E.—l

unable to rent suitable houses, and additions were made to many schools to relieve overcrowding. Amongst the schools where additions were completed were Awanui, Paeroa, St. Heliers, Silverstream, Kaikoura, Phillipstown, Cromwell, Dipton, Christchurch Boys' High School, Christchurch Girls' High School, and Waimate High School. In view of the large number of post-primary schools.requiring additional accommodation, and the impossibility of providing permanent additions immediately, arrangements were made to meet the needs of some schools by supplying temporary class-rooms of the prefabricated type. Major building works are now in progress at Cambridge, Kaitaia, Kirioke, Matainata, Ngatea, Orakei, Tauranga, Te Awamutu, Warkworth, Whangarei, Pakotai, Foxton, Tolaga Bay, Epuni, Paekakariki, Tapawera, Shirley Intermediate, Maheno, Pukerau, Tisbury, Tweed Street Intermediate, Epsom Girls' Grammar School, New Plymouth Girls' High School, Southland Girls' High School, Thames High School, Timaru Girls' High School, Wellington Girls' College, Otahuhu Technical High School, and the Girls' Home, Burwood. Child Welfare. —During the troubled war years conditions have existed in New Zealand that have, as I mentioned in previous reports, brought about some slight increase in juvenile delinquency, an increase considerably smaller, lam bound to say, than I had anticipated. No one, however, could view even the possibility of increase with complacency, and definite measures, detailed in my report for 1942, were put into operation to counteract as far as was humanly possible the operation of such conditions. No one can say exactly how far these measures have been efficacious, but, whatever the reason, I am pleased to be able to record that the figures for 1944 show a substantial decrease in child delinquency. The number of children appearing before the Courts for all offences fell from 2,493 in 1943 to 2,012 in 1944, a decrease of 481. During the past five years some increase has been noted in the number of children appearing for what may be termed the more serious offences. This rate, however, has also shown a decrease during 1944. This gain will, lam sure, be an encouragement to all those persons and organizations striving for the general welfare of children. There will, I know, be no relaxation of effort, bn t rather a stiffening of determination to fight even n lore strongly against those factors detrimentally affecting our young people. The establishment of new child welfare districts and the strengthening of the staff have enabled officers of the Branch to concentrate much more definitely and with most promising results on preventive work, an aspect of child welfare activity too frequently obscured by the prominence given to Court proceedings, particularly those connected with individual State wards, and to statistics of child delinquency. Undue concentration on these sections of child welfare work — necessary though they may be —tends to give a narrow and incomplete picture of the range and nature of the work of the Branch. While children already delinquent must continue to have such provision made for their care as will give them every opportunity of rehabilitating themselves and of becoming once more socially acceptable members of the community, the still more important-- though much, less known —work of preventing children tending towards waywardness from becoming delinquent must always be in the front line of the attack on this social problem. It is in this early detection and treatment of potential delinquency that the most valuable service is rendered to society, and it is in this direction that the major force of child welfare is moving. There still remains the need for the services of suitably trained persons and for the provision of specially designed courses of training. Financial.—The total expenditure on education, including expenditure from War Expenses Account and revenue from reserves vested in post-primary schools and University colleges, for the year ended 31st March, 1945, was £6,305,073. Pre-school. —The Education Conference recommended that I set up a consultative committee on pre-school educational services and also create the position of Supervisor of Pre-school Services on the Department's staff. Both of these steps will be taken early in 1945. Acknowledgments.—l wish to pay a tribute to the work of the teachers in the schools and also to the valuable service given by members of controlling authorities during a year in which, because of the war stiuation, difficulties have increased rather than lessened.

TABLES

Note.—Owing to the paper shortage several tables have again been omitted this year. They will be reinstated as soon as conditions permit. For particulars of expenditure on education, including capital expenditure on new buildings, &c., see the appendix to this report.

Table C1.—PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS BY Grade

6

Grade. Number of Schools. Grade. Number of Schools, I (1-8) .. .. .. 117 VA (191-230) .. .. .. 37 II (0-24) .. . . . . 050 VB (231-270) .. . . .. 37 IIIa (25-30) .. .. .. 141 Vc (271-310) .. .. .. 20 IIIb (31-70) .. .. .. 531 VD (311-350) .. .. .. 23 IVa (71-110) 181 VI (351-870) 171 IVb (111-150) ...... 87 IVo (151-190) .. .. .. 52 Total .. .. .. 2,053 Two half-time schools and forty-one schools with side schools attached are counted as separate schools.