Staff scheme gets frigid reception

Press, 12 May 1981, Page 2

Staff scheme gets frigid reception

. . Wellington ,J h w ll ,? * Sler of Ed “cation (Mr Wellington) yesterday ®u' V k d an icy rece Ption wnen he announced the extensions of a school staffing scheme at the New Zealand Educational Institute’s anton conference in Welling-

"Mr Wellington told delegates that the Government had approved “broad bandog of normal and special schools at an annual cost of $166,000 to take effect from September. ■ Broad banding, which restructures teaching positions of responsibility, is designed to give schools greater staffing stability. ■ jin his opening address earlr r ’r? h ® NZEI - president, Mr E. Nightingale, had complained that broad banding had not been expanded to cover normal and special schools. \Mr Wellington, asked later if* he was surprised that his announcement was not well received, said that nothing

surprised him any more. Mr Nightingale' said later that Mr Wellington’s announcement got such a flat response because it would not take effect until September. It was orginally hoped that normal and special schools would be included in the scheme about 12 months ago. Mr Wellington’s address concentrated on advances in education. He said that the obvious need for restraint in public expenditure, and the demand for reduced personal taxation, had made the job of compiling the education budget increasingly complex and difficult.

Mr Wellington referred to the addition of 800 new teachers to the primary service in 1977 for the introduction of a one-to-31 teacherpupil ratio. That year the Government also announced a phased programme to bring schools with fewer than 155 pupils on a one-to-25 staffing schedule.

The programme was completed in February this year, when 116 small contributing schools were placed in the scheme.

Mr Wellington also referred to the 220 “teacher equivalents” approved to help schools meet their special education needs.

He said that 1500 teachers had been placed in the teaching force over five years, in a time of financial restraint. At present salary rates, 1500 teachers cost more than $24 million, said Mr Wellington. The Leader of the Opposition (Mr Rowling) told the conference that a priority of the next Labour Government would be to reach a settlement with the teaching serice on a return to some form of unified salary scales.

Mr Rowling said that the scale had to give far more incentive to recruit highquality applicants into the primary service. It had to be graduated to give incentive to stay in that service in the crucial midcareer years, it had to recognise the principle of equal payment for equal responsibility, and it had to encourage a movement of teachers from secondary to primary as well as the other way, Mr Rowling said. There would have to be some compromises in the final agreement, he said; nobody would get exactly what was wanted.

“But we are determined that the wastage of teachers and the loss for children in those early years will be tackled head on,” Mr Rowling said.