Primary Schools Hampered By Over-Large Classes

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28182, 22 January 1957, Page 3

Primary Schools Hampered By Over-Large Classes

“Ever since education had been made compulsory by the 1877 Education Act the primary school service in New Zealand had been hampered by over-large classes.” said the president of the New Zealand Educational Institute (Mr C. B. Lewis, of Wanganui) at the official opening of the institute’s Dominion executive meeting yesterday. “The burden of the sudden increase in mil numbers after 1877 was shouldered by the teachers and ever since then it has been looked on as the natural state of affairs that primary classes should be larger than post-orimary classes.” said Mr Lewis. “Tn effect, this meant that the younger the child the less care and attention he required, but we know <hat the opposite is required.” Not the “Huge Classes”

“It is true that teachers today do not have the huge classes of up to 100 children, but the changed outlook now adopted by the teaching profession and encouraged by the Education Department has led successive annual meetings of the institute to oass remits asking with greater urgency each year for a reduction ? n the s ; ze nf classes. The education authorities agree on the necessity for smaller classes but replv that nothing can be done at present. “The institute has asked for relief where the need is greatest, that is in sole-teacher schools with a role of .31 to -35. and in schools with a roll of .311 to 320. where the headmaster teaches a class. We have asked as a target a staffing ratio of one teacher to 40 children bv 1961 and one teacher to 35 pupils by 1964.” said MiLewis. For most of their lives children had seen primary school teachers at work under difficult conditions, he said, and this made recruiting of teachers difficult although entrance standards had been reduced to a dangerously low level. Children had seen teachers working with over-large classes, inadequate material and equipment, and poor staff room facilities. and they knew that teachers frequently had to supnlement their incomes during vacations. “Greater efforts must be made

to recruit trainees from the larger numbers who will be leaving secondary schools during the next few years, and now is the time to start building the new teachers’ college that will surely be needed.” he said. Recruiting from Britain Mr Lewis also said that the recruiting of teachers from Britain should be more fully exploited. “The institute has made repeated representations to various Ministers for reciprocal superannuation benefits for British and New Zealand teachers, but although there is provision for it in the 1947 Superannuation Act. nothing has been done.” Conditions and salaries must be improved so that the teaching service became its own best recruiting agent, he said. The return of married women and superannuated teachers to teaching had meant that the great difficulties under which teachers had been labouring had largely been hidden from the public. “Part of a teacher’s duty is to teach loyalty to the State, so let the State show its loyalty to teachers.” said Mr Lewis. Other speakers at the official opening were the Mayor of Christchurch (Mr R. M. Macfarlane, M.P.), who welcomed the delegates to the city, and Mr S. J. Irwin, chairman of the Canterbury Education Board.