E.—l

10

COST OF EDUCATION. The appendix to this paper sets out in detail the items of expenditure during the year ended 31st March, 1924. The total payments amounted to £3,247,130, provided as follows : — Votes from Consolidated Fund — £ Department of Education .. .. .. .. .. 2,604,508 Special Acts ... .. .. ... .. .. 96,505 Teachers' Superannuation Fund .. .. .. .. 43,000 Primary Education reserves revenue .. .. .. .. 108,071 Secondary Education reserves revenue .. .. .. .. 8,928 Native schools endowment revenue .. .. . . .. 450 National-endowment revenue. .. .. .. .. .. 77,788 Education loans for buildings .. .. .. .. .. 295,390 Public Buildings Fire Insurance Fund .. .. .. .. 12.490 £3,247,130 To this is to be added the expenditure by secondary schools and University colleges out of their income from reserves, and also the sum of £25,000 paid out of the vote ' Department of Internal Affairs," in addition to the above amount of £43,000 on account of the Teachers' Superannuation Fund. The aggregate expenditure from public sources for the year thus becomes £3,350,000, as compared with £3,268,000 in the previous financial year. The following table shows the total expenditure for each of the past ten years :— £ £ 1914-15 .. .. 1,586,000 1919-20 .. .. 2.624,000 .1915-16 .. .. 1,704,000 1920 21 .. .. 3,307,000 1916-17 .. .. 1,772,000 1921-22 .. .. 3,567,000 1917-18 .. .. 1,895,000 1922-23 .. .. 3,268.000 1918-19 .. .. 2,072,000 1923 24 .. .. 3,350,000 Some indication of the factors accounting for the increased expenditure may be gained from a comparison of the school populations in 191.4 and 1923 respectively :— 1914. . 1923. Public schools .. .. .. .. ..158,134 214,778 Secondary schools .. .. .. .. .. 6,056 11,620 Technical high schools .. .. .. .. 1,839 5,054 University colleges .'. .. .. .. .. 2,257 4,202 168,286 235,654 In the aggregate the roll has increased by 40 per cent., while the figures for the post-primary grades show an increase of more than .100 per cent. Allowance must also be made for the greatly reduced purchasing-power of money, which, of course, renders fallacious any unqualified comparison of pre-war costs stated in pounds sterling with present costs stated in pounds sterling. The position is complicated by the fact that the available statistical data of pricefluctuations are based on items of general expenditure, and to only a limited extent can be taken to measure variations in costs incidental to education. If, however, it be assumed that prices have advanced by 50 per cent., it will be noted that normal costs, already raised by the increase in the number of pupils to 140 per cent, of their 1914-15 basis, must now be raised to 210 per cent, of that basis. Thus the actual increase of 110 per cent, in the education budget from 1914-15 to 1923-24 is justified by the two factors alone of increased enrolment and decreased value of money. In 1923-24 the total cost of education per head of the population was £2 10s. sd, PRIMARY EDUCATION. Number ok Public Schools. The number of public schools open at the end of 1923 was 2,566 or sixteen more than in the previous year. In the following table the schools are classified