FREE STATIONERY

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 120, 21 May 1926, Page 12

FREE STATIONERY

COST FOR SCHOOL USE PROHIBITIVE.

For many years there has been an agitation that the Government should provide free stationery for school children. The matter has been raised both in and out of Parliament, but the Government has always maintained .that owing to the very large cost involved it could not agree to the proposal. The Assistant-Director of Education (Dr. E. Marsden), in commenting on a circular issued by the Taranaki School Committees' Association, shows that the Government's .attiude on this matter remains unaltered. Dr. Marsden says, also, that it cannot be said that in New Zealand there is too great uniformity in reading matter in schools. The only uniform reader' in use in schools is the "School Journal," as all other reading matter varies from school to school. Eegarding the suitability of, the present text-books, Dr. Marsden says that the present text-books are not entirely', suitable and new books are in course of preparation. The Department, it is also pointed out by Dr. Marsden, would not approve books that could not be used for so long a period as five years. The present books have been in use from ten to fifteen years, and five years was in itself really a very short period. "Besides this," remarks Dr. Marsden, "the parents would have the right to complain if class-books were adopted that had a shorter life than five years.