VIGOROUS’ BID TO RECRUIT TEACHERS

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31018, 25 March 1966, Page 3

VIGOROUS’ BID TO RECRUIT TEACHERS

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, March 24. A “vigorous” campaign to recruit primary teachers would be held later this year, the Minister of Education (Mr Kinsella) announced today.

A total of 2211 students, 11 more than in 1965, had been admitted to teachers’ colleges this year, he said. Three-year primary teacher training courses had started this year at the Hamilton and Dunedin teachers’ colleges and a special one-year course abolished. More than 500 students were now taking the three-year course, and in 1967 the Ardmore and Christchurch teachers’ colleges would have similar courses. Extending the courses to three years meant training an additional 2500 primary school teachers, and there would be a recruiting campaign later this year, the Minister said.

Mr Kinsella recalled that the Commission on Education, in its 1962 report, emphasised the need for reducing the size of primary school classes. Reviewing the situation in primary and intermediate schools and the primary departments of district high schools, he said that at September 30, 1965, 10,567 primary classes —83 per cent—had fewer than 41 pupils, compared with 10,006 classes—--81.2 per cent —in 1964.

Throughout New Zealand progress had been made in reducing the number of large primary classes, in spite of doubling of the total number of classes since 1949, said Mr

Kinsella. The proportion of primary classes with more than 40 pupils had been reduced from 33.5 per' cent to 17 per cent during the last decade.