Education Finance Causes Problems

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31381, 29 May 1967, Page 12

Education Finance Causes Problems

“This world is becoming more and more competitive; the race to make exports more than balance imports is well and truly on. I am certain productivity of investment in education wiD be a major factor in how we shall fare in future,” said the president of the New Zealand Post-Primary Teachers’ Association (Mr J. S. Webster).

Mr Webster was addressing the annual conference of the Canterbury Region of the P.P.T.A., at the Christchurch Teachers' College on Saturday morning. “Let us not be shortstaffed and let us direct our efforts towards a trained and qualified teaching staff second to none.” Mr Webster said he was disappointed that the Minister of Education (Mr Kinsella) would not agree in principle to the immediate goals of the association on smaller classes, teacher recruitment and improving the conditions of teachers. “The Minister has said it will cost money, and has mentioned £2 million in salaries, 1500 more teachers and 750 more classrooms. No doubt it will, but agreement in principle costs nothing. “The question is not can we afford to do it, but rather, can we afford not to do it? The Minister has said the time is not opportune, but maximum class sizes of 30 for ’ secondary schools was agreed to by Sir Winston Churchill’s Government in 1944, when it adopted the Butler report . Britain was involved in the l Second World War at the I time," he said. [ “I am most unhappy with i the way matters stand. The ■ most powerful force in ■ recruitment to any occupa- , tion is contented staff and one I in which it would be felt that

those at the top would seek by all means at their disposal to remove any lack in their system. “In the present school system we find some strange paradoxes. There are workshops which take only 28 pupils; science laboratories are designed for classes of 30. In the classes approaching 40 in size, the teacher is loath to take group experiments and is forced to rely more on demonstration techniques than he should. Another example of denying full educational opportunity. “The most important reason for the Minister to accept in principle the class size we request is to show the teachers that there is a light at the end of this long tunnel which stretches out so darkly before us. It would inspire in us a confidence that he himself is aware of the conditions which would make investment in education give most profit and that he means to do something about it.

“I am certain that our over-worked staffs would struggle on for a few more years if they knew there was a promise of better conditions re class sizes in the future,” said Mr Webster.

Hanged Himself.—A prisoner at London’s Wormwood Scrubbs gaol, who was serving a life sentence for attempted murder, hanged himself in his cell yesterday.—London, May 28.