Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 1946. POLICY OF SILENCE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 66, Issue 269, 26 August 1946, Page 2

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 1946. POLICY OF SILENCE

If it is good, enough for affairs of State to be given the widest publicity, even to the extent of being broadcasted, then there can be few valid reasons for local bodies pursuing a policy of silence in the conduct of their affairs. At Friday’s meeting of the Canterbury Education Board, one of the South Canterbury members, Mr A. E. Lawrence, saw fit to take the Board to task for the custom it has followed over the last 25 years of going into committee to consider reports, in suggesting a change in a system which- he contended did the Board no good, Mr Lawrence was castigated by the chairman for “playing to the press.” This jibe by the chairman was a very poor defence of a system which has denied very valuable information to thousands in the Board’s area who are vitally interested in educational affairs, and who have been denied practically all knowledge of the Board’s activities and the views of members on matters of interest to the various communities. Mr Lawrence is a journalist of many years’ standing, and one who has always taken an intelligent interest in educational matters, particularly as they affect the primary schools. So much so that some years ago he was appointed a member of the Primary Schools’ Syllabus Revision Committee, and was one of three members of that committee who brought down a minority report. No member of the Board is better qualified to discuss the publicity aspect of the Board’s affairs, and so the chairman’s charge of “playing to the press” falls very flat. ■ We agree entirely with Mr Lawrence’s assertion that people are dissatisfied with the Board simply because they do not know what is going on, and that dissatisfaction was given expression to in the recent election of a member to represent this district on the Board. As was pointed out by Mr Lawrence, there are 10 newspapers in the Board’s area outside Christchurch, and they are all dependent on the city papers for information concerning Board meetings. These reports, for the most part, concern only appointments and resignations, and most of the latter are known before they reach the Board. The adoption of Mr Lawrence’s suggestion that copies of reports should be forwarded to all papers in the Board’s area so that they can take out matters applicable to their own area would be warmly welcomed, and would enable committees and householders to gain more, information than has been possible in the past. Mr Lawrence is to be commended on having attacked a system which is not confined to the Education Board; a majority of local bodies suffer . from the same complaint, and this policy of silence is one which can, only iesult in harm to local bodies concerned. It is interesting to note that as a result of the discussion, the Board in future intends to release all but strictly confidential reports.