TEACHERS' SALARIES

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 272, 11 August 1920, Page 7

TEACHERS' SALARIES

MINISTER REPLIES TO CRITICISM. The following reply to recent criticism of certain of his statements in regard to teachers' salaries was made by the Minister of Education yesterday.

"Exception is taken by Mr. Forsyth, chairman of the Associated' Education Boards, and by Mr. Parkinson, of the Educational Institute, to a statement alleged to be made by me in the House that teachers had already received a 66 per cent, increase on pre-war salaries," said Mr. Parr. "This is not what I stated. _ I think it is possible, however, that, owing to my time allowance having nearly run out when speaking, I did not make myself quite clear. What I intruded to convey, in answer to a suggestion that little had been done for the teachers during the war period, was, that as a result mainly of the increases paid to teachers from 1911 to 1920, the annual cost of public school teachers' salaries had increased by G6 per cent. I did not intend at all to convey the impression that cach teacher had received an increase of 66 per cent., because that is' hot correct I cannot agree,' lio.wevor, wifii Mr. Forsyth's figures. He understates the increases. He has wrongly taken as his starting point the increased salaries payable in 1915, instead of the pre-war salaries of 1914. Mr. Forsyth tliUB ignores the increases granted in 1915 as a result of the Act of 1914 passed after the war began. For example, he represents the pre-war maximum of the headmaster ot the highest grade school as .£440, when it should be .£4OO, arid he puts the first assistant in tho same school at £'A2O, whereas the prewar maximum salary was really ,£290 oniY. So the same mistake runs through Mr. Forsyth's 'table. This -pats his whole percentage 'of increases wrong. Instead of the maximum increase being only 43 per cent., going down to a minimum of 14 per cent., •as he alleges, I think the correct figures will show that tho averago increase on salaries and allowances to all adult teachers is approximately 47 per cent. Ido not claim that we should also include the cost of living bonus, but if we did this,' the increase would be nearly, 54 per cent. Tho increase to probationers, pupil-teach-ers. and training-college, students has been much greater. - There is another wav of looking at this matter. Taking tho official Budget figures, the averago salai'T of adult teachers when the war tooke out was £163. At the end of 1919 it was a little over .£240."