EDUCATION SERVICE

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 82, 3 October 1929, Page 7

EDUCATION SERVICE

,THE RETUEN FOE COST

IS IT ADEQUATE?

The debate on the report of the Mm-, jster of Education, initiated in the' Legislative Council yesterday by the Hon. G. SI. Thomson, was adjourned after discussion which lasted for about an hour and a quarter. Mr. Thomson thought the high schools should be devoted to preparation, for the professions, and that the time given to classic languages in the secondary schools could be better devoted to the teaching of other subjects. The mere smatterings given in. Latin and French in two or three years in the secondary schools should be replaced by founda-t-ional work in other directions. He commended the idea of directing the minds of children of 11 0r.12 years of : age. towards training f or^heir future occupations, but rfcmarkiß that unfortunately in a.great number of cases the qhildren.had-no choice/ but were obliged ijo go out into the world and take whateyer'work they could get, force of cirQumstances: obliging tfiem to seek to e.arn;.a living. The encouragement of land; settlement was desirable, but the ■bulk'of.:thei land in New Zealand was too ','•■■, , ' ■ - . /'The,- Eight Hon. Sir Francis "Bell: V-Are you against the bias, then?'? ..•Mr. Thomson:'/No, I am . against the suggested application of it." The average pay of the unskilled worker .in fee Dominion was far top high, and no farmer, could afford "to pay 14s a day for "eight hours' work. The speaker said- every effort, should be made to redeem, defective children, but we •hould not neglect the first-rate pupils. He deprecated the atmosphere of snobbery at 'some of the high schools, and said he would like to see the secondary and. technical schools put on the same basis. He regarded the junior ,high school system as an expensive experiment which could be replaced by an adjustment of the higher classes in the primary schools. CHILD WELFARE. _ The Hon. J. ,Barr took strong exception to the suggestion that no man was •worth 14s a day for farm work. He agreed there was a tendency for the glorification of particular educational institutions by those in charge; the secondary department should not overshadow the technical. Eef erring to the cost of education, Mr. Barr raised the question as to whether we were getting value for the annual education bill, and expressed the opinion that at present value was not being obtained. Evidence had come under his notice of gross mismanagement in the control of some schools, and he complained that' at pre-! sent there was .'an1 altogether'unnecessary duplication of. officials in the education systenv : The preparation of plans for schools should be centralised Jn the Education Department. Mr. Barr advocated co-ordination of the social services carried but by -various institutions in the interests of child welfare, and said the. time was overdue for. a special department to be set up with that end in vicwl At present ' tiiere were" great leakages of moneys in that? respect. XEOLECT Df COUNTRY DISTRICTS. -The Hon. 'V. H. Reed agreed that seryie'e was not being given for the amount of. money being spent on educati<)iQj'.particularly in the country dis-. trictsj- where the system was confined largely to primary schools and where tho: inferior, teachers were stationed. In itiany instances he thought teachers ■were' overpaid for the' services they rendered. He contended that teachers' superannuation should be based on the highest' position they attained in,'the., service, and that if a. man was graded down in his advancing he would, not be penalised. There had. been no advance in the last thirty years in educational facilities in the country districts, and though the consolidation scheme: had come into being he regretted that parents did not realise the advantages of "that system sufficiently to make it really effective. The introduction of junior high schools would only add to the already high expenditure. He would like to see the system remodelled so as to enable tho pupils to follow chosen avocations for their after-life. The :■ debate was adjourned, on the motion of the Hon. A. S. Malcolm.