Minister’s comment “misleading”

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32775, 27 November 1971, Page 6

Minister’s comment “misleading”

(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, Nov. 26. The Minister of Education (Mr Taiboys) was technically correct but misleading in stating that play centres had submitted no case for an increase in the rate of regular annual Government grants, the vicepresident of the New Zealand Play Centre Federation (Mrs B. Morris) said in a supplied statement today.

“We have, in fact, made submissions for extra finance in 1968 and 1969, but by a careful choice of words, the minister is trying to give the impression we have made no submissions at all,” said Mrs Morris. “When these two submissions were rejected, we were asked to submit a further case to the minister’s Committee of Inquiry into Pre-school Education, but this has disappeared into limbo for the last two years.” Mr Taiboys made the statement in reply to a question in Parliament from Mr P. A. Amos (Lab., Manurewa), who asked if the minister had seen a report that Government support for preschool education had been eroded by more than 40 per cent during the last five years.

The report, a Copy of which was sent to all members of Parliament, was an open letter published by the New Zealand Play Centres Federation to the Govern-

ment. It was entitled, “Play Centres—The Cinderella of Education Policy.” The open letter was published m reply to a statement in the November issue of the New Zealand National Party’s newsletter, “Background," which said its stated intent was to “put into its proper perspective the present position in the education field.” Support by Maoris (N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, Nov. 26. The enthusiastic participation of Maoris in the preschool field was more “in spite of Government interest and support than because of it,” said the vice-president of the New Zealand Play Centres Federation (Mrs B. Morris) in a supplied statement today. Mrs Morris was replying to an Education Department statement that the gap between Maori and non-Maori in terms of participation is narrower in pre-school education than in any other field.

“Over two-thirds of the Maoris in pre-school belong to play centres,” said Mrs Morris, “An organisation which receives only onetenth of the Education Department’s pre-school finance and only 6c in every $lOO that the Education Department spends.”

Mrs Morris said that the one-in-seven ratio of Maoris in Play Centres was because of Maori interest in an organisation which had methods consistent with Maori cultural values, and the enthusiastic support of officers in a grossly understaffed preschool advisory service.