Minister Asked To Review Teachers' Maternity Leave

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29182, 18 April 1960, Page 13

Minister Asked To Review Teachers' Maternity Leave

The Minister of Education (Mr Skoglund) will be asked to review the maternity leave regulations for married women teachers because the Canterbury School Committees’ Association has received reports that they can result in a class being without a permanent teacher for as long as 12 months.

A Papanui School Committee delegate, who raised the matter said he wished to make a statement in fairness to the teacher involved in a case he quoted earlier. The Education Board had explained that a teacher could receive six weeks pre?natal leave on full pay and then another six weeks leave on full pay provided she returned to her position within six months after the birth. This teacher had made it clear that she did not intend to return to teaching, and yet the full six months was allowed to elapse before a permanent replacement was sought and it would be almost a year before the new teacher settled in. As this period covered parts of two years in which the pupils remained in a composite class of

standard V and standard VI, they had been under a variety of relieving teachers and must inevitably had suffered from lack of continuity in teaching and in control. The delegate said that while the Papanui committee appreciated that the regulations protected the rights of married women teachers, and helped to retain their services in a time of shortage, these interests should be subordinated to the welfare of pupils, which should be paramount.

The public was becoming increasingly aware of the effects of these maternity leave regulations, so much so that a question would be asked early in the next session of Parliament, the delegate said. He understood teachers themselves were concerned and that one headmaster had four applications for maternity leave “on his table at the moment.”

It was agreed to approach the Minister and advise the School Committees’ Federation and the New Zealand Educatios Institute of thia move.