E—l2

Session 11. 1906. NEW ZEALAND.

EDUCATION: SECONDARY EDUCATION. [In continuation of E.—l2, 1905.]

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

1. EXTRACT FROM THE TWENTY-NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION.

General. At the end of 1905 there were twenty-one endowed secondary schools giving free tuition, and the number of free pupils attending these schools was 1,949, as against 1,595 for the previous year. There were in addition about 428 holders of scholarships and exhibitions given by these schools by Boards of Education, or by the endowed secondary schools not coming under the conditions. There were also 2,872 qualified pupils receiving instruction in the secondary classes of the district high schools. It will thus be seen that there has been a considerable increase in the total number of pupils receiving free secondary education—namely 5,249 in 1905, as against 4,273 in the previous year. At the end of 1901, before the Secondary Schools Act and the regulations made thereunder came into force, the number of free pupils was only 963. Under the Regulations for Free Places at Secondary Schools and District High Schools, gazetted in October last, free places in such schools were divided into two series, Junior and Senior, the former being tenable for two years or till the age of seventeen, the latter till the age of nineteen. Boys and girls who qualify for scholarships, whether they obtain scholarships or not, are entitled to Junior Free Places, and all who pass the special examination for Free Places, whether they are under fourteen years of age or not, are also participants in the privilege. With respect to such candidates the age-limit is thus practically abolished. Junior Free Places may again be obtained, not only by all those who gain certificates of proficiency and satisfy the conditions of age, but also by those who gain certificates of proficiency and are over fourteen, provided that the number of the last-named admitted to any secondary school does not exceed 10 per cent, of the whole number of pupils. In like manner all who pass the Matriculation Examination of the University, or who gain credit at the Civil Service Junior Examination are admitted to Senior Free Places whether they are over sixteen or not, while the same privilege is granted to those who qualify for Senior Scholarships of the Education Boards, and to those who secure a bare pass in the Civil Service Junior Examination, if their age does not exceed sixteen. There is no age-limit for admission to a Junior Free Place in a District High School or a Technical School. Scholarships. The following table shows the number of Education Board scholarships held in December, 1905, with their tenure and annual value. The total expenditure of the Boards under this head amounted to £8,013 6s. 6d. The total paid to the Board for scholarship purposes by the Department was £7,897 13s. Bd. I—E. 12,