E.—2

Small schools should be grouped wherever possible. Instead of setting up small, ineffective schools generally under untrained, uncertificated teachers, there should be central schools well equipped and staffed, where Inspectors could give more than double the time they now find possible. Though conveyance of the children has, in the past, presented difficulties, the matter would be much simplified if the whole of the children at a small school had to be conveyed. Numbers would make the system payable. If only one Board would make one experiment in this direction, its success, guaranteed by the experience of Canada and other countries, would be sufficient to cause a widespread adoption of the system. The children would benefit, not only educationally but physically, owing to the method of travelling in covered conveyances in bad weather. Roll Number. (Tables B I arid B U.) The mean of the average weekly roll for the four quarters of 1915 and the roll number at the end of the year both showed an increase in every education district over the figures for the preceding year. The figures for the Dominion were —

The percentage increase in the average weekly roll during the last five years has been as follows : 1911, 2-9 per cent. ; 1912, 3-3 per cent. ; 1913, 3-1 per cent. ; 1914, 3-6 per cent. ; 1915, 3-2 per cent. The rate of increase is therefore fairly uniform. The increase is greater in the North Island than in the South Island, the rates for 1915 being 3-6 per cent, and 2-4 per cent, respectively. The table below shows the mean average roll number for every fifth year from 1878 to 1903, and for each of the last twelve years ; the table gives also the total average attendance for each year, the average attendance as a percentage of the roll (including secondary departments of district high schools), and the number of teachers employed in the public schools.

Schools, Attendance, and Teachers.

3

Mean of Average Weekly Roll. Roll Number Including Second- | Excluding Second- Including Secondary Departments \ ary Departments i ary Departments of Distriot High of Distriot High ' of District High Sohools. Sohools. Schools. t end of Year. Excluding Secondary Departments of District High Sohools. fear 1915 . . fear 1914 181,229 178,827 183,214 175,570 173,470 178,509 181,112 176,613 Increase in 1915 5,659 5,357 4,705 5,659 5,357 4,705 4,499 Increase per cent in 1915 .. 3-2 3-1 2-6 3-2 3-1 2-6 2-5

Number of Teachers Year. Number of Schools. Koll Whole Year. Average Attendance as Percentage of Weekly Koll. Adults, Pup lil-teachi Bl'S. M. F. Total. J M. I [ P. ; Total. 1878 .. 1883 .. 1888 .. 1893 .. 1898 .. 1903 .. 1905 .. 1900 .. 1907 .. 1908 .. .. 1909 .. 1910 .. 1911 1912 .. 1913 .. 1914 .. 1915 .. 748 971 1,158 1,375 1,055 1,786 1,851 1,921 1,963 1,998 2,057 2,096 2,166 2,214 2,255 2,301 2,338 90,859 113,636 125,692 133,782 134,748 138,471 140,320 141,946 145,974 151,142 154,756 159,299 164,492 169,530 175,570 181,229 *48,773 09,838 190,108 {100,321 111,636 113,047 120,205 121,958 120,020 127,160 132,773 135,738 142,186 146,282 151,242 158,134 163,092 76-9 79-3 79-8 83-4 83-9 86-9 86-9 84-6 87-1 87-8 87-7 89-3 88-9 89'2 90'1 90-0 707 454 1,161 j 118 905 656 1,561 j 159 1,039 887 1,926 i 219 1,107 1,096 2,203 , 238 1,234 1,370 ! 2,604 229 1,270 1,720 ] 2,996 ! 147 1,302 1,835 i 3,137 j 151 1,314 1,887 3,201 '■ 153 1,332 1,955 3,287 172 1,331 2,021 3,352 161 1,406 2,208 3,614 166 1,456 2,252 3,708 174 1,493 2,351 3,844 179 1,555 2,550 4,105 162 1,003 2,059 4,262 142 '1,628 2,820 4,448 139 1,591 3,077 4,668 141 332 571 694 825 831 552 528 518 478 476 530 526 528 476 474 470 485 450 730 913 1,003 1,060 699 679 671 650 637 696 §700 §707 §638 §616 §609 §626 * Average of three quarte: ■s. I So •ict average I. t Worki; ag average. § Exclusive of male and female p: fobatioi tors.