NATIVE SCHOOLS

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 298, 15 September 1927, Page 11

NATIVE SCHOOLS

THE HOLIDAY QUESTION

EQUALITY ASKED FOR “This is the most extraordinary and futile document that has over been presented by an officer to his Minister,” declared Mr. F. F. Hockly (Rotorua), in the House of Representatives yesterday when referring to a report made by the chief inspector of native schools (Mr. J. Portcous) regarding tho holidays given to pupils of tho native schools. Mr. Hockly said that during the recess he had made representation to the Minister of Education; that Maori children attending the native schools should be given the same holidays as the children attending tho pakeha schools, tho former now having only eight weeks holiday in the year compared with ten weeks given to tho latter “There is absolutely no reason why there should bo any distinction as to tho relative importance of English to Maori and white children,” continued Mr. Hockly with reference to another paragraph , in tho report, which emphasised the importance of teaching Maor children English and of the difficulty of carrying this out.” Mr. Tau Henare (Northern Maori), said that what was good for the white children was also good for those of .the Maori. He reminded the House under the Treaty of Waitangi Maoris and pakeha were to bo equal. He suggested that if extra term holidays were granted the parents would be able to take their children to the centres for dental treatment, since the Minister had not been able to give the Maori children the benefit of tho dental clinics which had been established at pakeha schools. Mr. H G. R. Mason (Eden) said the Education Department was disposed to be niggardly and cheese-oaring in resnect of the native schools. Mr. W H. Field (Otaki) said the teachers in native schools were deserving of longer holidays since it took jnanv of them several days to travel from their isolated posts in the backblocks The Minister of Education (Hon. R. .A. Wriehtl in rento said the criticism of the member for Rotorua might be, in the main, sound, hut he could not agree with him altogether in his statement that the insnector of native schools had any narticu'ar desire to unduly penalise the teachers in the native schools. The inspectors as a whole in their dealings with the teachers were very fair. Their task at times was very difficult. He could not voice tho inspector’s view in this .instance, because it might be that some of the details were unknown to him (the Minister). It might bo that parents objected to their children getting too many holidays. It was a common , thing, to close native schools for a football match. The native school teachers be was sure w-ere doing very fine work. He would look carefully into the matter complained of and see where there was a stroneer case for the native attitude. If not. there was no reason why the natives should not enjoy the same holidays as Europeans. In regai-d to Mr.. Henare’s reoucst for Maori school dental clinics, there was difficulty in getting a sufficient -number of young women to train for tho work. If they could get a sufficiency of women for the clinics the native schools would not bo overlooked.