 664 035 603 530 498 1,165 1,101 209 192 Difference 18 26 44 16 7 23 — 2 -1 -3 I 32 32 64 17

Ages. Boys. Girls. Total. ffcentages for Five Years. Five and under six years Six and under seven years Seven and under eight years .. Eight and under nine years Nine and under ten years Fen and under eleven years Eleven and under twelve years fwelve and under thirteen years rhirteen and under fourteen years Fourteen and under fifteen years Dver fifteen years 4,408 6,551 7,305 7,125 7,286 7,427 6,776 6,010 4,413 2,48.1. 1,069 60,851 4,164 0,050 6,626 6,714 6,897 6,924 6,336 5,706 4,082 2,391 1,171 57,061 8,572 12,601 13,931 13,839 14,183 14,351 13,112 11,716 8,495 4,872 2,240 117,912 1890. »■?} 18,° 11-8 11-8 I 35-6 12-0 J 12-2 U-l[ 33-2 9-9) 12| 1889. 1888. 18-44 17-80 1887. 18-00 1886. 19-77 36-11 ' 36-69 37-00 37-21 32-68 , 33-03 10-91 j 10-50 32-28 30-76 10-52 10-20 1-9 1-80 j 1-92 2-20 2-06 Totals 100-0 100-00 100-00 100-00 100-00