NEW SCHOOL BUILDINGS Additional Funds Possible

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28541, 21 March 1958, Page 10

NEW SCHOOL BUILDINGS Additional Funds Possible

(New Zealand Press Association) TIMARU. March 20.

The Minister of Education (Mr Skoglund) is optimistic about nis chances of receiving an additional grant of £1 million this year for expenditure on new school buildings. Today he told the annual conference of the Dominion Federation of School Committees Associations that the Government believed the Health and Education Departments should not "go short of fupds.” Last year £8 million had been spent by the Government on new buildings and he hoped £9 million would be. available this year. But this did not mean that every application for new buildings could be approved.

Applications by boards already had been “pruned with a fine toothcomb” and in qiany cases proposals had been turned down. Mr Skoglund said that if he did not receive the higher grant the building programme would have to be cut by about 20 per cent., because already about £3.500.000 had been committed.

A considerable sum of money had to be made available for university education because on present indications the number of university students would be doubled in about six or seven years, and the planning and building of one university took about six years. The Government also had to find money for specialist equipment and this was a major problem for decision, said the Minister.