THE ESTIMATES.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18177, 13 September 1924, Page 13

THE ESTIMATES.

YESTERDAY'S WORE IN THE HOUSE.

(A3E.UXJKO ffiSSS XaSOCUTIOS aIPOEt.)

WELLINGTON. September 12

! Early thi3 afternoon the Houso of Representatives went into Committee of Supply for further consideration of the Estimates. The first item taken was the Education vote of £J,70y.88"2. "Members are asking the Education Department to subsidise the family •moke,' because we subsidise the trap in which children drive to school, said Mr Pair, replying to a suggestion that it was oulv fair that an allowance should be given in the case of children who rode or cvcled to school. Mr E A. Ransom pointed out that owing to tale dangerous nature of the roads it was tetter for children to oe on a horse or a cycle than in a vehicle. The Minister recalled how he used M ride to school with his little sister perched behind him. 'Hie upkeep ot the old family "moko," he said, was not much. Ho thought a shilling a week would cover it, for a pony could «'ot picking at the roadside. "Mr J. A. Lee: There axe poundkeepera about. Mr Ransom: It is transport we warnsubsidised. . . The Minister said the subject had been one of continual complaint. The scheme of subsidising was originated bv the Hon. J. A. Hanan when he was Minister of Education, and it had gi.eu the Education Department trouble ever since. There were about 15.000 or 1(3,000 children who rode to school. Children riding over three miles would be in the majority. It would cost between £23,000 and £30,000 add.tional to subsidise the horse. In the matter of school classes, ho said lie thought a class of forty was quite workable. He proceeded to give some particulars of the correspondence system initiated by the Education Department. There were, he said, hundreds of ohildren in New Zealand who could not possibly attend school; children of settlera in out of the way backblock areas, children of shepherds, and children of lighthouse keepers. Tho problem of giving them an education had been effectively solved by tho formation of correspondence cl- 6ess. Wl :en these correspondence classes were first started there were p.hout twenty pupils enrolled, but today thero were over 500 children being taught by correspondence. He denied a suggestion that the Education Department tried to avoid the responsibility of providing schools by substi-. j tilting this form of teaching, which, he I said, was essentially for a family practically cut off from civilisation. The I results were excellent. The Chief In- | specter found that in many cases the ; children were making better progress | than those at an ordinary school, and some of the pupils were far enough on [ to go to High School. ! Mr H. E. Holland, referring to the | Minister's statement tVot classe; should [ not exceed forty children, said this i number was too large. He conteuded that women teachers should be paid at the same rate as men for equal work. He moved the reduction of the total vote by £1 as an indication that women teachers should receive equal pay to men for equal work. The Minister, in reply, said he was in receipt of representations on this subject from women teachers, and had replied that theso representations must come to him througii the Educational Institute. In no part of the world, so far as ke was aware, was there an education system under whicli women teachers received the some pay as men. He considered that no women teiichers in anv other country were so well paid as in" New Zealand. There were 2300 women teachers, most of whom were single, without responsibilities, and were receiving salaries ranging from £o to £8 weekly, and quite a number ot single women in charge of infant rchools received £4OO annually. To bring their salaries up to tho level of men would absorb another £400,000. Mr Holland asked if the Minister did not think women were doing equal work. The Minister repied that was not Ins contention. The family responsibilities of men should be recognised. It was a question whether it paid the State to encourage women teachers. It cost something like £3OO to train them; then, just as they were becoming useful teachers, they got married, or left for some purpose of their own, and that was an economic loss to the State. Mr Holland said u;at, so far as tho familv aspect of the case was concerned he was prepared to join with the Minister to fix r. basic wage for teachers, with the addition of a family allowance for both men and women. The Hon. J. A. Hanan said that on the abstract question of equal pay for equal work he did not see how it could be evaded, and he thought the Minister should recognise it. ... Mr P. Fraser said he had found that women teachers did not want to interfere with married men's allowances, but they insisted that there should be equal pay for equal service. Commenting upon this Mr Fraser said he did not consider that there could be differentiation between men and women teachers, in tho matter of ability, on account of sex. Mr R. A. Wright said he could not see how they could escape from recognising that the basic Balary attaching to any position should be paid to whoever performed the duties involved. This did not mean that married men should not get an additional allowance on account of their family responsibilities.

The Minister said Mr Holland had stated that he would make an allowance for married men, but his motion ignored this. Would Mr Holland consider, say, £ICO per annum, a. fair allowance to male teachers above the amount paid to women? That was the effect of the present scale of pay. Single men teachers must receive something more than single women, as the foriner had to be enabled to make provision for establishing homes for themselves. Mr Isitt said Mr Holland's proposal was not a Dracticable one.

Mr S. G. Smith complained of the involved nature of the' present scale of payment, which made it difficult for teachers to work out their salaries. The Minister had too much power to alter salaries which were now out of the hands of Parliament which ought to control them. He supported the amendment.

The Minister pointed out that the present scale was not unfair to permanent women teachers, about 1900 in number. Of these over 50 per cent, received from £250 to £3OO per annum, and the lowest paid, 6 per cent, of the total, received £IBO, or £3 10a weekly. At 'lO.o p.m. Mr Holland's amendment was put to the vote and defeated by 29 votes to 27.

Mr McKcen moved as an amendment that the total vote be reduced by £9, as an indication that the staffing of schools should be based on average attendance. At 12.15 a.m. the Education vote was passed. The votes for the Crown Law Office. £5233. and Justice Department', £46.065, were passed practically without diseussion. After a brief discussion the amendment was defeated by 32 votes to 20.