EDUCATION BUILDINGS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 247, 18 October 1922, Page 9

EDUCATION BUILDINGS.

LAST YEAR'S OPERATIONS. HALF A MILLION; SPENT. (By Telegraph -rarliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON', Tuesday. During the past financial year the expenditure on educational buildinjrs was £.505,070— £.~>ti3,20l from the Education Loans Account, and £:>,4Ci'J from the Public Works fund, the latter amount being expenditure not provided for by the Education Purposes Loans Act. 191!). says the Public statement. lii is expenditure exceeded by over J-100.000 that for tlie previous year, which was at that time a record. The large expenditure was owing to the fact that during war-time the amount approved for the erection of educational building? was reduced to a minimum, and after the war closed very substantial giants were approved to overtake the arrears of urgent works, the cost of which had preatly increased. .So difficult was it. however, to obtain the necessary labour and materials that there was considerable delay in carrying out the work, and consequently much of the expenditure during the past year had reference to authorities •riven* during previous financial years. In this connection it may 'be pointed out that, while at the end of the financial year 1920-21 the unexpended commitments were .C525.G61. at the end of the last financial year the amount was only £360.760. Of the total expenditure for last year £328,228 was for primary schools. £101.l<1!) for teehni-cal-schnol buildings. £51.107 for secondary schools, and Oil.OTl for University buildings. Circumstances, however, necessitated a considerable curtailment of sums approved for new buildings, and the total new grants for the year were only Cm.1,424, as against £724.0<12 for the previous year. Grants were confined to cases of the greatest urgency, and were made as far as possible for actual school accommodation, chiefly in hackblock districts. Wherever possible, temporary accommodation in the form of rented ■buildings is being utilised in lieu of providing permanent buildings. At the close of the year there were before the department applications amounting, under all heads, to £600.376, of which £401.-103 had reference to publicschools. The urgent necessity of providing funds fur the many' pressing requirements is fully recognised, and it is hoped, in the not-far-distant future, to revert (o the .progressive luiilding policy initiated a few years ago.