Educational rights

Press, 28 November 1977, Page 10

Educational rights

; Future organisation of I education must recognise I that citizens had rights to ■ education, but they also j had responsibilities, a Christchurch conference I on regional social plan's ning has beeen told. The regional ■ superintendent for the j Education Department in I Christchurch (Mr R. U. ■ Roy) read an address pre- ' pared by the Assistant i Director-General of Educai tion (Mr P. Boag), who i was unable to attend. Mr Boag said this had j been among the con- ■ elusions in the report of (the committee on secondary education, “To- ! wards Partnership.” Any j future pattern must also I make individual’s ini volvement in education i something real and vital. I he said. “This, to my mind, must i mean developing very j close links on a one-to-one ; basis betwen the citizen • and the local educational i institutions.” Mr Boag said education

boards would obviously play a very critical role in discussion on . re-organ-ising j the education system. Whatever the outcome of planning, many difficulties and problems foreseen a century ago would still remain, he said. “Above all there is the problem of central financing and public accountability which a number of authorities have idenfieid. There is the centralising influence of the teacher organisations which cannot be overlooked. “There is the high degree of mobility of the New Zealand population which will require some measure, at least, of uniformity in organisation and curriculum. “There is certainly the long tradition in the New Zealand community that, equality of educational opportunity- should not depend on the particular district a person lives in, or the particular school he attends.

“Another factor that cannot be overlooked is the not unexpected tendency of a central organisation to gather to it an increasing amount of power. “This applies not only to a central administration located in Wellington, but also to one located in district education board offices,” he said. About 130 people including several from Australia, attended the conference. It was the third interdisciplinary conference on social policy for New Zealand and brought together those involved in local and national government and community organisations to discuss problems of regional social planning, especially in health, education and welfare. The conference aimed “to provide an impetus and directions for research and action by those concerned about the future of community in New Zealand.”