Education group seeks reconvention

Press, 25 March 1980, Page 6

Education group seeks reconvention

PA Wellington The .Committee for Defence of Secular Education has called on the Government to reconvene the State Aid Conference because it claims an increasing number of people are dissatisfied with the Schools Integration Act. The committee’s secretary (Mr J. Mulheron) said that grants to the Roman Catholic education system had trebled in the last few years while the State system could not get enough money for basic maintenance of schools. The Roman Catholic system had expanded its educa-i tional services while State, schools had had to suffer re-*'

strictions, said Mr Mulheron. The Roman Catholic Church was also dissatisfied with aspects of integration and so the fair solution would be for the Government to reconvene the conference, he said. According to the committee. Roman Catholic bishops are asking for $l5 million from the Government to meet educational expenses. Last Christmas they had asked • for $6 million, the committee said. The executive director of the Catholic Education Office (Mr E. P. Holt) said he did not wish to comment on the committee’s assertions without seeing them in writing.