TEACHERS' SALARIES.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 13006, 7 January 1908, Page 3

TEACHERS' SALARIES.

(special to -'the tress.'"} AUCKLAND, January 6.. At the Annual eoniereuco of the New Zeaiaud Educational Institute, wlxich concluded on Saturday night, toino interesting camparisoas wore uiado regiuxling the- salaries paid to teaohons and race© p*id to servants in otJaer branches oi tho pubuc service. 1114; truui v lurkinujy oouijmed siatoni*irt, Mr &aid tiiat there were now 0.1 pupil leacher* receiving from SC'lo to £00 a yt-ar, or a rate equivalem. xo that received by a lettor boy in the Postal Department at the age of 1U years. 'iu«re were /OS aduit leachers (who were cxpecuxl to bo trajjuxl ami ceniheateU) in receipt of from JL4U to £'J5, or equal to the earnings ot boy porturs, tirst to fourUi-year cadets, and cieauors in the Railway Department. The number ot trooluu-s roeeivnu; from £100 to JJlliU \va*> Gl)s, und the corresponding service in regard to piiymeti.t wa» tlia-t performed by doci lianiLs on Ciovonimtut steanion>, porters, labourers, fencers, cntosing-keepprs, and fifth-year cadets. Teachers to the number of 4,1G were paid from £120 to i'loO, and simitar payment was given to liorse «nd crane drivers, secoiKi-ela-ss guards, etc. '1 ho salaries of 212 -nvachors ransixl from 1170 to £ISO, ai»l the same romuuoration was paid to c-a rpenwrs and hians.smiths and t<>iuh-yr<id<> raUway traffic clerks. Aftor quAtinß many similar compan sons, the «pvaUer s;ii<l all subsequent n>qursts for iiu-reases h;i<l heon mt>t liy I>ointing to the large amount of th»cducation vote, wliich coultl not bo further materially increased. The recent increases in. the salaries of railway servants had involved an annual increase of expenditure to the extent of i'tiO.OOO. rising with overtime to I'll 1,000. Yet in spit© of the state of affairs disclosed by those comparisons, the Minister had stated that in reoonsiderint; the scale of salaries during the present recces he could not do more than make a few adjustments and increases .amounting in all to 1 •>• or £4000. If it required i-M),000 a year to put the payment oi teachers on a proper basis, t-ie Government should grant that sum, as they did in the case of the railway servants. It was interesting, ho said, to note that the New South "WaW Parliament had just passed regulations raisin"- the salaries of teachers to tho extent of £58,000 a year. Mr W. H. Ctork (Southland), reviewing the position for tho last twenty years, said that, in 188<> £325,097' was paid in salaries to 2*21 teachers in New Zealand, including 917 pupil teachers. In 189fi the total payment was £395,831, distributed amongst 3515 teachers, including 1043 pupil teachers, whilst in 1906 £478,000 was received by 3872 teachers, including 518 pupil* teachers. During the twenty years, the number of pupils had increased 40 per cent., whilst the total amount paid as salary had increased . r io per cent. Calculate.! on the same basii as in 1886, the amount paid in. 190e would have been £406,000. Tho net increase was thus about £72,000, or about 15 per cent, above what was paid twenty years ago. Tho great increase in the education rote, of which they heard so much, had not occurred in teachers' salaries. In 1886 primary school teachers' salaries amounted to about 70 per cent, of the education vote, 1/tit in 1906 tho salaries were very little over one half of tho total votii of £013,GG0. Mr F. Hilgendorf (Otago) said +hat railway cadets received £50, £65. £80, and £95 a year, sis compared with £25, £35. £45, and £55 paid to pupil teachers.