Child-care unit for institute

Press, 12 April 1978, Page 11

Child-care unit for institute

i A child-care unit will be I set up by the Christchurch (Technical Institute's Students’ Association. Part of an existing build- ! ing in Coventry Street would be renovated for the unit, the institute council !was told. The basic renovations would cost about $6OOO | to $7OOO, said the institute’s ; director (Mr J. D. A. Hercus). > At present the institute and the Christchurch City Council run the Civic ChildCare Centre at the Arts Centre. With the institute’s move from Montreal Street, its responsibility to that centre is gradually being phased out. The chairman of the institute’s council (Mr D. F. Caygill) said it had been arranged that from April 1 the City Council took over administrative responsibility for the Civic Child-Care Centre. The institute would remain its partner in the centre until the end of the year, and from January 1 the City Council would have full financial responsibility. When these arrangements had been made, it had not been known if a child-care unit could be set up at the institute, but now it was clear from the Education Department that the Students’; Association could set up the; unit there, said Mr Caygill. ; The institute council 1

, therefore agreed to ask the (City Council to alter the date lit will fully take over the ! Civic Child-Care Centre to [May this year. The institute council also , agreed to assist the Stui dents’ Association in the setI ting up of the child-care unit lat the institute. Lady Macfarlane said the Civic Child-Care Centre had served a very useful purpose as far as the institute was concerned. Education Department permission has been given for the institute to appoint a multi-cultural studies coordinator. Mr Hercus said the post had been advertised in the major metropolitan newspapers, and would be advertised in the “Education Gazette.” “I envisage there will be wide-spread interest in this,” he said. A broadening of the institute’s activities in multicultural programmes was suggested by a special subcommittee last year. When the co-ordinator was appointed, one of his first tasks would be to prepare a case for a Polynesian centre to be located in an appropriate place at the institute,” said Mr Hercus. The committee had envisaged that this centre would become a focal point for Polynesian activities at the institute.