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I.—EXTRACT FROM THE THIRTY-EIGHTH ANNUiL REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION.

PRIMARY EDUCATION. Number of Public Schools. The number of public schools open at the end of 1914 was 2,301, as against 2,255 for the year 1913, an increase of 46. In Table A below the schools are classified according to the yearly average attendance. In a number of cases schools maintained in grades under Schedule "A of clause 2 of the Staffs and Salaries Regulations are included in this table in such grades, although the average attendance of these schools respectively for 1914 was below the minimum of the grades as indicated in Table A. The classification is in accordance with the provisions of the Education Amendment Act, 1908, which came into operation on the Ist January, 1909.

Table A.—Number of Public Schools in each Grade, 1913 and 1914.

Of the total for 1914, 2,259 are mixed schools, 9 are separate schools (boys' 2, girls' 2, infants' 5), and 33 are side schools. Of the mixed schools 60 are district high schools, and 142 are half-time schools. The number of schools with two or more teachers in 1914 was 899, an increase of 14 over the number for the previous year. Of these schools there were 38 with an average attendance exceeding 600 in 1914, the number for 1913 being 37. Sole-teacher schools, those with not over 35 in average attendance, numbered 1,375 in 1914, an increase of 13 over the previous year ; but, as already stated, schools are in some cases maintained in a higher grade than their average attendance would appear to warrant, while on the other hand a number of schools in charge of sole teachers at the beginning of the year had so risen in attendance as to be entitled|to assistant|teachers before the end of the yeai. When due allowance is made for such cases the number of sole-teacher schools is 1,402. The aggregate average attendance at these sole-teacher schools in 1914 was 24,622, or 15-5 per cent, of the total average attendance of the Dominion ; in 1913 the aggregate was 23,948, or 15-8 per cent. The average attendance per school in the case of soleteacher schools was 17-6, or, omitting schools below 16 in average attendance, 23-7.

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._.,., , Number of Schools. Grade (as in Education Amendment Aot, 1908). 1913 lgl4 0. (1-8) .. .. 173 168 1. (9-15) .. .. 412 443 II. (16-25) .. .. 480 458 III. (26-35) .. .. 297 306 IV. (36-80) .. .. 491 512 V. (81-120) .. .. 125 125 m i VIA. (121-160) .. 59 56 V - j VIb. (161-200) .. 34 40 VTT ( VIIa. (201-250) .. 35 40 VU ' i VIIb. (251-300) .. ( 28 20 I VIIIa. (301-350) ... 29 39 VIII. VIIIb. (351-400) .. 13 11 (Vlllc. (401-450) .. 13 9 Grade (as in Education Amendment Aot, 1908). | IXa. (451-500) IX. 1 XIb. (501-550) i IXc. (551-600) .. ' / Xa. (601-650) Xb. (651-700) Xc. (701-750) Xd. (751-800) X. .. Xe. (801-850) Xf. (851-900) Xg. (901-950) Xh. (951-1,000) Xi. (1,001-1,050) .. ! IX. Number of Sohools. 1913. 1914. 13 18 13 9 3 9 15 12 3 5 8 8 5 7 3 3 2 3 1 X. Totals .. I 2,255 2,301