UNIVERSITY CLASSES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 805, 30 April 1910, Page 4

UNIVERSITY CLASSES.

NO MOKE RAILWAY PASSES..

J'ONLY GOT,BY A FLUKE .'/' BEFORE."

; The vexed question as to whethercountry residents 'attending classes at Victoria College should bo.' granted free Railway passes'came up for settlement at an interview which Mr._ Foster, headmaster of the Petone District. High School, bad with thu Hon. G. Fowlds (Minister for. Education) yesterday. '■:•;■-.., ,| ■ • Mr. WiHord, M.P., who introduced Mr. Foster to the Minister, said that Viere were in the Hutt district quite a number of teachers' who were attending lectures and classes at Victoria College. It did not matter how great the capability of the children if their: teachers were not highly proficient in the .art of. teaching. . The matter, he . suggested, was of considerable ance so far as education was concerned in the Hutt district. ■'. .. . Mr. Foster said he understood that in the past the free ..pass system had been abused.. ; It was, he continued, quite easy to ascertain whether such was the case in regard to university students." The railway fares at present cost the teachers at the'Hutt and Petone 15s. '.per month, which was - more than thev could really afford. : Mr. Fowlds, in' reply, said that he was sorry that he could not comply with the request. Tho position wa3 that railway passes for night classes had never been issued beforo except by a fluke in the case of Wellington. What: had been done,' therefore, was simply to bring Wellington/into Uno with the other parts of the Dominion, where'similar requests had always heen refused. The Department , provided weak-end tickets for teachers, and it was believed that'these classes were. quite as good a means, of increasing, the efficiency of tho teachers and ma coodinany cases probably more so. There were a great many objections to the issue of the tickets party omng to the difficulty of checking them and partly, owing to the fact that the Department had to draw the. line some-, where. AH the teachers in question were drawing salaries and there were students attending .the classes who «-cro worse off. Once the Departmentbegan to open this, particular door '•ttarti would bo applications:for passes not only from the Hutt, but also from other parts of the district. As he' had I wid before, there were a good many ivhoso efficiency would be increased quite as mnch by Saturday classes. "We know," added Mr. I'owlds, "that sometimes the : teaching .profession is taken up. as a means of training for some other profession. Thero is no reason,' therefore why the Depaitment should, in addition to paying such teachers while they are trained, pay ■ their fares to attend classes, perhaps in law,. for perhaps in. a very short period thoy will'have left tho service." ) ■'