MONEY AND TEACHERS

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 16, 19 July 1923, Page 11

MONEY AND TEACHERS

SCHOOL COMMITTEE DIFFI

CULTIES

LAID BEFORE MINISTER OF EDUCATION.

Difficulties in connection with money and teachers were mentioned before the Minister of Education' (Hon. 0. J. Parr) yesterday evening by a deputation from the .Wellington School Committees' Association. The '■ deputation was introduced by Mr. R. M'Keen, M.P., who mentioned the matter of school children having to walk from Ngahauranga to Kaiwarra to attend school, the road being characterised as very dangerous and bleak. The other point raised by Mr. M'Keen was that of the frequent changes of teachers, as a result of which. tho schools and the children were suffering. The association thought that the school. committees should have greater powers in connection with tl\e appointment of-teachers. Under'the present position the. teachers were appointed before the committees were even made aware of the list of applicants. The Minister:, "The teachers are appointed according to-classification, and you would get no benefit from appointing them." , Mr. White, president of the association, dealt at length with the question of capitation, and urjzed that there should be increases, as .the schools were unable to carry on.

The Minister interposed that the committees, it had been found, had been spending the money in ways that were not allowed, and in many cases this was the reason for deficiencies.'

Mr. White: "The committees are no longer school committees; they are "cadging associations." Ho said the position was very acute, and they hoped that the Minister would not leave them in a position which would force them to give up committee work altogether. ■ Replying, the Minister pointed out that the, capitation allowances had been increased from 5s 6d in 1914 to 10s 3d now, and cost the Government £97,000 annually. It was one o! the few things that had not been reduced when reductions on the score of economy became imperative. .He would' look into the figures brought forward by Mr. White and sea what the amounts had been spent on. It was impossible to hold out any hope of an increase, though he would bring the matter before his colleagues. Regarding the Ngahauranga children, he could only say that the ehMdren had to. travel an average, .distance of 1J miles, and he could not supply. conveyance under the circumstances. The children did not. suffer under anything like the hardships o! some of the country children. As to the appointment of teachers, the Minister said he knew vexations' were caused, but the position was quite simple. In the old days when there was no classification a nice mess was sometimes 1 made of appointments. Thirty years ago. wire-pulling, log-rolling, and scandals were so much the order that classification was demanded by teachers and given.' Now they were in. order tf merit, and were appointed accordingly. The appointments were practically automatic, as they should be, and any power that could.be given to committees' would 'be valueless.' '

Mr. M'Keen suggested that the board should be asked to send along the list cf applicants to trie committee, who should choose, what they wanted. ■.

The Minister said he could do nothing in this connection. .The change suggested would be objected to by .everyone. '..,.'■:■

He said he was • entirely with ' the deputation in saying that the' • number of transfers were far too frequent, and unfair to the, children. It was the main.. weakness :in the present system, and they were trying to devise means of remedying the position. If Mi\ Hylton's scheme did not mean an increase in the aggregate salaries, above tho £1,550,000 now paid, he was prepared to seriously consider it. The basis of paying salaries would be changed, but if a man' was paid on efficiency the Department must have the right to transfer when. required. The Hylton scheme had been considerably altered and modified by the Teachers' Institute, who thought the new scheme could be adopted. Proposals had been prepared for his consideration limiting the changes until theleud of the year.