E.—6

7

(iii.) Foundation (or Governors') Scholarships. These are of two kinds, those afforded by the Governors of secondary schools not granting free places under the Act, and those offered as additional scholarships by the Governors of schools providing free places. (iv.) Private Scholarships. These are derived from funds provided by private donors at certain schools, by bequest or otherwise. The number of foundation and private scholarships in the last term of 1917 was 165. Of the holders sixty-three were also Government free pupils under'the regulations. The total annual value of the scholarships in cash was £1,234. In addition, free tuition was given by the schools to holders of foundation and private scholarships to the value of £967, the value of the Government free places already mentioned not being included in this amount. Secondary-school Certificates. Three classes of certificates may be issued to free-place holders taking a secondary course of instruction. The intermediate certificate may be granted to junior-free-place holders who have satisfactorily completed under certain conditions a two-years course at a secondary school, district high school, or technical high school, and who in general are qualified in attainment to receive a senior free place. The lower leaving-certificate may be issued to pupils who have satisfactorily completed a three-years course of secondary instruction, including not less than one year of a senior course in which the standard of work is sufficiently advanced in character to meet the requirements of the examination for a teacher's certificate of Class D, or of the Matriculation Examination. Likewise the higher leavingcertificate may be granted to pupils having satisfactorily completed at least a fouryears course of secondary instruction and having satisfied the requirements of the lower leaving-certificate, and, in addition, having completed to good advantage and under certain conditions a further secondary course of not less than, one year. Staffs of Secondary Schools. (Tables K4.) The number of teachers on the staffs of secondary schools, excluding lower departments, in the years 1916 and 1917 was as follows : — , 191 (i. , , 1917. , Males. Females, Total. Males. Females. -Total. Regular staff .. .. 175 148 323 174 175 349 Part time .'. .. .. 41 45 86 37 43 80 Included in the regular staff of 349 teachers were 34 Principals and 315 assistants. The influence of the war is seen in the fact that since 1915 the number of female teachers has increased from 126 to 175, while the number of male teachers has remained stationary. Women teachers are now employed to teach the junior classes in many of the boys' schools —positions which were previously held by men. The Education. Act of 1914 provides that the number of assistants in a secondary school shall not be less than one for every 25 pupils, and taking all the schools together the average number of pupils per assistant in .1917 was 24. War conditions "have made it impossible in some cases to comply with this provision of the Act, with the result that in individual schools the number ranged from 15 to 31. Including the Principals, the average number of pupils per teacher in all schools was 21, the number ranging in individual schools from 15 to 29. The head teacher of a district high school generally takes some part in the secondary instruction, and receives from the Government the sum of £30 in addition to the salary he would receive as head teacher of a primary school of the same size. In 1917 there were in the secondary departments of district high schools 97 special secondary assistants—23 men and 74 women. Leaving out of consideration the head teachers, the average number of pupils per teacher was 23. This comparatively low average is dominated by the influence of the smaller schools of this type ; where the number in the secondary department is large the staff provided falls considerably short, and the amelioration of the position in this respect in the case of secondary departments of larger size is urgently necessary.