The Evening Star TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 1906.

Evening Star, Issue 12843, 19 June 1906, Page 4

The Evening Star TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 1906.

Htttjng the past few years many necessary educational reforms have The Appotatmcntbecn brought into operation of Teachers, in this Colony. Among the most important of these may be mentioned the establishment of training colleges far teachers in each of the four, large centres of population—Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunodin—the adoption of a colonial scale of staffs and salaries, and the establishment of a Superannuation Fund. By the first of these ample provision is made for the education and training of a sufficient supply of teachers to meet the requirements of the Colony. As a matter of fact, we are inclined to think that too many colleges have been established. We fear that in a few years the supply of trained teachers, especially women, will he far greater than the demand, and that many young women will be disappointed at finding, after they have completed their pupil-teacher and training college course, that they cannot find employment. Two colleges—ono for each island—would, in our opinion, have been found sufficient to supply all our needs. By the adoption of a colonial scale of staffs and salaries, many grave injustices and anomalies were removed, and our system of primary education was changed from a parochial to a national one. The establishment of a Superannuation Fund has provided for the retirement of aged and infirm teachers, and is certainly a great step on the road of educational progress. There still remain at least two blots on our primary system of education—the want of a proper method of appointing and promoting teachers and the payment of teachers on average attendance. It is with tho- first of these defects that wo purpose dealing in this article.

Prior to the passing of the Education Act Amendment Act last year no uniform method el making appointments was in opera-, tion in Hus Colony. The Bill, as at first drafted, contained the following danse:— Not more than twenty days before the dar on which the appointment is to be made, the Board shall send to the chairman of the Committee a list containing the names of all'those who axe applicants for appointment to a vacancy and a smaller list containing not more than six n-tmea (in order) of applicants whom the Board consider best fitted to fill Bach vacancy,’ stating the length of service and other qualifications of such applicants, the name of the teacher that the Board propose to appoint being placed first on pu°h list; and the Board shall at the same

time notify the Committee on what day they propose to make the appointment. When, the Bill was reported from the Education Committee the above danse was struck out and the following substituted:—• (a) The Board shall send to the chairman of the Committee, so as to reach Mm in the ordinary oonzae of post not titer tan dsyi baton toe day on toach-thie vimrentniwit .1 i.tngto wrtra

(1) A list containing the names of all those teachers who are applicants for appointment to a vacancy ; ~ (2) A list containing not more than six names (in order) of teachers whom the Board consider best fitted to fill such vacancy, stating the length of service and other qualifications of each such teacher, the name of the teacher that the Board propose to appoint being placed first on such list; and (3) The application and testimonials of each teacher whose name appears on such last-mentioned list. And the Board shall at the same time notify the Committee on what day Jhey propose to make the appointment : Provided that if no applications for appointment have been invited or received, it shall be sufficient for tho Board to send the list last mentioned. (b) The Committee shall, in writing, notify the Board of their agreement or disagreement with tho proposal of the Board, and such notification, together with a statement of tho grounds for disagreement, if any, shall be delivered or posted so as to reach the secretary of the Board not later than three days before the day on which the appointment is to be made, (c) The Board shall consider the notification, if any, received izom the Committee, and thereupon, or if no such notiIficat'on has been received, may proceed to make the appointment. It should be noted that when the Bill was reported from the Parliamentary Education Committee—a. body consisting of some twenty-fivo members of Parliament—the appointment of teachers was practically in the hands of Education Boards. Committees were to receive two lists—one containing the names of all applicants for the particular vacancy; and a shorter list containing not more than six names, in, order of merit, with an intimation that the Board proposed to appoint the teacher whose name appeared first on the short list. These names, it is presumed, were to bo arranged by the Board .after con- ; sulfation with, and on the advice of, 1 the inspectors, experts best qualified to I judge of tho relative claims for promotion !of the several applicants. During tho pasI sage of the Bill through tho House, however, the fallowing clause was substituted, on tho late Premier’s initiative, for that recommended by the Education Committee: — The Committee shall, if the number of names in tho last-mentioned list is four or more, select two of th« candidates so submitted, and shall in writing notify tho Board, not later than three days before the day on which tho appo’ntmout is to he made, of the selection so made, and tho Board shall appoint one of the two teachers whose names have been so selected and submitted. The italics in tho ahoy© are ouxs. Now, we have watched with considerable interest tho working of this new system of making appointments, and, as far as tho experience of the past six months goes, it is anything but satisfactory. From all parts of tho Colony come complaints that men and women best fitted to fill certain positions are being passed over hi favor of others whose claims for promotion axe not the I strongest. It. is even said that, in some I cases, it is a misfortune to be placed first | on the Board’s list, as the committees rc- ! sent the arranging of the names in order, and frequently refuse to appoint tho teacher whom they consider tho nomipe© of tho Board. It is further said that the claims of men who have the highest qualifications, and who have done excellent work in tho country, both in the ordinary public school and in District High Schools, are being passed over in favor of those who have refused to leave town and whose qualifications from ©very point of view are inferior to those of the rejected applicant. Aa a matter of fact, tho problem of evolving a satisfactory method of appointing teachers has not yet been solved, and, in our opinion, never will be, until tho whole question is looked at from a colonial point of view and dealt with accordingly. In tho meantime, we trust that the Otago Education Board will set their faces against promoting to important positions in the City or suburban schools men or women who have not gone to the country and there won their spurs by showing that they are capable school managers and organisers as well as good rtaos teachers.