A START MADE

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 99, 23 October 1936, Page 10

A START MADE

EDUCATION OVERHAUL

THE AMENDING BILL

MAIN STEP NEXT YEAR

"We have every intention of raising the school-leaving age, but not im- ) mediately," said 'the Minister of Education (the Hon. P. Fraser), in moving p the second reading of the Education \ Amendment Bill in the House of Representatives this morning. ;" This point was raised by the Leader c of the Opposition (the Rt. Hon. G. W. i Forbes^, and the Minister said that . before raising the school-leaving age it was necessary to inquire as .to what 1 accommodation was available. The - Department.had to be satisfied that the 3 children could be accommodated without overcrowding, in the secondary and technical and district-high schools, • and that sufficient teachers were avails able. The "school-leaving age, he repeated, would, certainly be . raised to fifteen years. That • provision was in the law now, having been made in 1922, when Sir James Parr was Minister of Education, but it was left to be brought into operation by/ Order in Council. He hoped that it would be done in about a year's time, if not before. < The large majority of the pupils leaving the primary schools, continued the Minister, now went on to post--1 primary schools; he thought' that c I about 10,000 did not go on. c The Minister said that, as he had - indicated when he introduced the c Bill, it was a very minor one and did not propose any great reforms in education. It did not propose to bring about a consolidation of the rather chaotic education system that existed at present, nor did it embody any of the desirable arid overdue reforms in the system.. It was-mainly' a validating, measure, validating some of the steps taken by the present Government since assuming office. JOB FOE NEXT SESSION. The.bigger question of a review of the whole education system, the consolidation of the Education Act, and I a survey of the regulations in force I under the Act could not possibly be " undertaken 'this'year', but an effort ! would be made to deal with the [ whole problem.next,year, and he was hopeful that a consolidating.measure would be brought down next session. The task was a very big one, and next [ year' he hoped to be in a position to ' ask for the assistance and co-operation 1 of every member of the House in an effort to' embody in the New Zealand ' education system the best features of ' the education systems of the world. :' A very, important and substantial contribution to education thought, was ! embodied in the report of the recess committee on education in 1930. The : committee, of which he had been a ' member, visited every education centre 1 in the Dominion and obtained evidence 1 from the most prominent ■ figures in ■ education. He considered that evidence ; was just as up-to-date now as it was ' then. ' ■ • " ■.. Mr. J[. Hargest (National, ■ Awarua) : Could the Minister arrange for the re--1 publication of that.report? The Minister said he would arrange for • every member to have a copy of . the- report,- and typewritten copies pi '. the evidence were available for study. ' , ■ ,;;;'■ 'admission ■ age- ; The Bill,- said the Minister, simply validated the action *of ■ the Government in lowering the school admission age to five years.- • It .was not proposed to • interfere with.. the.. compulsory school entrance age of seven years, and there- was no indication, no desire, and no' need to make the compulsory age any lower. The age at which a child entered school depended on its development, both' physical, and. mental, and so long as if had ah opportunity to start school at five, years the purpose of the Government was.met. Children under five years of age could still be admitted if there was sufficient accommodation available, but they could not be placed oil the' school roll. , , Children over-the school age, said the Minister, .could also be admitted. This'was to cover cases of a.boy or girl requiring to.remain at school until . fifteen or sixteen years of age. ; Referring to the grading, system, the Minister said that if was. unfortunate that in a number of ■ cases the turnover of teachers in country districts was excessive. In: some respects this was inseparable from the grading system, and it, was a regrettable thing that in country districts teachers felt that if they did not apply for fresh positions, they were ,in danger of falling back in the grading. Some schools had had;four, five, six, and even up to ten different teachers, in one year. That was a problem, that was' being investigated, and in due course Parliament , would be, asked to deal with it •jcurther; - , . : THE GRADING SYSTEM. The grading system as it had developed had many shortcomings, and the teachers themselves were tackling the problem and were being as helpful as possible. He hoped that something fairer and better for the children would.be evolved; ' With regard to the honoraria of education board chairmen, the Minister said that nobody could claim that the chairment of the boards were overpaid. At ■present the total honoraria for the chairman of the nine boards was limited to £500, and this, yas to be increased to £780, the allocation' to be as follows:—Auckland £150, Canterbury £115, Wellington £100, Otago £95, Wanganui £70, Hawke's Bay £70, Taranaki £65, .Southland. £65, and Nelson £50. . | A ' suggestion ' had been made that education boards covering primary* secdndary, and technical schools should be consolidated.: He .was an agreement with that suggestion, and it would be considered. The Auckland district at present covered a large area, and if such. co-ordination was undertaken it might be advisable to establish boards at Whangarei and Hamilton. . "* .'. PROFICIENCY EXAMINATIONS. The most, important clause in the Bill,' said' the Minister, was the one that abolished the proficiency examinations. The proficiency examinations were instituted in 1904, replacing the individual examinations. It was thought at first that 30 per cent, of pupils would pass the examination and go on to secondary schools, but' eventually it was found that nearly everyone passed. The Minister said .he hoped to make secondary education possible . for all children, and. if the school-leaving age was raised-to fifteen there must be some form of. postrprimary education for all. If the school-leaving age were not raised there must be something to indicate that the child had p.rssed the sixth standard and provision would be made for that. The Educational Institute, said the * Minister, had declared that the abolition of the proficiency examination was a charter of liberty to schools. It afforded an opportunity to "the teacher's to deal' better with the pupil's propensities and'aptitudes.

The Minister said he did not think the proficiency examination conformed to modern ideas of the development of education, and he had- not ■ found any body opposed to the proposed change. The child's school card, which passed on from standard one to the higher standards, ■ would pass on with

the child to the post-primary school. He could not imagine the worst form of accrediting being, open to- the injustices that the examination was.. :< , SECURING MORE TEACHERS. Mr. S. G. Smith (National,' New Plymouth) 'and ex-Minister of Education, said that constant changes of teachers■ this year .had not been to the advantage of the children. The system and not the Minister was responsible for it* There should have been a period of notice: before the readmission of the five-year-olds so that the necessary number of teachers could have been prepared. He thanked the Minister for the tribute he had paid to the work of the chairmen of education boards as evidenced by the increased honoraria. He agreed that the chairmen and members of boards had done wonderful work. Referring to ground improvements, Mr. Smith drew attention to the difficulties, that had confronted the Wellington schools. Spaces' had had to be carved out of hillsides to give the children- more. room, while in other districts the schools had from three to five acres of playing space—in some instances ten acres. \ He thought that some.boards had spent too much money on tennis grounds that had been used by adults. They were not provided for the children at all, but fees were collected from the users for-raising funds for the schools. He' suggested they should fix either a definite aggregate sum for expenditure of maintenance on school:-grounds or should fix the percentage. of the .general, expenditure to be devoted to that purpose. Mr. Smith, said he would not cavil at the abolition of the | oficiency examination. 'It might be dangerous where one or two teachers' neglected their duty but '99 per cent, of the teachers were; interested in their profession and there was very; little evidence in the Department of them having abused • their responsibilities. Every school would' have its tests and standard of. attainment. The hdr. ror of putting so many pupils "through the churn" would cease and . the teachers would be able to concentrate on different methods—not on a few puDils but on the whole class. The scheme should have a fair trial. If it was. found that it was not what was claimed for it it could be reconsid- \\ ercd. ' (Proceeding.) V