E.—B

5

The following table gives a comparative statement of the number of candidates examined under the principal groupings during the past six years : — 1911-IU. 1912-18. 1918-14. 1914-18. 1015-16. 1916-17. Junior National and Education Board Scholarships and junior free places 2,564 2,934 3,154 3,562 3,973 4,408 Public Service Entrance, Senior National Scholarships, and Intermediate ... ' ... ... 2,563 2,770 2,756 2,739 3,022 3,839 Teachers' D and C... ... "... 1,626 1,753 1,524 1,576 1,720 .1,941 Public Service Senior ... ... 518 574 871 804 675 653 Typists'Examination ... ... ... ... ... 46 51 50 Other examinations ... ... ... ... ... ... 12 8 Totals ... ... 7,271 8,031 8,305 8,727 9,453 10,894 The largest increase took place in the Public Service Entrance and Intermediate Examinations, the number examined being over eight hundred in excess of the number for the previous year. The Intermediate Examination alone is responsible for over six hundred of this increase. In the Public Service Entrance Examination the decision to charge an admission fee of £1 had the'effect of checking the growth of the numbers, otherwise the readmission of girls to the examination would have led to a large increase in the candidature. The actual result was that the 11umbers were very little in excess of those for the previous year. In the C and D Examinations an increase occurred in Class D of 159 and in Class C of 54. In the Public Service Senior Examination the number of candidates was almost the same as last year. No further opportunity of taking the whole examination will be given, as the Public Service Commissioner proposes to admit next year only those candidates who have already obtained partial success and wish to complete their examination. The number of candidates in January, 1918, will therefore be much smaller than in 1917. Of the total number of candidates that sat for the Junior National Scholarship and Junior Eree Place Examinations— The number of candidates for scholarships was ... ... ... 2,487 The number who obtained a scholarship qualification was ... ... 251 The number who qualified for a free place in the scholarship examination was ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 599 The number who failed was ... ... ... ... ... 1,637 The number of candidates for free places was ... ... ...• 1,916 The number of these who qualified for a free place was ... ... 738 The number who failed was ... ... ... ... ... 1,178 The highest percentages of marks gained in the various subjects of this examination were as follows: English, 97; arithmetic, 100; geography, 90; history and civics, 85; elementary science and nature-study, 88 ; drawing, I, 90; drawing, 11, 100. The highest percentage gained by any one candidate on the whole examination was 89'5. The following are details of candidature in regard to the Public Service Entrance and Intermediate Examinations in their varied applications : — (a.) Total candidates presenting themselves for examination ... ... 3,839 (6.) Candidates for the Public Service Entrance and Senior National Scholarship tests ... ... ... ... . . ... 1,881 (c.) Candidates for the intermediate tests (senior free places and drawing only) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,958 Of the 809 candidates who sat for the Senior National Scholarship Examination 751 were examined on the Scheme A (General) Course, and 58 on the Scheme B (Rural and Domestic) Course. The numbers of candidates who qualified for scholarships in the two divisions were 102 and 8 respectively. Of the Public Service Senior candidates-— The number present at examination was ... ... ... ... 653 The number sitting to complete, having already been partially successful ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 239 The number sitting for the first time or without having gained any previous successes ... ... ... ... ... ... 399 The number who passed the whole examination ... ... ... 82 The number who gained a pass in two or more subjects without completing the whole examination ... ... ... ... 317 The number who failed ... ... ... ... ... ... 254