Ē.— 3.

Maoei Secondary Schools. The Department has not established secondary schools of any kind especially for Maori pupils, but avails itself of those established by the various Churches which have been associated with the Maori from the earliest times, and provides for a limited number of free places for pupils who have gained certificates of proficiency in the village schools. It may be noted here that the qualification is now identical with that required in the case of the public-school free-place pupils. For similarly qualified Maori scholars from public schools a limited number of free places tenable at these Maori secondary schools and not interchangeable with the preceding ones is also provided by the Department. These are available, however, only to those who by birth are predominantly Maori— i.e., either full or three-quarter Maori, and who cannot by reason of distance attend any public secondary school. There were 156 free places from Native village schools held and eleven from public schools at the end of the year. Applications for the latter have become much more frequent this last year, and it would seem that the Department will have'to make a selection upon some other basis. Mention should be made of the fact that the Maori Purposes Fund Control Board has given valuable assistance to the free-place holders as well as providing Continuation Scholarships enabling the best pupils to continue their studies in the direction of equipping them to be leaders amongst Maoris. Visit op Director of Education. In the early part of the year the Director of Education paid a visit to the Native schools in the Far North —the first occasion in the history of the schools on which this has been done. He was thus able to make personal acquaintance not only with the teachers, pupils, and parents, but also with the general conditions under which the work is carried out. Many useful suggestions have been given effect to as a result of his recommendations. Attendance, etc. In the Native village schools the roll number at the end of the year was 7,070, an increase of ninety-one on that of the previous year. The average weekly roll number was 7,079-3, and the percentage of regularity was 90-9. There are very few cases in which compulsion must be resorted to. Included in the total roll above are 850 European children, made up of the children of the teacher and of Europeans in the district served by the school. Twenty years ago the number was 520, being 11 per cent, of the roll. The increase shows to some extent the expansion of settlement in the northern districts, The following table shows the attendance at all the schools especially engaged in Maori education :—

Conditions of Buildings and Grounds. The cleaning of the school is usually performed by the children under the supervision of the teachers, and there is every reason to be well satisfied with the result. The general sanitation is now under the supervision of the local Health officers, whose services are much appreciated in this important matter. The valuable indirect training due to the influence of tidy pleasing surroundings is well recognized by most Native-school teachers. During 1930 special efforts have been made to beautify and suitably lay out school-grounds. In a number of schools a comprehensive plan of school-ground improvement has been put on file. The work has been begun, and can now be carried on to completion even with a change of teachers. There is need for some such plan as this, for, whilst many of our school-grounds are models of what such surroundings should be, it cannot be denied that there are others whose permanent improvement will require some years of steady attention. Schools worthy of special mention for ground improvements during 1930 are Otaua, Matangirau, Te Ahu Ahu, Karetu, Tihitiki, Tohata, Mangatuna, and Manaia. The environment of the classrooms has needed attention in a number of cases. The spotless cleanliness of desks and floors is general throughout the Service, but more care might be given to the dusting of walls and to the hanging of suitable pictures. Nevertheless, a large number of the schools have been made more attractive inside by the teachers, who have procured pictures and other decorative devices to brighten up the walls and provide subject-matter for conversation work.

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„ , , 7sr„rnher Ro11 at ' End Average Weekly Average Percentage of bctl00ls - lNuniDer. 0 f Year. Roll Number. Attendance. Regularity. Native village .. .. 138 7,070 7,079-3 6,436-8 90-9 Maori mission .. .. 11 520 538-1 470-9 87-5 Maori secondary .. .. 12 535 528-6 513-6 97-2 161 8,125 8,146-0 .7,421-3 91-1