PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS

Evening Star, Issue 17483, 14 October 1920, Page 8

PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS

ADVANCES IN SALARIES. THE SCHEME” DETAILED. P?: T lmment yesterday the Minister of Education , (Hon. C. J. Parr) announced tfte increases to teachers’ salaries. 1 u Parr stated that there were over 7,000 teachers concerned. The Minister of finance (Mr Massey) had been able to give him a quarter of a million pounds this year for additions to teachers’ salaries. . In distributing this money he had given speciah consideration to the future of the , ( profession as well as to ths present necess tms. His mam object had Been to make teaching profession more attractive to yeoung people. He had given consideration to too interests.of the country child. Over SU per cent, of the children were being taught in country schools largely staffed by teachers. He desired to remedy this evil. By better pay he hoped , t0 uiduce the able assistant to go to the country. The department would increase the capitation to the back-block schools lo £ls per head per annum. The salaries of schools of Grades I, H., and ITT attendance ranging from nine to IAI) had been materially increased. These TL e -. a o^ ran P d £rom & 70 to a maximum ij , .the last two years. The result snoula be that no teacher could reasonably erea^ er j to take a country school. Ihe salaries of infant mistresses and senior women assistants in larger schools had also been raised a grade. This was in addition to the ordinary increases. In this way special recognition was beinf accorded to the excellent work of some of the splendid women teachers in our service. Native school teachers would receive the . same increments as primary school teachers. A special allowance of £lO, in addition to the ordinary increment, will he added to the house and married allowances, as some recognition of the responsibilities of the family man. “ I think,” said Mr j. arr »,.* are making a move in the rio-ht direction when we admit this principier” . Licensed teacheis will receive a flat rate : increase of £3O ; Uncertificated teachers, of _ whom there is a large number, will receive an increase of £2O, subiect, however to a provision that next year when the inspectors shall have been able to make a broad classification separating the most efficient from the others, this scale will be modified in favor of a somewhat higher payment to the more efficient. This class varies very greatly in efficiency. Many xiav© little more than a Sixth Standard attainment. Owing to the dearth of trained - teachers some uncertificated men and women are already enjoying positions beyond their deserts. There are as well, however, some really capable and usefui teachers who do not hold a certificate. There is at present no classification of these people, but the inspectors will be to differentiate between the most efficient and others, and the department will then be able to give to the best u group a somewhat higher reward than the proposed flat rate. DETAILS OP THE NEW SCHEME. The New Scale for Entrants to the Profession.—

Under the new scale all pupil teachers and probationers will serve for two years as such, and then undergo two years’ training at the Training College. In their fifth year they may take up permanent positions as assistants or sole teachers of small schools. Table “A” given below shows the prospects of young teachers which can readily be realised in spite of the fact that the attainment of a salary of £330 per annum may require for some apromption from one position to another The number of second or third grade posi'tions held by uncertificated teachers is at present so large that promotion for certificated teachers can bo guaranteed. ° TABLE “A.” >—Male Entrants to the Teaching Profession.— • Teachers. Public Service. Year, Home. Boarding. Home. Bardinu 1 85 125 85 125 \ 130 100 139 3 105 135* H5 135 4 105 135* 140 140 ‘With university fees. 5 f £IBO town assistant -{ £2OO country assistant I £230 sole teacher 6 f £2QO or < £220 or 015 \ £240 or _ 215 7 f £230 or 230 I £250 ■ r 8 f £240 or 250 I £2BO country 9 £290 ' 280 10 £3lO _ 2M Note. -In the first four years only, girls receive £5 less. The effect is that pupil teachers and probationers are now being offered an average increase of £3O per annum. A J*® seen from the above that for 13 “St four years male entrants to the teaching profession receive at least the same salary as cadets in the Public Service. Girls receive only £5 less, but appointment to the Public Service is practicaUy closed to girls, and an initial salary °f "2 5s per week, which we now offer for girls of 16 or years of age, wmuld not be easily obtainable in any other occupation. In their fifth year both men and /women ex-students may receive a mini- ■ mum salary of £IBO per annum, but thev may commence at £2OO, or oven £230 if they are prepared to take a position in the country j whereas for the fifth year the £ u °{} c £ erv l ce offers £i6o only. The Public Service scale shows that, after entering the Public Service as a cadet a young man, at the end of 11 years, will receive £290 per annum; but a voung teacher, either male or female, conlcTwitliout difficulty reach a salary og £330 at the same age. Turning from comparison with the Puhlic service scale, it must bo pointed out that in no country in the world do the allowances paid to entrants to the teaching profession during their period of training even approach the scale now framed for New Zealand. In fact, in most Englishspeaking countries entrants to the teaching profession have to pay their own way until they are certificated and qualified teachers. Where allowances are paid they are some--1 ; t ”? es g by way of competitive scholarchips or by way of small allowances towards the .Cost of Living. With regard to this section, therefore, it can nnhestitatingly be stated that New Zealand easily leads the world.. Salaries of Assistants As previously stated, the minimum salary for an assistant teacher will now be £IBO for - even the less efficient teachers. Those with . better qualifications can commence at £I9P even in the lowest grade. By taking one of tjhe numerous vacant positions now offering in medium-sized country schools, the young assistant may % at £220 and proceed to £270 without promotion ? or xn?.y take charge of a small school at a mini-mum-salary of £230, and proceed without .promotion to £3OO. Promotions from any of these positions to others with a higher minimum can readily be obtained by any certificated teacher of average efficiency. The salaries of all grades of assistant teachers have been increased during the past two years by from £9O to £l2O, and .under the new scale the range of salary ™oi? s i s *' an * s from a. minimum of £IBO to a maximum of £450. In view mdtfnsms recently made, a table (table B ) is herewith given showing how the salaries of assistants compare -with those in other countries It should lie explained that the salaries given for New South Wales are those for 1919; since then the Government have granted an additional £450,000; hut as this has to be divided among over 8.000 teachers, the average increase would be about £SO, and the probable effect of this addition has Been shown in the table as the salary for 1920. , With regard to the Burnham scale, it may be stated that previously there were scores of scales of teachers’ salaries in England under the numerous educational controlling authorities, such as county councils and school boards. These have now been superseded by one standard minimum scale for the whole of England. This desirable reform has been introduced ; into England nearly 20 years after a simi- ; lar step was taken in New Zealand through • the adoption of a Dominion scale of sala- ■ ries for teachers. The new Burnham scale

provides for better salaries than 80 per cent, of the scales which it displaces. It is equal to 10 per cent, of previous scales, and is inferior only to 10 per cent, of the existing scales. Yet the new scale for New Zealand, as shown in the several tables .below, easily surpasses’ the muchvannted Burnham scale. The highest scales in England, are those just approved for Birmingham and London respectively. In some respects these are better than the new scale for New Zealand; but it must be remembered that these scales are for two large, closely-settled areas where there are fey small schools and scarcely any of the type of the New Zealand country school. Comparison under these conditions is scarcely fair to New Zealand. TABLE “B.” —Assistant Teachers : New Scale.— Total Salary New with Efficiency Grade. Schedule. Increases. 1. ... £l6O-170 £IBO-230 2. ... £IBO-190 £2OO-250 or or £2OO-210 £220-270 3. ... £2OO-230 £220-290 4. ... £240-270 £260-330 5. ... £2BO-500 £3OO-360 6. ... £3lO-320 £330-380 7. ... £530-350- £350-410 Married teachers receive £4O additional. The salaries of infant mistresses and senior women assistants'" in the larger schools have been raised a grade. The above scale represents an increase in all grades of from £9O to £l2O in two years. COMPARISONS. Minimum. Maximum. 2s ew South Wales, 1919 £132 £336 New South Wales, 1920 (approximately) ... £lB2 ' £386 England (Burnham), men .„ £l5O £3OO England (Burnham), women £l4O £240 Birmingham, men ... £l9O £430 Birmingham, women £l6O .£345 London, men £2OO £425 London, women £lß7£ £340 New Zealand— Least efficient £IBO Average efficiency ... £2OO £430 Most efficient £230 £7)50 Ihe 2s ew Zealand scale for assistants is superior to any other known scale.

SALARIES OF HEAD TEACHERS. The salaries for sole and head teachers under the new scale in New Zealand are diown in the table (Table “C ”) given below. The increases to these salaries during the past two years alone rarere from £IOO to £l2O. It. will be seen that the maximum salary for a school with oyer 480 pupils is £6OO, but if a district high school is attached an additional allowance of £3O or £SO will be paid, making the total £650. Some critics have led the public to believe that a head master’s sa.ary is the highest a teacher can reach, but it was not stated that there are about + ™®P? ct °rships with salaries ranging up to £7OO per annum, and that all of these positions are filled from the ranks of the teaching profession. Further, there are other positions of a higher value in secondary _ schools to which qualified teachers may aspire. _ In addition to these, there are the senior professional positions in the head office of the Education Department now to range up to £1.250 per annum, all ot winch positions are at present filled by ex-teachers. . J —Table C.— X’ew Scale—New Zealand Sole and Head Teachers. Grade. Attendance. Range of Salary. T £ls per head i; ' 9 -20 £250-£3OO itr 21-55 £2BO-£370 Hlb. ... ... 81-120 £360-£440 •L V 121-240 £440-£470 ~ 241-400 £450-£530 J 11 ; 481-900 £530-£6OO Head teachers of District High Schools receive £3O or £SO additional, the above range includes all allowances. . rf,he N . ew Zealand scale for head teachers is superior to any other known scale except the local scales for London and Birmingham. OPINIONS ON THE NEW SCALE. The new scale has been submitted to the °l th ®, p T xecutive of the New Zealand Educational Institute, and a cena?Pfoval has been given to the efiorts of the Government and of the denf D A“ ad ! in th Y® interests of teachers and of the nature of the scale drawn up. •the chairman and the secretary of the Association of Education Boards have also discussed the new scale with me, and made a number of suggestions. It was found, however that all of these, except one, were already provided for in the departments scheme. It was gratifying to find that these representative bodies found practically nothing to take exception to in the new scale, and it is hoped that it will have the effect of largely increasing the number of entrants to the teaching profession, and of providing a brighter ssiwr ' h °

A new scale for the salaries of technical and secondary school teachers has been completed, but this cannot be brought into operation until the Amendment Act now under consideration of the Government, has the approval of Parliament.