E.—l

53

Other Professional Institutions. In addition to the four University colleges there are several institutions which, though not actually affiliated to the New Zealand University, are entitled to be considered professional schools of higher education. The Canterbury Agricultural College is recognized by the University as a school of agriculture, and matriculated students of the college may, after a two-years course, followed by a further course of one year at a University college, qualify for the degree of Bachelor of Agriculture upon passing the prescribed examination. The four teachers' training colleges at Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin may also be included as professional schools. Although not affiliated with the New Zealand University, they are in several ways directly associated with the University colleges ; matriculation is to a large extent the entrance examination for both ; the principal of the training college is in each case lecturer on education at the University college ; attendance at some at least of the University college courses is compulsory for trainees ; and a member of the Professorial Board of the University college is a member of the Board of Advice of the training college. The Workers' Educational Association. In the distribution to University colleges of the moneys received by the University from the National Endowment Fund, £300 was allocated in each case for the establishment and maintenance of the Workers' Educational Association tutorial or University extension classes. Branches of this association have been established in five of the larger towns, and tutorial classes conducted in some cases by Uni-versity-college professors or lecturers are in operation for the better education of working men and women. GENERAL. Annual Examinations. (Sec also E.-8.) The annual examinations were conducted by the Education Department as usual for the various purposes of Junior and Senior National Scholarships, junior and senior free places in secondary schools, district high schools, and technical schools, and teachers' certificates. Also, by arrangement with the Public Service Commissioner, examinations were held for admission to and promotion in the Public Service. The examinations were held from the 23rd November to the 3rd December, 1915, and from the sth to the 19th January, 1916, at sixty-three centres. The following table shows collectively, in comparison with the preceding year, the number who entered for the various examinations above enumerated, the number present, and the number of absentees :—- -1914-15. 1915-16. Number who entered ... ... ... ... 10,126 10,978 Number who actually sat for examination ... ... 8,727 9,453 Number of absentees ... ... ... ... 1,399 1,525 While the high proportion of absentees—nearly 14 per cent, of the number of candidates —is as usual due to some extent to the practice of granting exemption from examination to training-college candidates for teachers' certificates, and still more to the granting of senior free places without examination to pupils of secondary schools and district high schools, there is yet a fairly large number of candidates who enter for the examinations without any serious intention of presenting themselves. This is particularly noticeable in connection with those examinations to which admission is free, the proportion of absentees for the Public Service Senior Examination, for instance, being as high as 22 per cent. The number of candidates who actually presented themselves in the examina-tion-room is given below. For the sake of comparison the figures for the previous three years are also given :— 1912-13. 1913-14. 1914-15. 1915-16. Junior National and Education Board Scholarships and junior free places ... ... ... ... 2,934 3,154 3,562 3,973 Public Service Entrance, Senior National Scholarships, and Intermediate ... ... ... ... ... 2,770 2,756 2,739 3,022 Teachers D and C ... ... . ... ... ... 1,753 1,524 1,576 1,720 Publio Service Senior ...' ... ... ... 574 871 804 675 Typists' Examination ... ... ... ... 46 51 Kindergarten Certificate Examination ... ... ... ... 8 London University Examinations ... ... ... ... 2 Eroebel Union Examination ... ... ... ... ... 2 8,031 8,305 8,727 9,453