K. — ]

1905. NEW ZEALAND.

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

Office of the Department of Education, My Lord,— Wellington, 18th August, 1905. I have the honour, in accordance with the provisions of " The Education Act, 1904," to submit to Your Excellency the following report upon the progress and condition of public education in New Zealand during the year ending the 31st day of December, 1904. I have, &c, E. J. SEDDON. His Excellency the Right Hon. Baron Plunket, Governor of New Zealand.

BEPOKT. In this Report and its proper Appendix, in the Inspector-General's Report (E.-1a) on the certificate and other examinations, the Reports of the Inspectors of Schools (E.-1b), a Report on the Training of Teachers (E.-lc), and the Report on the Organization of the Public-school Cadets (E.-1d), is contained all the information that is of public interest with respect to the administration of " The Education Act, 1904," and " The Education Reserves Act, 1877," and also all the principal statistics relating to matters which are more fully treated of in separate papers, as follows : E.-2, Native Schools ; E.-3, Industrial Schools ; E.-3A, Costley Training Institution ; E.-4, School for Deaf-mutes ; E.-5, Manual and Technical Instruction ; E.-6, New Zealand University ; E.-7, University of Otago ; E.-8, Canterbury College ; E.-9, Auckland University College ; E.-10, Victoria College ; E.-11, Canterbury Agricultural College ; E.-12, Secondary Education ; E.-12A, Age-limit for Free Pupils ; E.-13, Public Libraries. Pupils in Public Schools. The average attendance during the year at all the schools throughout the colony, which in 1903 showed a falling-off of 664, rose to 116,506 in 1904, an increase for the year of 3,459. This is a greater increase than has been shown in any one year since 1894. The increase above the attendance during 1902 (113,711), the highest recorded previously, was 2,795. The increase in attendance has been fairly regular throughout the year, the falling-off in one quarter as compared with the other three, which was somewhat marked in the last few years, being much smaller. The attendance for the first quarter was 115,997; for the second, 116,214; for the third, 115,838; and for the last 117,965. It will therefore be seen that the falling-off in the third quarter was not more than might be expected for the winter months. I—E. 1.

EDUCATION: TWENTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION. [In continuation of E.-l, 1904.]