E.—l

IV

roll. And since while 12,209 were promoted from the Second Standard class, the number above Standard 11. was only increased by 3,993, there must have been cases of final leaving to the number of 8,216. The actual increase of 4,591 may be merely the difference between 12,807 entries and 8,216 withdrawals. It is probable that this view of the case is not far from the truth. It may be assumed that the mean age of entrance is between six and seven. The census tables show that between six and seven there are only about 17,000 European children in New Zealand, and more than 10 per cent, of the school population is in attendance at private or at secondary schools. It is impossible, therefore, that for a period of long continuance there can be more than about 15,000 new pupils added every year to the school roll. It is of course possible that the number may occasionally, or for a time, be greater on account of the opening of a considerable number of new schools into which some new pupils enter above the normal age. Of 8,216 whose leaving is ascertained by the process here indicated, 1,791 had passed Standard YL, 1,147 others had passed Standard V., 2,012 had passed Standard IV., and 1,827 had only passed Standard 111., while 1,440 of them were in the class preparing for Standard 111. It should be borne in mind that some of these children, though they have left the public school, have not left school, but have been transferred to secondary schools. So far as the numbers here stated can be taken as an indication of the habits of the people it would seem that of 100 children leaving the primary school about 22 have passed Standard VI., 14 were preparing for Standard VI., 24 or 25 for Standard V., 22 for Standard IV., and 17 or 18 for Standard 111. These numbers may not quite fairly represent the state of the case, because those who remained to the end of the public-school course entered some years earlier than those who left in the middle of the course, and the number of young children entering annually is probably increasing from year to year. If the statistics of former years were minute enough to furnish the necessary details, it would probably appear that the 22 per cent, who left after passing Standard VI. were more than 22 per cent, of the number of pupils that entered when they did, and that the 17J per cent, who left before passing Standard 111. were considerably less than 17| per cent, of the contingent of their year. There has been an improvement in regularity of attendance, the average being 79"1 per cent, of the school roll, or o's in excess of the corresponding number for last year, and still more largely in excess of the average for any former year. Otago maintains in this respect its conspicuous pre-eminence. As the " strict average " will be the basis of computation in future years it may be well to say that for 1887 the strict average attendance is 77 per cent, of the mean roll number for the year. The proportion of boys and girls remains unchanged from year to year (51-8 to 48-2). The number of children under seven years of age continues to decline absolutely, and not merely in proportion to the school roll; from 21,370 in 1885 it fell to 21,024 in 1886, and to 19,973 in 1887. The number between seven and ten years shows also a slight but steady decline. In all the age-periods above ten there is a relative as well as an absolute increase of numbers. The following is an abstract of the returns of age and sex, which will be found at greater length in Table No. 1 of the Appendix (p. 1): —

TABLE C.—Age and Sex, December, 1887.

Ages. Boys. Girls. Total. 'orcent; Lges for F: ive Years. five and under seven years .. loven and under ten years .. 'en and under thirteen years 'hirteen and under fifteen years Iver fifteen years 10,454 21,093 18,727 0,058 1,117 9,519 19,944 17,074 5,609 1,324 19,973 41,037 35,801 11,667 2,441 1887. 18-00 37-00 32-28 10-52 2-20 1880. j 19-77 37-21 30-76 10-20! 2-06i 1885. 20-87 37-63 29-26 10-29 1-95 1884. 21-46 37-05 29-20 10-34 1-89 1883. 22-20 36-78 29-00 10-07 1-95 Totals 57,449 53,470 110,919 100-00 100-00 100-00 100-00 100-00