“Greater Aid For All Schools”

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32072, 21 August 1969, Page 12

“Greater Aid For All Schools”

A greater educational vote should be sought from the Government by both State and private schools acting together, said the director of Roman Catholic Education in the Diocese of Christchurch (Father T. Power).

Asked to comment on the remarks made at a public meeting in Beckenham on; Monday night by Mr C. G. Marshall, who is campaign-, ing against any further State aid going to private and independent schools. Father Power said that Roman Catholics did not want money diverted to their schools from State schools. “We should go to the Gov-; ernment together as they did in Australia last week when the Federal Government agreed to increase aid to pri-

vate schools to $35 a year for each primary child and $5O for each secondary pupil, in addition to increases it made lin the allocation to State schools,” he said.

At his meeting, Mr Marshall estimated that the Government was already giving private schools $6.2m a year in aid and that this averaged $73 each for 85,000 pupils, of whom 69,000 attended Roman Catholic schools. Father Power said that these figures were grossly inaccurate. ‘“The real figure, as far as we can ascertain, is about sllm, of which about Sim comes by way of direct cash grants and the rest comes in subsidies and services. This works out about $lO a primary child and about $3O a secondary pupil,” he said. “Mr Marshall’s figure of $6OO a year being paid to teaching nuns is also incorrect. They receive $4OO a year. It must be remembered that the nuns do this work nut of their desire to give a complete

Christian education to children and not for financial reward,” he said. Father Power explained that between one-fifth and one-sixth of the staff at Catholic schools in the diocese were lay staff who were paid the i salaries mentioned by Mr Marshall ($2600 to $3500) by (the schools. Roman Catholic parents were not, as Mr Marshall suggested, instructed to send their children to Catholic schools, said Father Power. “The church teaches that a complete education, including spiritual and moral development which it provides, is the best for the child. But it really is a matter for the conscience of the parents.” Speaking for Catholic Schools, Father Power said that they saw nothing wrong with State schools. “We just believe we give something extra in the way of moral and spiritual teaching.” The two sections of education had existed in New Zealand for 90

years and there had been no split. Father Power doubted that State schools would oe able to absorb the 85,000 pupils at private and independent schools as simply as Mr Marshall seemed to think they could. “If Catholic children were sent to State schools they would need 1800 more classrooms, which would cost slBm, and 1600 more teachers would be needed to replace the religious teachers in our schools. This would make an annual extra bill of sl2m for the Government to pay salaries and service the schools.

“What Mr Marshall forgets is that if our children went to State schools as he suggests, sl2m would be needed just to cope with the Catholic element let alone the rest. Forcing us to close our schools would impose a far greater burden on the taxpayers of whom Mr Marshall would be one,” said Father Power.