SCHOOL CAPITATION GRANTS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 101, 29 April 1910, Page 5

SCHOOL CAPITATION GRANTS.

HON. G. TOW-DS _NT_-"vT_WE_V

(By. Telegraph.—Press Association.)

W_____JG-_N, this day. i

Asked by a "Post* reporter if he hinl any__ng to say regarding the criticismi at a meeting of the North Canterbury Ed-catioh _o_Td, relative to'"a recent' interview with him on the question of capitation grants to school committees, Mr Fowlds replied:—-' .

"The only thing I have to say is- that the -statements made and the fig-res quoted at the meeting of the Board prove" the truth of my <»nt—rtioiu In the interview referred t0,.1 did not say that 'all' Ed-cation Boards had reduced the amount, of their grants to school comniittees ■'■ in consequence of the special capitation-grant of9d. -What I did say; was that : 'soine Boards' had elthej £pn_ that, or had ihereased the amount of work that they required the committees to do, and the figures quoted at the. mee_ing, of the.Board.referred to proved tha. statement to. a demonsfcratioE; It- was there said that the North Canterbury; Board had paid over to committees no less than. 8/ out of a total 12/.of--'tha capit—tion. __it—Soard receiveoV and •thai; some of the other Boards' gave- onlT 4m. ...;.:: • ! :•'-■ ■ -. : Ji

"The..—ilount of..work that"_i"e"-com--d-te_3 in each case axe" expected to do •with the money," contained "the" Mi-is-ter, "is not shown, and, therefdrej . the comparison; is not quite complete." Taking the figures as they stand, however, I'contend, that it is not fair: thai:.committees- in some education 'dJefcricts should ha.ye" to struggle through with 4/0} of capitation, whpe committees in other parts of the Don—_io_. are receiving twice that amio_nt, and; that no satisfactory solution of the." difficulty, from a .committee's point 6£ view,'- ca_ be arrived at, while merely voting to School Committees a capifati on of Od. for the—• _ssistance. : -'..~.~:

"Anyone can see that this" amount is totally -——equate,. and, -if 9d/_; to be voted specially, why should not the whole of the amount required by con__ttees be" voted in one sum? Either the whole — _fount required for committees ought to be voted direct, or the whole —mount ought to be voted to "B6_r_s, with an indication from .Parliament as to the manner of its alloc—tion. The discussion the meeting of" the ; North -Canterbury _—.ucation Board shows the tendency of ■each Board to look at what.are hatiional questions purely from the,point of yiew,: of local experience, while- the Minister of Education has to look ai them from a national standpoint, and a system, that may be work—ig sat-rfactorily intone d—trict is not' necessarily .wprked satis_tctorily taking the Dominion as a whole."