9

E.—l

The numbers of pupils receiving instruction in the several subjects of the syllabus for each education district is shown in Table D 4 of E.-2. In English, arithmetic, and drawing these numbers are practically identical with the rollnumbers. It may be interesting to note the continued increase of the numbers doing nature-study, handwork, and elementary agriculture:— , Number of Pupils. . 1906. 1907. 1908. 1909. Roll ... ... ... 139,302 141,071 147,428 152,416 Nature-study ... ... 120,833 122,660 128,716 134,651 Handwork ... ... ... 98,465 105,514 112,952 116,588 Elementary agriculture and dairywork (included in the above) 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,200 Conveyance of Children. Conveyance by Rail. —Since the year 1895 children out of the reach of a primary school, but living near to a convenient line of railway, have been granted free passes to the nearest public school or private school; in 1902 this privilege was extended to holders of scholarships and free places in secondary schools, district high schools, and technical schools; and at the beginning of 1909 the same concession was granted to other secondary pupils who were compelled to travel by rail in order to attend school. The amount paid in railway fares on this account for 1908 was £9,437, in 1909 it was £13,186, made up as follows: — 1908. 1909. £ £ Primary pupils ... ... ... ... 4,145 5,769 Pupils attending— (a.) Secondary schools ... ... ... 1,489 2,199 (b.) District high schools ... ... ... 1,043 1,368 (c.) Technical schools ... ... ... 2,760 3,850 Total ... ... ... ... 429,437 £13,186 Conveyance by Road and Water. —For the last six years grants have been made to Education Boards for the conveyance of children from outlying localities to central public schools as contemplated by section 44 of the Act. The allowance has been made at the rate of 6d. per child per day of attendance at school; in 1909 the grants to eleven Boards for conveyance by road and water amounted to £2,755, as against £1,005 in 1908. The Grey and Westland Boards did not arrange for the conveyance of school-children in this manner. The six districts in which the plan was most used were Auckland, Wellington, North and South Canterbury, Otago, and Southland. The total amount paid for the conveyance of pupils in 1909 was thus £15,941. Board of School-children. —A similar allowance—namely, 2s. 6d. a week— is made, on the approval of the Minister, in aid of the board of any child who, through the impracticability of conveyance, has to live away from home in order to attend a public school. In 1909 £138 was paid for the board of schoolchildren whilst attending public schools. Further reference is made to this subject in E.-2. Free School-books. The grant that was available for the purchase of free text-books for pupils in the preparatory classes and in Standards I and II was accepted by Education Boards with the exception of two, who were unable to comply with the conditions attached to the grant. These Boards have now notified the Department that they have accepted the grant for these classes for the current year. At

2—E. 1.