“No intention to curtail freedom of speech”

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33064, 3 November 1972, Page 15

“No intention to curtail freedom of speech”

A proposed good-beha-viour bond produced by the Department of Education did not mean any intention on the part of the secondary division of the Christchurch Teachers’ College to curtail the traditional freedom of speech and action of its students, said the principal of the division (Mr E. P. Blampied). The proposed bond — the subject of recent criticism by students of the college — asks intending students to “solemnly declare that upon my entry to teachers’ college I will accept the responsibility for upholding the rules and regulations of the college and also the ethics and dignity of the teaching profession.”

Mr Blampied told a meeting of the Christchurch Teachers’ College council that the reference in the proposed declaration of intention to “college rules and regulations” was not applicable to his division as there were no “college rules.” “This mis-wording was of no great significance so long

as entrants were not required to sign such a declaration,” he said. “No decision had been taken to require signing, and it is unlikely that such action will be taken, at least in the original form of the declaration.”

Mr Blampied said that the proposed declaration was not his responsibility, but that of the Department of Education.

“We welcome dissent, and we encourage the development of initiative and the assumption of increasing responsibility by our studentteachers,” Mr Blampied said. “I have not been aware of any ‘behaviour problems’ in the college, and we tolerate one another’s idiosyncrasies with good-humoured equanimity. A ‘good-behaviour bond’ is about the last thing we would want our students to sign.” Nevertheless, he said, there had emerged a problem in recent years with the appearance of a few students whose personal qualities, ‘ethical standards, and professional attitude had been below the desired level. The formulation of some sort of pre-entry professional standard was intended to discourage persons of this type from entering the college. In the long term, Mr Blampied said, professional standards were best set by teachers themselves, although the code of ethics of the New Zealand Post-Primary Teachers’ Association did not go quite far enough to meet this situation; and membership of the P.P.T.A. was voluntary. “Our students’ executive is interested in becoming involved with the P.P.T.A. and the college authorities in drawing up a set of standards governing entry to teachers’ college or admission to the Students’ Union. I would strongly support such a move as being the best means of dealing with the problem,” Mr Blampied said.