EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE.

Evening Star, Issue 8716, 7 January 1892, Page 2

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE.

CHRISTCHURCH, Jandaby 7. The Council yesterday adopted the report of the Committee on the Standards, affirming that the reading books in use Inculcate true moral teaching, with which teachers are in complete sympathy; that an urgent necessity exists for freedom of classification, and that great harm has resulted from the individual pass system of examination; that the Council place on record their appreciation of the efforts of the Minister of Education and Education Department to give effieot to the Council's recommendations re the syllabus; that they believe the new syllabus is a great improyement on the old one, and that one year's trial should be given it before making any recommendation thereon, though the requirements in drawing are more than can reasonably be expeoted to be done in one year; that district institutes report next year on the working of the syllabus. The Council deoided to thank the Minister of Education for his courteous reception of the Executive, and for the reoent benefioial amendments to the standards.

A report recommending that the Institute take no steps re leaohers' pension fund was adopted. It was decided to urge the Minister to reinstate the vote for training oolleges, and that it should be allooated so that every educational district will participate in the benefit therefrom. The Council decided that it is desirable to revive the obsolete regulation under which teachers of a certain standing were allowed to graduate; that it is desirable that the appointment, removal, and payment of inspectors be placed under the oontrol of the department ; tbata court of appeal for teachers, consisting of a resident magistrate, the Inspector.General, and a member of the Executive of the Institute, is urgently needed ; that as an Executive already exists in eaoh district of the Institute it is unnecessary to establish any other; that a more uniform scale of salaiies throughout the colony should be adopted; that the polioe should obtain lists of absentee scholars at stated intervals and prosecute parents; that the employment of any child under thirteen who has not passed the Fourth Standard be made illegal; that the attention of the Minister be called to the fact that the oaloulation of the education grant on the strict instead of the working average causes great disadvantage to country schools.

The session of the Educational Institute resumed today. The Committee on Uniformity of Sohool Books reported that, as a private enterprise in New Zealand and England supplies the profession with oheap, varied, and excellent sets of sohool books, there was no necessity at present for uniform sets, specially compiled by Government. Mr D. Ferguson, M.A. (Pukeuri), in sup pott of thereport, said that Government should not enter into competition with private enterprise. Mr D. White, M.A. (Dunediu), Baid there would not have been any need to disoußS the question if the Minister of Education bad not said in the House that he was favorable to the Government issuing uniform text books. He thought the teachers should be consulted as to text books, and he would favor boards of education drawing up text books for their respective districts every two or three years. As to the Government issuing books, he thought the Council should protest emphatically. It would cost from L 60.000 to LIOO.OOO per year, and it was not likely that Parliament would vote that amount for a new series.

Mr Wilmot (Marlborough) said we had a lot of girls and boys growing up, and should encourage local industry in providing books. He did not want to see them importing anything they could produce. The report was adopted.