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for the previous year totalled about £5,000. The Government has, as in previous years, favourably considered applications for new buildings or additions where these have been shown to be necessary, and for necessary equipment. New or additional buildings have been erected or are in course of erection at Auckland, Hawera. Manaia, Woodville, Christchurch, Ashburton, Temuka, and Dunedin, while necessary equipment has been provided for classes at Auckland (Technical College and the School of Mines), Hamilton, New Plymouth, Wanganui, Palmerston North, A pit i. Wellington, Petone, Nelson, Christchurch (Technical College and the School of Engineering), Ashburton, Kaiapoi, Timaru, and Gore. During the year grants totalling £10,508 were distributed in aid of buildings and equipment. Over fifty well-equipped buildings are now available for purposes of technical instruction. In the smaller and more remote centres where technical schools have not yet been provided classes are held in suitable rented buildings or in the local schools. During the year classes were held at eighteen such centres in the Otago District, at seventeen in the Wanganui District, at thirteen in the Hawke's Bay I )istrict, at eleven in the Southland District, and at eight in the Taranaki District. Following are some particulars relating to technical classes, other than classes at day technical schools, in operation during the year :— 1811. 1912. The number of places at which recognized classes were held was 130 136 The number of other classes was .. .. .. 1.467 1,552 The number ot individual students attending classes was . . 13,632 13.527 The status of the classes was as follows :—

Note.—lt will be noticed that the number of centres is greater than the number of places at which classes were held. This is due to the fact that in some of the larger towns there are two or men- schools providing technical instruction. " Special " classes— i.e., classes conducted by an Education Board or by the governing body of a secondary school—continue to be the most numerous and the most widely distributed. Most of the classes conducted in the smaller centres come under this heading. ; ' Associated" classes, or classes conducted by managers representing bodies contributing to the funds of the classes, though held in a comparatively small number of centres, include three of the largest and best equipped technical schools in the Dominion-—namely, the Wellington Technical School, the Christchurch Technical College, and the Dunedin Technical School. The amounts received by these institutions during the year in the way of voluntary contribution were £420, 1,044, and £1,171 respectively. In only a few cases do the managers of associated classes conduct classes in more than one centre. "College" classes are conducted by the governing bodies of the University colleges, four in number. The most important are those constituting the School of Engineering and the School of Art in connexion with Canterbury College, Christchurch. The number of individual students in attendance during 1912 was 13.527. Sonic particulars as to the age and the sex of students are as follows :—

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Status. Number of Centres. Number of other Classes. Number (it Students. ! i " Special " classes " Associated " classes '' College " classes 125 22 4 867 529 L56 7,357 5.568 602 • Totals for 1912 Totals tor I'.tll 151 142 1.552 1,467 I.•'..527 13,632

Twenty-one Years of ; Age and under. ( >vci Twenty-one Years <>f Age. Totals. dales females 4,478 3,587 2,638 2,824 7,116 6,411 Totals for 1912 Totals for 1911 8,065 7,800 8,065 7,800 5,462 5,832 5,462 5,832 13,527 13,632