Submitted by admin on April 22, 2009 - 21:40
Post-primary Education
As the number of Maori village schools established by the Government increased, many of the private denominational schools withdrew from primary and concentrated on post-primary education. As the Government was not anxious to build secondary schools of its own, a system of scholarships was established to enable pupils in remote areas to board at denominational schools.
The establishment of district high schools in country areas and the migration to urban areas have resulted in steadily mounting numbers of Maoris attending State post-primary schools.
Concern has been expressed at the relatively small proportion of Maoris who have taken academic courses and continued their education in the fifth and sixth forms, but there are definite indications that the situation is improving.
The following table illustrates the rate of increase in the number of Maoris proceeding to post-primary schools.
Maori Pupils Attending Post-primary Schools | ||||
1898 | 1954 | 1958 | 1964 | |
Private denominational schools | 234 | 871 | 888 | 1,574 |
Public schools | .. | 4,165 | 5,597 | 10,012 |
Totals | 234 | 5,036 | 6,845 | 11,586 |