Good Response From Former Teachers

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31831, 8 November 1968, Page 12

Good Response From Former Teachers

One hundred and sixty-five married women who are former teachers have responded to an appeal to help staff primary schools next year in the Canterbury Education Board’s area.

The board expects no difficulty in staffing Christchurch schools during the year, in which no teachers will graduate because of the extension of training from two to three years. But there may be some problems in country areas.

The Christchurch Teachers' College, with all other teachers’ colleges, is changing to a three-year course. It will not have any newly-trained primary teachers graduating this year. Students who began training in 1967 will complete their final year next year.

This meant that basically the board faced a lack of a minimum of 267 primary schoolteachers at the beginning of next year. To help fill the gap, an appeal was made to married women who hold teachers’ certificates to return to teaching, full-time or part-time. The board set out to recruit 70, and has received 165 applications. Discussing the response, the board’s salaries and staffing officer (Mr G. R. H. Maddren) said one reason for the large number of applications could well have been the board’s decision to hold a two-week refresher course this month. Most of the women had been away from teaching for at least eight years, many had not taught for 10 to 12 years and some not for 20 years. As well as the women among the applicants who would be suitable next year, 146 first-year teachers would come to Canterbury from other areas.

In the change from twoyear to three-year training, education boards throughout the country agreed to help each other. Students completing their training were asked to state their preferences, and because Canterbury was popular, more than sufficient gave this area as their first choice.

Another move made by the board to meet the lack of newly trained teachers coming forward next year was the appointment of additional teachers at schools where available classrooms could be used within reason. At some schools this had meant a reduction in class sizes. Mr Maddren said the first preference would be given to former teachers who were

prepared to give full-time service next year, although some of those willing to teach on a half-day basis might be used. The board could always do with additional day-to-day relieving teachers and some could be used in this way. More than 90 per cent of the applicants came from Christchurch city, he said, and there would be no trouble in meeting requirements there. Only a few came from Timaru, Ashburton and the West Coast and although first-year teachers would be available from other areas, there might be some problems in filling all country positions. The other education board involved next year in the first year of the extended training course is Hawke’s Bay, which derives two-thirds of its newly trained teachers from Ardmore Teachers’ College, near Auckland.