Grant raised

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32902, 28 April 1972, Page 1

Grant raised

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, April 27.

An increase in the rate of the free textbook grant for primary schools, both State and private, was announced today by the Minister of Education (Mr Pickering).

Mr Pickering made the announcement at the annual conference of the New Zealand School Committees’ Federation at Rotorua.

In a statement accompanying the announcement, he said that the present annual over-all rate of 38 cents a pupil would be increased to 81 cents a pupil for the purchase of textbooks and this would take effect from April 1. For new primary schools the grant would be doubled for the first year and 50 per cent above the basic grant for the second year of their existence.

The Minister said that an additional feature was the payment of a minimum basic

annual grant of $23 to all sole-teacher schools.

“The main purpose of the increase was to enable schools to build up stocks of textbooks in language, social studies, science and .health to provide for significant developments that have taken place in the primary school curriculum,” he said. “The increase would also help schools to meet increases in the costs of books.” It would be distributed to schools not as a flat rate of 81 cents but on the basis of different grants for different levels of the school system. Mr Pickering explained that this meant that schools would receive 60 cents for pupils in infant classes, 63 cents for children in standard one and two classes, 94 cents for children in standard 3 and 4 classes and $1.07 for pupils in forms 1 and 2.