COUNTRY CHILDREN

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 227, 19 June 1920, Page 3

COUNTRY CHILDREN

I —. — ■■• *• BETTER SECONDARY. EDUCATION

EDUCATION COUNCIL'S SUGGESTIONS .

The provision of secondary and technical instruction for ohildren in country districts waa the subject of an interesting discussion at tho meeting of the Council of Education yesterday. The following recommendations were placed before the council by a committee:— "That a district high school should be established if there are twenty pupils guaranteed who have passed the sixth standard, and if there is a reasonable prospect/that the attendance will be maintained to tb(at number.

"That a teohnical high'school should be established if 75jaupil9 who have passed the sixthi standard' are guaranteed, and if there is a reasonable prospect of the attendance being maintained to that number, provided that suchi school shall not be established if sufficient provision for such instruction already exists in the locality or district. / •.. ■ "That the headmaster of a district high sohool should receive an increase in salary proportionate to the'responsibility of the position." . , Mr. T. B. Strong said that the minimum of pupils proposed .to be required for a district high school was too small. All the experience of educational authorities had been that it was a wast» of money to establish such schools unless a'reasonably large attendanco was scoured. Tl* council .nad' just approved of'the disestablishment of, the Patea Dis-. trict. High School. Class rooms, and equipment had been provided at Patea and they wero now to be wasted. The council was being asked to disestablish other district high schools in districts where an adequate attendance could not be maintained. ,Mr. E. C. Banks supported, the recommendation of tho committee. The district high schools should either bo supported in a proper manner or abolished altogether.- If good headmasters, were, secured for all the district high schools'in the 'Auckland district he would undertake to double the attendanco within two years. But th'e actual position-was that masters of inferior qualifications and weak w.omen teachers were employed, nnd so the attendance: declined. He spoke feelingly, after travelling ■ through the hack-blooks of .Aucklanmd province. At Hokianga. f«r example, 'about 200 miles from Auckland,. a farming population was being served by a district high school. This school had only about ■ twentv pupils. But why should tho people who were developing a farming dis; triot be penalised 'or living away from the city? Wbty not bring good secondary; education witihn the reach of thesepeople and so keep them in' the countrydistrictsP He contended, that the Rest; available in the primary schools shouldbe selected to take charge, of country high schools. The people.;of the, Bay of Plenty district ought to. have placed , within their reachl all the faoilitiee re- > quired to take the children up to matriculation standard. Most of the' farmers' cotild not afford to send their children Into the cities, even if that arrangement was desirable. , ,■',,• . Mr. Strong explained that ho was not opposed to the extension of secondary l end teohnical education in the country districts:. He was merely opposed to the present method of giving that eduoation. Miss B. Buffer said that she tad encountered tho product of .the country district high sohool, and she.knew that it'was not good. The, children were rot lacking in mental capacity, but they came to the larger secondary schools from the country district high schools so poorly equipped tlhat it was most difficult to' .lift them to the proper, standard, These country children shoutd have their chance, -but: theyj were handicapped by "the'arrangement of the curriculiim. and, the nature of the teaching. The Do-.-minion should have no more district high. , schools of the; type of some of those now in existence, and it was equally undesirable that-the-country parents.,should be required to send their children into the oities, where there were no.prpper hostels for their reception. The ccßt:of-proper.y--equipped and property, staffed, secondary schools in the country districts wduM be recouped to the State very quickly. Mr. J..H. Howell spoke'in favour of large schools. He did not think that technical sohools should be established unllesa there ..was a reasonable prospect 'of the attendance increasing-to not less 1 than 250. Small technical/schools were ibound to bo wasteful and inefficient, ■ '"'Dr.' Anderson (Director of Education) 'disagreed with Mr. Howell. It-would not be right to restrict secondary and technical schools to the large centres, where laTge attendances could be secured, These schools were required all over the'country, wherever a reasonable number of children wuid be fonnd. ' • Mr. J. R. Kirk thought that the real difficulty was the shortage of qualified teachers.' The'primary sohdols a9'v'eHaß the country■ schoobfcpeeded teachera. • : After .further dneussion-the-proposals, of the committee were adopted. . The cotthoil approved of a further motion that the present salaries and prospects of promotion for secondary assistants in district high schools ■>. ere inadequate to attract a sufficient number of suitable teachers; ' \