E.-l

30

(d.) Secondary Schools for Maoris. Number on rolls at end of 1915 .. .. .. .. .. .. 421 Average weekly roll number for 1915 .. .. .. .. 404 (c.) Private Secondary Schools inspected. Number on rolls at end of 1915 .. .. .. .. .. .. 992 Table K3 in E.-6 shows the pupils of secondary schools classified according to their years of attendance. Deductions from the table show that the average length of stay of the boys is two years and nine months, and of the girls two years and seven months. The following figures show the percentage of children leaving the secondary schools at the stages indicated : — Boys. Girls. (a.) Percentage leaving at end of first year or during second year 25 23 (6.) ~ second „ third „ .. 31 34 (c.) „ third „ fourth „ . . 19 19 (d.) „ fourth „ fifth „ .. 15 14 (c.) „ fifth „ sixth. „ .. 5 6 (/.) Percentage remaining at end of sixth year .. .. .. 5 4 It must be admitted that the educational benefit derived by pupils included in (a) at the secondary schools can be of little real value to them, and the fact that nearly one-quarter of the pupils are included under this head'ng points to a certain wastage, for which some remedy should be sought. The matter is further referred to under " Free Education." The total number of children receiving secondary education at these four classes of schools is shown below. The Department has no statistics of private secondary schools not subject to inspection. Roll Number. 1914. 1915. Secondary schools ... ... ... ... 6,056 6,488 District high schools ... ... ... 2,100 2,402 Technical high schools ... ... ... 1,839 1,955 Maori secondary schools ... ... ... 435 421 Private secondary schools ... ... ... 850 992 Totals ... ... ... 11,280 12,258 It will thus be seen that the number receiving secondary education during 1915 shows an increase of 978 over the number for the previous year. Based on the estimated population of New Zealand in the year 1915, the proportion of persons receiving some form of day secondary education is 105 per 10,000 of population, as compared with 98 for the previous year. Curriculum of Secondary Departments of District High Schools. Table L 2 in E.-6 sets out the number of pupils in district high schools taking the various subjects of the curriculum. English and arithmetic are, of course, taken by all pupils ; history and geography and mathematics are taken by over 80 per cent, of the number ; chemistry and physics and agriculture are taken by over 50 per cent. ; Latin and botany are taken by 48 and 40 per cent, respectively ; hygiene and book-keeping are taken by over 30 per cent. ; domestic subjects and woodwork and ironwork by over 20 per cent. ; and dairy science by 19 per cent. A few other subjects are taken by smaller numbers. It should be remembered that about half the number of pupils are boys and and half girls, so that the percentage of girls taking domestic subjects is really twice the number given, and the percentage of boys taking such subjects as woodwork and ironwork must also be doubled. Generally, in the curriculum of district high schools a decided tendency is observable towards vocational subjects of immediate practical benefit, but there is at the same time always present a proportion —many of them the most deserving pupils—who are anxious to take up courses of a more academic character, and the necessity of making provision for the double purpose constitutes the peculiar difficulty of these schools. Manual Instruction in Secondary Schools. Classes approved under the Regulations for Manual Instruction were carried on in connection with twenty-seven of the secondary schools (thirty-one in number) in receipt of Government grants.