TRAINING OF TEACHERS

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28984, 27 August 1959, Page 9

TRAINING OF TEACHERS

Studentships’

Value

"The Press" Special Service WELLINGTON, August 26. Until such time as the annual value of studentships was equal to the annual payments to training college students entering primary teaching, they would remain a deterrent rather than an attraction to entry into post-primary teaching, said Mr O. Conibear in his presidential address to the New Zealand Secondary School Boards’ Association conference.

A further reason for raising the annual value of the studentships was the higher educational qualifications required for post-primary teaching which necessitated in the first instance, one or two years longer at post-primary school and not less than two years longer at university than the period required at training college of recruits taking up careers as primary school teachers, said Mr Conibear. The primary teacher who entered training college the year after, passing the School Certificate examination received a total remuneration of £3755 by the time a post-primary teacher took up his first appointment and who was in the fifth form at the same time as the primary teacher. “Total remuneration of the post-primary teacher on the same date would be £2020 only, that is £1735 less. It takes many years for the postprimary teacher to overtake the difference. Is it any wonder that so many who are capable and suitable turn away from post-primary teaching as a career?” he sked. “We cannot shut our eyes to the presence of sub-standard education. For this reason concern has already been expressed for the intellectually bright, otherwise known as the academic group, and their preparation for higher education. Let us not in our concern for the academic pupils overlook the adverse effect of the serious shortage of qualified teachers and the employment of unqualified teachers in the education of the much larger group, the pupils of average ability, who are more dependent on teacher aid than are the intellectually bright,” said Mr Conibear. “It is our duty as administrators of post-primary schools to see that such a state of affairs is not tolerated for long. That is our responsibility in the interests of all post-primary pupils, not just one group or another,” he said.