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(id) Junior Assistants.—Until 1938 the junior assistants in Native Schools, who are usually untrained, uncertificated Maori girls who have had at least two years' post-primary education, were placed in two categories—senior and junior. The Teachers' Salaries Regulations 1938 combined these two grades into one group with a uniform salary scale, the rate of salary being based 011 years of service. This provision has greatly improved the status of the junior assistants and should encourage them to make teaching their vocation by offering increased emoluments for good service. During the year the Correspondence School offered two courses for junior assistants—the first a preparation for the examination necessary for admission to a Teachers' Training College, and the second a more general course of advantage to girls in their present positions, and later, as wives and mothers. In 1938 three junior assistants qualified by examination for admission to training college. Many junior assistants have great difficulty in studying owing to the conditions under which they board and to the pressure of their ordinary duties. The great majority are keenly interested in their work. (e) Probationary Assistants.—The Teachers' Salaries Regulations 1938 make provision for the first time for the appointment of probationary assistants to the staffs of the larger Native schools. The result of this innovation will be watched with interest. (/) Training College Third-year Students in Native Education. —In 1938 provision was made for the appointment of four third-year students in Native education, and the course will be taken at the Wellington Training College. Two men and two women students were selected—two from Wellington Training College, one from Christchurch Training College, and one from Auckland Training College. Of the four students, two belonged to the Maori race. The significance of this provision is worthy of note, as it is the first occasion in New Zealand that the need for any special training for Native education has been recognized. 8. Secondary Education. For some years the almost complete abandonment of practical, technical, and agricultural training by the post-primary denominational schools has occasioned serious concern. In 1936, the Hon. Minister approved of a considerable increase in the number and value of Government scholarships of all kinds available to Maori boys and girls. As a result it was hoped that the financial position of the post-primary denominational schools would be strengthened, thus permitting staffing and equipment to be on a more generous scale. Neither in 1937 nor in 1938 was the position improved, but, on the contrary, it has drifted even further from the realities of Maori life which should have guided the schools in the preparation of their courses. The various governing bodies are conscious of the serious deficiencies in their schools, and during 1938, the Hon. Minister was approached with a view to ascertaining the best means of remedying them. The Hon. Minister directed that a comprehensive report on. the post-primary education of the Maori be prepared, in order that the whole position might be adequately reviewed. The situation is less serious in the private post-primary schools for girls, but it is far from satisfactory even there. In spite of the trend towards formalism it has always been a pleasure to report that the tone and discipline of these schools were of a high standard, but, even in these respects, one school was unsatisfactory this year. 9. Scholarships. In 1937 there were awarded, for the first time, 18 Continuation Scholarships, 5 Nursing Scholarships, and 5 Agricultural Scholarships. In 1938 these scholarship holders completed their courses, with the exception of one Continuation Scholarship pupil and two Agricultural Scholarship pupils who left school before the end of the fourth year. The five girls who had been awarded Nursing Scholarships will, in 1939, be accepted as students for training in various hospitals in the Dominion. Of the 18 Continuation Scholarship holders, three girls passed the School Certificate Examination, one obtained a partial pass, and one passed the Public Service Entrance Examination. Only one boy was successful in obtaining a partial pass in the School Certificate Examination. All other Continuation Scholarship holders either did not sit or failed. With the exception of one who is continuing at school, all the girls who finished their fourth year's training in 1938 will be employed as junior assistants in 1939. In 1938, 195 Junior Scholarships (including Other-Than Native School Scholarships), 33 Continuation Scholarships, 10 Nursing Scholarships, and 7 Agricultural Scholarships were held by pupils attending boarding schools. Six University Scholarships were current. The Junior Te Makarini Scholarship was won by Joseph Tawhai. 10. Maori Mission Schools. The eleven Mission schools for Native children, which are controlled and administered by denominational authorities, were visited by your Inspectors. The reports indicated that in each case the conditions necessary for registration were satisfied. Six hundred and fifty-two children were enrolled at these Mission schools. 11. Attendance. At the end of 1938, 143 Native schools were administered and maintained by the Education Department. The total roll number was 9,832 (9,642 in 1937), and the average attendance was 8,471 (8,594 in 1937). The average weekly roll number was 9,787, the percentage of regularity being 86-6.

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