43

E.—l

For the whole Dominion, if there are taken into account only the secondary schools that admit free pupils under the Act, we find from Table J5 (E.-6) the following position:— Total number of pupils, excluding lower departments ... ... 4,421 Total net income from endowments (average of three years ending 31st December, 1908) ... ... ... ... £11,775 Net income from endowments per head ... ... ... £266 Approximate annual rate of capitation ... ... ... £10-40 Total available net income per free pupil for salaries and management... ... ... ... ... ... ... £1306 Total expenditure on salaries of staff ... ... ... ... £45,081 „ management ... ... ... ... £2,851 „ staff salaries, and management ... ... £47,932 Expenditure per head on staff salaries ... ... ... £1060 „ on management... ... ... ... ... £0-64 Total expenditure per head on stall salaries, and management ... £11-24 The last figure given shows as nearly as may be the actual cost per annum for each pupil, exclusive of those in the lower departments. If we include all the secondary schools this average becomes £13*43 per head. Further details of the income and expenditure of the secondary schools will he found in Tables J6 and J7 of E.-6. Lower Departments. —The Education Act provides that pupils who have not obtained a certificate of competency in the subjects of Standard V or a higher standard of the public-school syllabus may be admitted to a lower department of a secondary school if they are taught in a separate building or class-room and if no part of the actual cost of their instruction is met out of the endowments of the secondary school. There were lower departments in ten secondary schools during 1909; the total number of pupils in those departments was 189 (114 boys, 75 girls); the total cost of their instruction was £1,47(5; the total amount of fees received on their account was ,£1,499. General Remarks. Length of Time spent at Secondary Schools. —Table J2 in the special report E.-6 shows the classification of pupils in secondary schools in 1909, according to years of attendance (exclusive of the time, if any, spent in the preparatory departments of such schools). The following is a summary of the returns, so far as they are available, for 1908 and 1909: —

School Age of Pupils in Attendance at Secondary Schools (exclusive of Christ's College) at the End of the Year.

A careful analysis of these figures, compared with those for the preceding years, shows that out of the total number of pupils entering the upper departments of secondary schools— 250 per cent, stay one y 3;-i-5 „ two years, 6-9 „ three years, and 34-G „ four years or more.

1908—28 Schools. 1909—30 Schools. School Age. Boys. Girls. Total. Boys. Girls. Total. Boys. Girls. Total. First year Second year ... Third year Fourth (or a higher) year Total ... 951 697 1,648 1,139 792 1,931 709 517 ' 1,226 682 535 1,217 368 311 679 424 280 704 321 231 552 316 263 579 j ; ... 2,349 1,756 4,105 2,561 1,870 4,431 i j . I I i