COLONIAL SCALE OF SALARIES.

Evening Star, Issue 11267, 14 June 1900, Page 5

COLONIAL SCALE OF SALARIES.

It having been stated that the .Minister of. Education had abandoned his proposal to institute a colonial seals for the ' teachers employed in tie primary schools, a representative of the 'Lytteltoh Times' waited upon the Hon. Mr Walker ! .......day and inquired whether there wos anj- truth in the report. " None at all," was the Minister's prompt reply. "I don't know how the rumor jot. abroad, but I can assure you that it is without the slightest foundation. Of course, I have seen it in the newspapers, but I see a good many misstatements there which I have no time to correct. I have noticed in one or two journals, for instance, a report that my scale of salaries is practically identical with the one prepared by the late MrHabens. This is utterly incorrect. I thoroughly appreciate the very valuable work done for the department by Mr Habens, but I don't intend to follow him. on this particular occasion." ■ When will your proposals be ready for publication?— Well, that is rather difficult to say. The scheme involves an immense amount of Labor, as you can easily imderr stand, and I don't wish to submit, "it to the public until it is reasonably perfect. Per-. haps by the end of the month I shall be able to refer the outlines to the education boards and teachers' ipstitutes, and after they have had time to consider them and make recommendations I shall prepare the necessary legislation. Could you give the public any idea of the directions in which your proposals will proceed''—l think I have already given them some idea. The defects' of the present system are obvious to everyone. These are as injurious to tbe public as they are unjust to many of the teachers, and I have no doubt that with the assistance of the boards they can be removed. It must not be. imagined I that I have any intention to interfere with the dignity and authority of the boards. These bodies have been of very great service in the past, and I should be sorry to do anything that would lessen their utility in the future. , But won't the institution of a colonial scale of salaries deprive them of much of their authority?— Certainly not. All I propose to'do is to classify the teachers and the schools, to to make provision for the payment of salaries from the colonial funds. I When the plan is in operation a school with a certain attendance will be entitled to a certain number of teachers at certain salaries. The teachers on their part will be classified in the same way, and according to their classification will be eligible for certain positions. I What will be the guiding principles of | the classification ?—As regards the schools there will be no great difficulty. The atI tendance must be the main consideration in filing the strength of the staff. But the classification of the teachers will not Be so simple. A great many people have reminded mo that it wouldn't do to make the present certificate the only test. . I 1-t-pe that I was never in danger of doing anything so foolish. My object will be to op en as wide a field as possible to suitable teachers, and at the same time to give the boards and committees the best service that can be Obtained for the money they have-, at their disposal. i>o you expect, that any considerable number of teachers will be displaced by the adoption of the new regulation?— No. I have not heard of any. On the other hand, I am assured on all sides that the regulations will be. welcomed by the teachers. How about finance? Will your proposals entail any larger expenditure?— Probably they will. At present higher salaries are paid.in some districts than in otbers, and the process should be one of levelling up, with discretion, of course; rather than levelling down. But the 1 Government will not grudge the money if it increases'the efficiency of the system. Possibly an amount equal to a capitation grant of £4 a head, an increase of sson the present grant,'will be required; but this will be spread over the whole colony, and not devoted to districts where it.is really not required. In any case, the boards will be relieved of all anxiety in connection with salaries. ;'.' /' But won't that also relieve them and the committees of'much of their control over the teachers?— There is no reason-why it should.These bodies will retain all the -authority they possess now. T-hey will . engage teachers and dismiss them, as theyhave always done. The department will simply confine its choice to the teachers -who are qualified for the positions they wish to fill.. They will still have plenty of applicants to choose.from, but they won't be allowed to appoint unsuitable candidates. I don't think they will have any cause to complain of the change, ........ What.arrangement will be made for the boards' finance?— The boards will still require money for the provision of incidental expenses, the payment of their own officers, secretaries, inspectors, <ilerks, and so forth, and this will be supplied by the department. There is no intention to starve the boards or to discourage them-in any. way. On the contrary, it is hoped that the new system, while relieveing them of a great financial responsibility, will give them more leisure ♦o attend to equally important matters affecting the educational requirements of their districts. Have you considered the proposal to place the inspectors under the direct control of the department in Wellington?— Yes, but I think it better, for the present at any rate, to leave them under the control of the boards.- I should like to see them made interchangeable, so to speak, but even that is not such a simple matter as some people seem to suppose. Each board naturally employ the best men they can procure, and might think that the'men employed by their neighbors were not so good. I am sorry to see, by the way, that some of the inspectors are not inclined to approve of the freedom of classification which I inaugurated some time ago. The concession appears to me to be a very valuable one, and I shall be disappointed if it does not prove of great benefit to the children and of considerable advantage to the teachers. Have the Government any intention of undertaking the inspection of private schools? —The suggestion has not been discussed by the Cabinet, but my own opinion is that this work should fall to the education boards. The evident intention of the Education Act is that the boards should be the supreme authority in their own districts, and if they think it necessary or. desirable to inspect the private schools they should make provision for doing so. Several of the boards have , already done this, and I do not think that the expense has seriously affected their finances.

And, finally, Mr Walker, what do you propose to do next session in regard to technical education?—l am just as anxious as ever to place this matter on a satisfactory footing. I shall reintroduce the Bill that was before Parliament last year and the year before, for the purpose of extending the operation of Mr Reeves's Bill, and I hope t..at by that time the, gentlemen who imagined that the Government were seeking to subsidise denominational schools will have recovered from their hallucination. It will be a great pity if the scope of the measure should be restricted by such an absurd suspicion.