Minister Warned Of School Stoppages

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32359, 27 July 1970, Page 14

Minister Warned Of School Stoppages

(New Zealand Press Association)

ROTORUA, July 26.

The “grapevine” had warned him of a so-called spontaneous series of stop-work meetings in south Auckland secondary schools tomorrow to demand higher salaries for teachers, the Minister of Education (Mr Taiboys) said tonight.

“The focal point apparently is to be a high school where not only senior pupils are to be involved but police and the press are to be invited,” he said.

The Minister, speaking to Young National Party members in Rotorua, said the problems involved in the present revaluation of teachers’ salaries were not simple. “And some people don’t want them to be simple,” he said.

Mr Taiboys, a member of a panel of ministers answering Young Nationals’ questions, said teachers’ salaries were being considered by an education service committee which had set up a working party. The working party was

due to report to the committee on July 30. The Prime Minister (Sir Keith Holyoake) said later that Mr Talboys’s own impatience with the inability of the Government to get to grips with the problem while the committee was sitting had communicated itself to the whole Cabinet Sir Keith said he himself had asked Mr Taiboys if the committee’s deliberation could not be hastened by even a day. Mr Taiboys said the committee was established under an act passed on October 22 last year. “The committee was set up, 1 am assured, as soon as possible but I know its first effective meeting took place in February.” he said.

He said that teachers were claiming a revaluation, not just an increase in salary. While it was the commit-

tee’s responsibility to consider the findings of the working party and make recommendations to Government, the Government had not been sitting with its arms folded. “Contrary to what some people think, I am interested in what teachers are paid,” he said. “I have wheeled up a few papers to the cabinet One of my colleagues has accused me of trying to soften him up. “I hope 1 will have some further information for the cabinet this week.”

He said the committee knew his feeling of urgency on the matter and its recommendation would be dealt with as fairly and as rapidly as possible.

Mr Taiboys expressed doubts about the value of the present system of three years of training for teachers. "I have wondered whether we could get better results if student teachers spent more time in the field earlier, to appreciate the significance of what they are taught in col lege,” he said. Meeting Arranged In Wellington, the general secretary of the Post-primary Teachers’ Association (Mr P. Boag) said tonight that members of the association would meet Mr Taiboys tomorrow to discuss the reaction of tea chers to the Minister’s re marks on the “Gallery” pro gramme on Tuesday. Mr Boag said it appeared more schools would be involved in stop-work or protest meetings this week. The meeting with Mr Taiboys had been arranged as a matter of urgency because the issues at stake were major ones.