Board Deplores Delay Over College Contract

Press, Volume C, Issue 29508, 9 May 1961, Page 14

Board Deplores Delay Over College Contract

“We do not seem to be able to get anywhere on this,” said the chairman of the board of managers of Christchurch Technical College (Mr R. Jones) at a meeting of the board last evening. Mr Jones was discussing a report by the principal (Mr D. W. Lyall) that no decision had been reached on acceptance of a tender for the school’s £BO,OOO science block.

"We are told a lot of funny stories by the Department of Education,’’ Mr Jones said. “On the one hand we are told that the matter is before the Cabinet for a final decision, bu* when we make inquiries we find that it has not been placed there by the department

“I am concerned that the college has been bandied about in this manner,” Mr Jones said.

A tender was accepted by the board, subject to the approval of the department, last December.

Mr Lyall said that he had called into the department’s offices in Wellington twice and found that the matter had left the department and was asumed to be with the Treasury. The board had written to the Minister of Education (Mr Tennent) on the matter and later appealed to the member of Parliament for the district, Mr R M. Macfarlane, who in turn had appealed to Mr Tennent. Mr Tennent had replied that he was having the matter looked into with haste. “The department wants a good shake.” said Mr Jones. He said that the whole thing

had not been received by the Cabinet. “We hear so much lip service from the Government about technical education that this soul-destroying attitude appals me,” he said. “I think it is a shocking state of affairs,” said Mr K A. White.

Mr Lyall said he had thought that perhaps, as a fair thing to the contractors, the whole thing should be recalled and tenders called again. He said that an officer of the department had advised against this. He thought that the board might apologise to the contractors.

“The contractors might be engaged on other work by the time it is ready to begin." said Mr Jones. The Mayor (Mr G. Manning) moved that the Minister of Education be thanked, but urged to give the matter his attention soon. “I think we should consider a deputation from this board to go to Wellington to see the Minister. I think that board members might consider that at the next meeting,” said Mr Jones. Several members said that the change of Government might have helped to cause the delay. Mr Manning’s motion was adopted.