E.—l.

separately or in duplicate in the secondary and technical schools. Under the Finance Act of April, 1931, a Napier Secondary Education Board was established and in the second term the Boys' and the Girls' High Schools were reopened as separate " combined schools." Both schools worked under very great difficulties for the remainder of the year, the girls' in sheds and rooms scattered about the schoolgrounds and the boys' partly in temporary erections at the high school and partly at the technical-school workshops over a mile away. The Finance Act referred to also provided for the establishment of " combined schools "at Nelson under the Council of Governors of Nelson College. Later in the year regulations for " combined schools," based in the meantime on those for technical schools, were issued by the Department and applied at once to the Napier schools. Their application to the New Plymouth schools—where a somewhat similar amalgamation had been effected in 1927 and to the Nelson schools—was, however, postponed till the commencement of the ensuing year. The establishment of these " combined schools " has been the outstanding event of the year in connection with post-primary education. The total roll numbers on the Ist Julv in the schools enumerated above were — 1930. 1931. Secondary .. .. .. .. .. .. 16,474 16,445 Combined . . .. . . .. .. .. .. 462 Technical . . .. .. . . .. 8,002 8,541 Separate junior high schools (Form 111 only) .. .. 172 314 Secondary departments of district high schools .. .. 4,636 5,291 Endowed schools and registered private secondary schools.. 4,413 4,414 Totals .. .. .. .. .. 33,697 35,467 These numbers refer to full-time pupils only. 22. EVENING TECHNICAL CLASSES AND PART-TIME DAY CLASSES. During 1931 evening technical and part-time day classes were conducted at forty-three centres, the same number as in the previous year. These classes provided instruction for 10,536 students, as against 11,829 students in 1930. Of these students, 5,316 and 5,994 held free places in 1931 and 1930 respectively. This falling-off in the numbers attending evening classes is fairly general throughout the Dominion, and is due partly to the difficulty experienced by many pupils in finding employment, with the result that they stay on as full-time pupils in day schools instead of, as in previous years, going to work and attending evening classes, but mainly to the depression in trade and the consequent diminution in numbers at the various trades, especially of apprentices. 23. NATIVE SCHOOLS. At the end of 1931 there were 139 Native schools maintained and administered by the Department for the primary education of Maori children. Eleven Maori boarding-schools, affording secondary education for Maoris, are controlled by religious denominations. Of these schools two are private registered secondary schools. In addition, Church authorities control eleven mission schools providing primary education. The following table shows the number of schools, with the enrolment as at Ist July j 1930, and Ist July, 1931 : —

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1930. 1931. Schools. I Roll. Schools. Roll. Native schools .. .. .. .. 138 7,047 139 7,501 Mission schools (primary) .. .. 11 538 11 531 Public schools with Native children enrolled 794 8,257 791 8,384 Totals 943 15,842 941 16,416