School’s closing ‘another blow’

Press, 22 September 1980, Page 2

School’s closing ‘another blow’

. A decision to close the Christchurch dental nurses’ training school would' be another blow for the South Island and would show the Government’s arrogant disregard for the regional needs of the area, said a Christchuch City Councillor, Mrs Mollie Clark, yesterday.

Mrs Clark said that as a member of the Canterbury United Council she was shocked that “not a whisper” about the propositi to close the school had been given to the council, even though the Government had promised to keep such councils fully informed about developments that might affect their regions. “This is another classic example of secrecy about something . which vitally affects a lot of people,” she said.

A decision to close one ot

more of the dental nurses’ training schools in Christchurch, Wellington, and Auckland is expected in October as result of a review’s being made of their place in dental training. The main reason given for the need to close one or more of the schools is the drop ,in demand for school dental nurses. Ten years ago, 250 nurses were accepted for the first year of training. This year only 90 were accepted. Mrs Clark said that about 20 staff would lose their jobs in Christchurch if the local school closed.

“The most realistic thing would be to close one of the North Island training schools which would make a better balance to meet the reduced numbers of nurses needed,” Mrs Clark said. “A wise decision will ensure that this happens/’