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No special provision has been made by the Government in the direction of establishing secondary schools for Maoris, but in lieu thereof an arrangement has been made whereby a considerable number of junior scholarships shall be tenable at several of the boarding-schools referred to above. These junior scholarships were established primarily in the interests of the Native village schools, but they are not necessarily confined to pupils from these schools. In this connection, however, it must be borne in mind that Maori scholars living in or near European communities and attending public schools are entitled, if qualified, to attend the ordinary public secondary schools, district high schools, or technical high schools. The attendance of similarly qualified pupils from Native village schools is a very different matter. Further assistance in the interests of Maori secondary education is provided by the Government by the award of senior scholarships, and also of University scholarships, by means of which the more promising Maori scholars are enabled to qualify themselves for some profession or work likely to be of service to the Maori race. In the girls' boarding-schools prominence is given to practical and useful training, and thus, in addition to the ordinary school subjects, instruction is given to the following subjects : Needlework and dressmaking; cookery and general domestic duties; first-aid and nursing, hygiene, care and rearing of infants ; preparation of food for infants and for the sick. In the general work of the institutions the girls take a prominent part. In places where it is convenient the girls attend the cookery classes at the manual-training centre. The girls during their attendance at these schools are well cared for, and there is little doubt that they derive great benefit from their training. In the boys' schools practical training, chiefly in direction of instruction in woodwork and agriculture, receives particular attention. Where it is possible the boys also attend a technical school for instruction. Both, at Te Aute College and Wesley College, where there are farms, provision is made for agricultural training. The annual reports upon the boarding-schools indicate that very good work is being done. In the public examinations—the Intermediate Examination, the Public Service Entrance Examination, and the Matriculation Examination—the success of Maori scholars is very satisfactory. That the Maori boarding-schools are exercising an uplifting influence on the Maori people and materially assisting in the general advancement of the race is undoubted. At the end of the year 1926 the number of pupils on the rolls of the secondary schools was 345 boys and 225 girls, a total of 570, and of this number 145 pupils were holders of Government scholarships. ScHOLAK,SHIPS. In the interests of secondary education for Maori scholars the Government has instituted a system of scholarships. The scholarships are as follows: (1) Junior scholarships or free places; (2) senior scholarships—(a) industrial scholarships or apprenticeships, (b) agricultural scholarships, (c) nursing scholarships ; (3) University scholarships. The junior scholarships, which are of the annual value of £30 and are tenable for two years, are available for suitably qualified and accredited scholars from Native village schools and also from public schools. The pupils attending the village schools and their parents are keenly alive to the benefits accruing from a course of training in advance of that possible in the village school, but this keenness is not nearly so noticeable in the case of the Maori parents of children attending public schools. The number of scholarships available each year is limited, and consideration can necessarily be given only to the applications which are received by the Department. During the year Wesley College, Paerata, was included in the list of schools at which Government junior scholarships may be ■ tenable, and provision was accordingly made for twelve scholarships to be tenable at the College. The total number of junior scholarships available is 175, and these are allotted to ten different schools ; of this number 147 were current at the end of the year 1926. As far as the senior scholarships are concerned, the remarks made in last year's report in regard to industrial scholarships or apprenticeships are still applicable. The demand for them is negligible, and only two such scholarships were current during the year. Many of the boys after the completion of their period as junior scholars find employment in different directions, one of the most attractive fields of employment being the Railway service ; others return to the schools to continue their course of study in order to qualify for the public examinations. In the case of the girls many of them at the expiration of their scholarships find employment as junior teachers in the village schools. The agricultural scholarships are available for lads who have spent two years at an approved school as the holders of junior scholarships. The agricultural scholarships are tenable at some school where a suitable agricultural course is provided or at a State farm, or the lads may be placed upon approved farms for instruction and training. Five agricultural scholarships were current during the year, and all were tenable at Te Aute College. Nursing scholarships for qualified girls who wish to become nurses are tenable at certain hospitals. There is no great demand for nursing scholarships now, and there were no such scholarships during 1926. In some parts of the Dominion the Health Department undertakes the selection and placing of girls in hospitals for training. When the girls become fully qualified nurses work is found for them amongst the Maori people by the Health Department. The Department provides two University scholarships annually for Maori students who have matriculated and are desirous of taking up some profession with a view to working for the benefit of the race. At the end of the year ten such scholarships were current —three students (two medicine and one theology 1 * at Otago University; four students (three law and one arts) at Canterbury College. Another Maori student who is assisted by the Native Department is studying law at Canterbury College, and two dental bursaries are held by Maoris at Otago University. One additional scholarship has been awarded for the current year, there being no other applications.

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