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E.—l

in technical high schools, and 108 in Maori secondary schools. The number represents 94 per cent, of the pupils of all Government schools affording secondary education. The following table gives details of the free places held in 1921 and 1922 :— Free Places in December, 1921 and 1922. , -1921. , , 1922. , (l.) Secondary schools— Boys. Girls. Total. Boys. Girls. Total, (a.) Junior free pupils .. 2,713 2,941 5,654 3,472 3,222 6,694 (b.) Senior free pupils .. 1,723 1,163 2,886 1,536 1,216 2,752 Totals .. .. 4,436 4,104 8,540 5,008 4,438 9,446 (ii.) District high schools — (a.) Junior free pupils .. 841 870 1,71.1 1,033 1,063 2,096 (b.) Senior free pupils .. 145 173 3.18 181 215 396 Totals .. .. 986 1,043 2,029 1,214 1,278 2,492 (iii.) Maori secondary schools .. 50 62 112 52 56 108 (iv.) Technical, high, sohools— (a.) Junior free pupils .. 1,415 1,202 2,647 1,881 1,461 3,342 (b.) Senior free pupils . . 232 261 493 337 300 637 Totals .. .. 1,677 1,463 3,140 2,218 1,761 3,979 Grand totals .. .. 7,149 6,672 13,821 8,492 7,533 16,025 Scholarships held at Secondary Schools and District High Schools. (See also Tables K4 and K5 in E.-6.) National Scholarships. Junior and Senior National Scholarships are awarded by the Government on the results of annual examinations, the junior examination being of a standard somewhat higher than that of the certificate of proficiency, and the candidates being not over fourteen years of age ; and the senior examination being of a standard comparable with the standard of the Public Service Entrance Examination, the candidates being not over sixteen years of age. Scholarships are awarded to all candidates reaching a certain standard, the standard of award being determined so as approximately to provide one scholarship (junior or senior) for every 500 children in attendance at all public schools ; the Junior and Senior Scholarships awarded are in the proportion of nine to five, so that there is one Junior Scholarship among approximately every 750 pupils in attendance at the schools, or among every fifty-five S6 pupils. The standard of qualification fixed for the examinations of 1922 was 63| per cent, for Junior Scholarships and 64| for Senior Scholarships. In order to give better opportunities to country pupils, who are considerably handicapped in preparing for these examinations, the regulations were amended in 1922 to provide for the award of not less than twenty-five junior scholarships to qualifying candidates from schools not higher than Grade IIIa (eighty pupils). In order to assist them to qualify, compensating marks may be allotted to candidates from such small schools : 10 per cent, of the marks actually assigned to pupils from the smallest schools (one to twenty pupils) and 5 per cent, to pupils of Grade II schools (twenty-one to thirty-five pupils). The results of the examination were as follows : 231 candidates qualified for Junior National Scholarships, of which number twent3* r -five were from schools with not more than eighty pupils and fifty-seven were pupils of secondary schools. The number of candidates qualifying for Senior National Scholarships was 130. Of those who took the alternative programme, provided specially to meet the needs of scholars following a rural or domestic course, none were successful. Junior and Senior National Scholarships are tenable at secondary schools and district high schools, each for three years, provided that the total tenure of the two scholarships in the case of one person must not exceed five years. The holder receives £5 per annum if a junior scholar, or £10 per annum if a senior scholar, with a further sum of £35 per annum in each case if obliged to live away from home. A revision of the scholarship system with a view to expending the money involved more profitably is at present under consideration.

s—B. 1.