Personal Education Of Schoolteachers

Press, Volume C, Issue 29509, 10 May 1961, Page 9

Personal Education Of Schoolteachers

(New Zealand Preu Auociation)

WELLINGTON, May 9. i “The personal education of the teacher is of the greatest importance, and I shall aim while I am Minister to do all I can to encourage teachers, like their pupils, to be constantly learning, the Minister of Education (Mr Tennent) said in his address to the annual meeting of the New Zealand Educational Institute. He said it was for that reason he welcomed proposals by the Director of Education, and supported by the institute, for new conditions for the teacher’s “B’’ certificate. “I hope later this year to have gazetted amendments to the Teachers’ Certification Regulations,” Mr Tennent said. The Minister said that those amendments would enable the department to conduct examinations at the level of Stage I university units in various teaching subjects, and to recognise those and certain other nonuniversity qualifications as part completion of the requirements for a teacher’s “B" certificate.

“I believe that this development will be of great value to the primary teaching service in particular, as it will enable teachers with a minimum of three university units, who have not been able to go further with university work, to further their own personal and professional education, and to receive recognition for their efforts,” said Mr Tennent. Commenting upon the importance of free postprimary education for every child. Mr Tennent said the problem today was to improve the opportunities available, and his department believed this could best be done by giving teachers the opportunity to take part regularly and actively m educational planning and policy-making. “These vital educational questions are what I would call professional ideals, and I would exhort you all not to submerge those ideals to secondary importance for the sake of the more mundane objectives of the institute,” he said.