Proposals on school mergers ready

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33883, 1 July 1975, Page 1

Proposals on school mergers ready

/By our education reporter) Legislation integrating the State and private school systems has been drafted by the Department of Education.

According to the Wellington reporter of “The Press” the legislation will be presented to Parliament by the Minister of Education (Mr Amos) on July 10. Education Department sources said in Wellington last week that the bill, which is based on appendix “E” of the report of the steering committee of the Conference on State Aid, held on December 4 last year, was expected to be sent to a Select Committee. There is little likelihood that the committee will deal with it in time for the bill to be passed to allow integration of private schools from the beginning of next year, as previously hoped. The draft bill on integration is the result of three years work by representatives of the Post-Primary Teachers’ Association, the New Zealand Educational Institute, . the Education boards Association, the

Interdenominational Committee of Independent Schools, and the Roman Catholic Education Council. S2SM BILL Under the chairmanship of the Director-General of Education (Mr A. N. V. Dobbs) the steering committee has reached a considerable level of agreement on integration which, it is estimated, will cost more than s2sm in its first year. Mr Dobbs, who will retire at the end of this week, is accepted by all parties to the draft bill as the “father of the integration proposals.” The P.P.T.A., the Educational Institute and the Roman Catholic Education Council, particularly, believe that without the guidance given by Mr Dobbs over the last three years it would have been impossible to achieve the level of agreement reached so far. The State teachers’ organisations are, however, adamant that they will not accept any changes to the draft legislation proposed by

the Select Committee, or an increase in the present 37| per cent State aid, without a firm commitment that schools will integrate. The Labour Party promised in the 1972 election manifesto that all private schools would be granted 50 per cent State aid. TRIBUTE One way which would be acceptable to the State teachers is an increase to 50 per cent State aid with the proviso that such aid would be given for two years, after which any school which accepted it must agree to integrate with the State system. The P.P.T.A.’s president elect and spokesman on State aid (Mr G. Warner) said from Auckland last evening that the draft legislation was a fitting tribute to the immense prestige which Mr Dobbs had won for himself as a “public servant of the highest calibre.” “What we now have is a sound basis as shown by appendix *E,’ which has been well circulated since December 1. What the State teachers and all others now want to see is whether this legislation will become buried because of the pressure of (Parliamentary) business.” Mr Warner said that the integration proposals must be accepted as a matter of great urgency by the Government if it were to make the advance in education which it promised nearly three years ago. “If the same degree of urgency is given to this piece of historic legislation as was given to Dr Wall’s amendment then we could hope to see the end of nearly a century of division in New Zealand education. It is this sense of urgency which the Select Committee must accept.” The Select Committee on Education comprises Messrs I. J. Brooks (chairman). T. K. Burke, C. R. Marshall, and Mr Amos (Government) and Messrs G. F. Gair, L. W. Gandar and J. B. Bolger (Opposition).