The Evening Star MONDAY, JULY 6, 1914.

Evening Star, Issue 15537, 6 July 1914, Page 4

The Evening Star MONDAY, JULY 6, 1914.

DrißETa tha present session there will bo •brought before ParliaOlir Education ment no measure of System. greater importance than the promised Education Acit Amendment Bill. It is, therefore, gpteaUy to be regretted that the Minister of Education should have given preference |o the Religious Instruction in Schools Jteferendtrm Act, the introduction of which might well have been delayed until a. later date. We share with teachers throughout the Dominion the keen disappointment they must feel at the rtonnppearance of tlmir Bill. It is hardly likely that Mr Allen will bring down his Education Bill until the waut-of-confidence motion has been disposed of, and the debate on this will probably be dragged on for another five or six days. Valuable time will thus have been lost—time that might well have been profitably spent by the parliamentary Education Committee, l)y the New Zealand Educational Institute, by education boards, and by many other liodiee and individuals in considering" the provisions of the Bill and preparing suggestions for its amendment or improve meat. We trust that the Minister oE Education will seize the very earliest opportunity of bringing down his Bill, and thai th# regrettable delay will not endanger its passage during the present semion. If th» deSmie promise given io the -taaehcra should iot be carried out, they

will "have good reason to feel that, they have been shabbily treated, and no doubt they will give full expression to the resentment they will bo justified in feeling. An impression is abroad and is gaining ground that Mr Allen is more concerned with the welfare of higher than primary education. Wo do not yet share this opinion, but Mr Allen will do well to prove to those who hold it that they do him an injustice. This can only be done by his at onco making an earnest endeavor to bring about the educational reforms recommended by the Commission of 1912 and approved by the Education Committee of t-ho House. Among the most important of these, suggested reforms are:

1. A Council of National Education. As to the advisability oi establishing such a body there seems but one opinion. The only question is whether it should be an administrative or an advisory body. Tho Education Commission, recommended an advisory body, and with this recommendation tho Education Committee agreed. It may therefore bo taken for granted that tho functions of tho Council will bo to advise the Minister as to the educational policy best suited to the needs of tho Dominion. Even with such limited powers the Council, if properly constituted, can do great good in developing ouv system along modem lines, so that it may be a thoroughly effective instrument in the cause of civic education, and in making adequate provision for the continued training of boys and girls between the ages of 14 and 18—that part of our population which earns its daily bread through the practical work ot commerce, handwork, industry, domestio economy, or agriculture. The Council must consist of representatives of primary, secondary, and •university teachers, education boards, and the Education Department, and a, woman or two must find a place at the table. It is only by tho setting up of such a Council that overlapping will be avoided and gaps will bo bridged, and that wo shall eventually have a completely co-ordinated system, embracing every branch from kindergarten to university. 2. A Reduction in tho Number of Education Boards. The Education Commission recommended five in place of the present thirteen boards. The New Zealand Educational Institute suggested four, the boundaries of which should be coterminous with the present University districts; the Education Committee advises eight or nine. This question will provide matter for discussion when the Bill is circulated. 3. The Inspectorate. Under this head we hope that the Minister of Education has seen fit to make provision in his Bill for placing this body under the control of some central authority. Unless this be done the difficulties in the way of establishing a Dominion scheme of promotion for teachers, and in bringing about reforms necessary for tho thorough co-ordination of our whole system of education, will bo almost insurmountable.^ 4. Teachers' Salaries.

The following paragraph appears in the report of the Education Committee: "That the Government be asked to bring "down next session [that is, this session] "a comprehensive scheme dealing -with "teachers' salaries. - ' The proposals under this head are naturally exercising the minds of teachers very greatly. Wo trust that in the new scale the following principles will be found to be embodied: (a) As far as possible salaries will be computed on the basis of service and efficiency. (b) That the salary of a teacher will not be reduced owing to falling attendance. (c) That positions will bo so grouped that it will be possible for every thoroughly efficient iualo teacher to rise by service only to £250 a year. (d) That the maximum at present paid to women teachers who give their lives to the service will bo considerably increased. (e) That the number of first class positions be increased by reducing the required average attendance from 600 to 500. (f) That teaching be made as attractive as any other branch of the Public Service. (g) That teachers tinder order of transfer shall be treated in the same manner as other branches of the Public Service. Given a general levelling up of salaries and tho embodiment of the above principles in the proposed new scale, teachers will have good reason to be satisfied, and we trust that, when the time for criticism j arrives, they will not be foolish enough to drop the substance in grasping at. the shadow. 5. Staffing of Schools. This is a matter requiring the attention oi the Minister. In spito of the improved scale of staffing tjiero aro still many cases in the larger primary schools where teachers-~generally -women—have charge of classes of 70, 80, and even 90 pupils. This is nothing short of scan* dalous, and mutt be put a stop to. We trust that, even if teachers are not yet available, the Minister will make provision for an improved .staffing, so that when the supply equals the demand relief will be given to tho orerworked women w« have referred to. There are other points to which we should like to refer, such as flu

Dominion Promotion Scheme, Compulsory Continuation Classes, the Consolidation of Country Schools, etc.; but lack of space forbids in the present) article. We would again urge upon the Minister of Education the advisability of seizing the psychological moment for the introduction of his promised Bill, and of pushing forward vigorously in a determined effort to place it upon the Statute Book before the end of the present session.