Bonding System Criticised

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31765, 23 August 1968, Page 22

Bonding System Criticised

GVew Zealand Association)

WELLINGTON, August 22.

The Education Department system of bonding the young people it trains to

be teachers may be wrong, the Ombudsman (Sir Guy Powles) said today.

Sir Guy Powles was addressing a meeting of the Wellington branch of the Institute of Public Administration. He also questioned the way in which some innocently received over-payments made by Government departments were recovered. Sir Guy Powles said there was specific legal authority for the bonding of teachers, many of whom were well under 21.

and had fully investigated 1800 of these. About 240 substantiated complaints had been rectified before formal recommendations had been made to the departments concerned, a further 80 had been rectified after a recommendation had been made. Only three were not implemented in full, Sir Guy Powles said.

“We require children of 16 or 17 years of age to enter into bonds with the Government that they will do certain things and if not they will pay. The question is whether this is basically a just or unjust system,” he said. Referring to the recovery of overpayments, such as for bursaries and pensions, by Government departments, Sir Guy Powles said that in a number of cases these were innocently received. “According to law there is no way of recovering these without complicated procedures involving a number of Government departments,” he said. "In some other countries though, such as Australia and the United Kingdom, these matters are treated more sensibly and a little more leniently.”

Sir Guy Powles said his office had received 4000 complaints during its six years