Victimisation and racial bickering found in college

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34130, 17 April 1976, Page 3

Victimisation and racial bickering found in college

f.V Z. Press' Association) , WANGANUI, April 16. ii The special Govern- ' ment-appointed committee set up to probe the ] running' of Ruapehu College in Ohakune has found evidence of the victimisation of pupils by staff and of MaoriThe 15-page report, con-] taining more than 50 recommendations on improving the] school and its administration.] was released after a four- ] hour. 40-minute in-committee college board of governors meeting, which ended in the early hours of Thursday morning. The committee said it had! ’found evidence of “what I might be called victimisation land these have been [thoroughly discussed with the persons concerned.” ’ The committee said problems within the school were , long-standing and had grown I slowly in magnitude — “resulting in the isolation of the

[school from the community,|c |and friction between staff, ]t pupils, and the board of gbv lc ernors. ] c The school administration I had also failed to “fully re- t | cogni.se the educational needs c of pupils drawn from widely t different social and ethnicbackgrounds.” s FRUSTRATION F r “In turn this has led to frustration and the growth , >of divisive attitudes within , I the community, the school { I and on the board. ] j ; “Inevitably this has in-L ’creased the difficulties,” said! ] the report. j ( Among its other findings,], the committee said: i‘ The school was severely ]. handicapped because it did! not. have a gymnasium. ‘ It had one. of the worst| noise problems, because of]; its construction, committee |j members had ever seen, andjt it has recommended the h board approach the Educa-’ tion Department to have lib-l| rary carpet laid and corridor|j sound-proofing carried out. It recommended that the , school’s principal should not | i i

carry on as secretary of the, board, to allow him to concentrate on his professional duties. The college was four teachers short and staff re-1 cruitment advertising needed I to be stepped up. School community relation-, ships had not always been] good, but could easily be im-! proved. Particular attention should be paid to middle and lower ability pupils. There had been a marked academic bias [in two of the four streams ’in the school. Board members had been [divided on control of the! ■ school, and proper proce-| [dures and etiquette had not [always been observed. MAORIS | A large section of the:’ ] Maori community had been [inadequately represented on] ithe board, because there was| [no provision for electing al Maori representative. (Forty [per cent of the college’s] pupils are Maoris). The committee recommended that staff should not be admonished or reproved in front of other staff, “and never in front of pupils.” The committee also recommended that there should be no use of derogatory names or audible lamenting when another potentially difficult child appeared ! at the college. The report followed ai three-day investigation by] the eight-person committee,; chaired by former Nelson principal Mr B. H. Wakelin. starting on March 16. ALLEGATIONS The. committee was set up tu inquire into allegations carried in a series of articles published in the “Wanganui Chronicle,” in late February. The committee said it had found no substantiated evidence of racial discrimination.

< The college’s board early I , this morning agreed to adopt i [the report in principle, and] [said it would be looking at I [Ways of implementing what’ [was intended in the recom-l I mendations.