MEETING SOUGHT WITH MINISTER

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33096, 11 December 1972, Page 18

MEETING SOUGHT WITH MINISTER

<Neu> Zealand Press Association) NEW PLYMOUTH, December 10. The national executive of the New Zealand Parent Teacher Associations will seek an early meeting with the new Minister of Education (Mr Amos).

It will ask for action on the education platform of the Labour Party’s election manifesto.

At the quarterly meeting of the executive held in New Plymouth at the week-end, the manifesto was closely examined. as was a transcript of a speech given by Mr Amos to the N.Z.P.T.A. national conference last August. The national president of N.Z.P.T.A., Mr M. A. Browne, of Palmerston North, said that the new government had promised to involve parents in educational decisions.

He said that in 21 years of the N.Z.P.T.A.’s existence as a national organisation it had heard “these fine words” from successive governing parties but there had been a tendency to by-pass lay organisations.

Mr Browne said parents realised their limitations in knowledge of professional matters, but there remained matters of principle and opinion on which they had a right to be consulted. An example of this was curriculum and the parents heard about this after the decision had been made. The N.Z.P.T.A. believed that in a democratic society those affected by change should be the first to be consulted, he said.

To this end, the executive resolved to request that the N.Z.P.T.A. be represented on the curriculum revision committee set up by the Education Department. The executive also suggested the appointment of an under-secretary of education in the new Government, to give Mr Amos more time for his portfolio.

Labour’s decentralisation theme was supported by the meeting, particularly the points made by the Prime Minister (Mr Kirk) on smaller schools and avoiding the dehumanising effects of too large schools.

It also wanted action on Mr Amos’s promise to encourage the use of educational television and audio visual aids. The executive said it was very pleased with the promise to replace prefabs with good quality classrooms and to build halls or flexible specialised rooms.