E.—2

1899. NEW ZEALAND.

EDUCATION: NATIVE SCHOOLS. [In continuation of E.-2, 1898.]

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

No. 1. EXTBACT FBOM TWENTY-SECOND ANNUAL BEPOBT OP THE MINISTEB OF EDUCATION. Native Schools. The number of Native village schools in full working order at the end of 1898 was eighty, or six more than at the end of the previous year. The number of children on the roll, 2,972, in December, 1898, shows an increase of 108 during the year ; and the average weekly number on the roll during 1898 was 3,056, or 101 more than for 1897. The strict average attendance snowed an increase of 50, and reached 2,341 —that is, a little over 76J per cent, of the average roll-number. One school, that at Opanaki, was transferred to the Auckland Board ; a small public school near at hand, without a proper abode, was combined with the Native school, this being made easy by the feet that the Maori children of the district had enough knowledge of English to benefit by the lessons in a public school. Seven new schools were opened —namely, Te Kuiti, on the main line of railway from Auckland ; Te Kotukutuku, near Tauranga ; Koriniti (now renamed Pamoana), Wanganui River; Whakarara, near Whangaroa; Karioi, between Taupo and Wanganui; Nuhaka, near the Mahia Peninsula ; and a subsidised school at Whangarae, Croiselles Harbour, on the east side of Tasman Bay. Since the beginning of 1899 a new school has been opened at Waimana, near Ohiwa, Bay of Plenty; the schools have been reopened at Whangape, north of Hokianga; at Otamatea, Kaipara ; and at Peria, Mangonui; and the schools at Karikari and Galatea have been removed to Papamoa and Awangararanui. There are about twenty-six applications for the opening of new schools ; of these proposed schools, one will be opened soon, and probably about five more before the end of the year ; the rest are cases which are still under consideration, or in which doubt exists as to the need for a school, or as to the support a school would receive if it were established; or cases in which the obstacles to the establishment of a school remain still unremoved. It is worthy of note that in some districts in which anti-European feeling was formerly very strong the desire for education is beginning to take hold of the people, and not only are the schools that are already established appreciated, but proposals are being made for new schools. As examples of this promising development might be mentioned the schools set up at Rakaumanga, on the Waikato River ; at Te Kuiti, in the King-country ; and at Kawhia, near the landing-place

I—E, 2,