NECESSITIES FIRST

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18947, 11 March 1927, Page 13

NECESSITIES FIRST

EDUCATION POLICY, MINISTER'S VIEWS ON EXPENDITURE. [THE F££S3 Special Service.] AUCKLAND, March 10. ''Whatever else goes, the primary schools must be attended to," said the Minister for Education (the Hon. Mr Wright) speaking at Otahuhu. A policy of "necessities first" would be followed, he said, in deciding the details of expenditure of the funds Parliament placed at his disposal for education. There are in New Zealand a number of cases of two teachers instructing different classes in one room, and that is educationally wrong," the Minister said. "The reason for this lies in the fact that the Departmont has not been able to provide more rooms. That position, however, must be met. We must pro■\ide the additional ai conunodation required in the primary schools, which are the foundation of our education system." He agreed that many of the classes were too large. Sir James Parr, when he was Minister for Education, and the Education Boards had tried to improve the situation. The Boards had no endowments, or most of them had not, and they could spend only what was allotted to them out of the funds voted bv Parliament.. If the Government could not see its way to increase the education vote, the primary schools must not be overlooked. "Necessities must come first," the Minister declared. He had been taken to task in Wellington because he had said that a school assembly hall and a gymnasium were luxuries. His remarks had been construed as an expression of opinion that he did not believe in these adjuncts to the schools. That was not the case, but he was not prepared, as Minister, to find the money for them while essentials were lacking. Primary schools and secondary schools, too, were lacking the essentials for their existence. It was not a question of opposing the construction of assembly halls and gymnasia, but of spending the money available to the best advantage. The building of halls, etc., might be all right when the money required was found by those interested in the various schools, or from outside sources, but it was another question when lie had to find the money out of the funds allotted him. "When I have found the money for j the essentials," the Minister added, i "I will be readv to spend 011 the 'frills'." " I

Mr Wright mentioned that lie had introduced a new system of book-keep-ing in the Department, which would enable him to keep a better check on expenditure. He was not blaming anybody, but in the past grants had been allocated for various school works, and the expenditure of them had not always been authorised. The accumulation of these grants and the carrying of them over from year to year, had rendered it difficult to keep a full check of the finances of the Department. The new book-keeping system would enable the Department to ascertain exactly where it stood from day to day.