FALLING SCHOOL POPULATION

Evening Star, Issue 21992, 30 March 1935, Page 10

FALLING SCHOOL POPULATION

19,000 DROP IN THREE YEARS HOUSE DISCUSSES EDUCATION (JP*K U .sited Press Associa nos.] WELLINGTON, March 29. The House met at 2.30 p.m. Mi - Parry was granted leave of absence for the remainder of the session on account of a death in the family. The Hon. S. G. Smith moved the second reading of the Education Law Amendment Bill. Ho said it was necessary to pass several clauses because of circumstances which had arisen. The Bill was not a restriction of the boards’ powers, as at least two boards appeared to think. There was no restriction on a board’s general fund, but a limit of expenditure on grounds from maintenance. This grant was limited to 5 per cent., but special cases could still be considered on their merits.

Dealing with over-scale teachers, Mr Smith said that since 1931 the school population had dropped by 19,000, and that was not all due to the exclusion of the five-year-olds, and the teacher in a de-graded school was allowed two years instead of one to find a new position in liis own grade. The clause could not. be made retrospective, as the difficulties would be too great. Regarding complaints about frequent changes of teachers, Mr Smith said that in 1929 the changes were 3 per cent, greater than in 1934. In 1929, however, most of the changes were due to schools rising in grade. Changes in the constitution of the Timaru High Schools Board were also provided for, and also in the election of the board. The Rev. Clyde Carr said that up tn the present school committees had had to arrange concerts, etc., to maintain the school grounds, and now the boards could authorise the committees to spend up to 5 per cent, of their maintenance grant, but no penalty was provided if more were spent. Mr Smith: The penalty would be a surcharge. Mr Carr: “ That would be penalty enough.” He proceeded to draw attention to an anomaly in the grading of secondary and primary schools. He said the primary schools were graded on average attendance, whereas secondary schools were graded on roll number. The whole trouble with the New Zealand educational system was that it ■vras unco-ordinated, and nc appealed to the Minister to make either one scheme or the other apply to both schools. He alleged that many people would not offc/ themselves for a school committee because of the humiliating business of having to go crawling and cadging for threepenny bits, and the Bill was only a means of tightening up the purse. H© thought the grants should be more generous. He claimed that the present intermediate schools were a poor substitute for the real thing, and said little could be accomplished in two years. He hoped the Minister would make the intermediate the thing it ought to be when run on complete and comprehensive lines. The question of married women teachers was a difficult one, and the question should be considered from the point of view of . who would be the best teachers. Some married teachers wlio had children of their own understood children, and made better teachers than some single women teachers. He did not like to see a woman put out of a iob merely because she was married, and her husband was working, especially at tho present time. He claimed that the fall in school population was largely due to the exclusion of the five-year-olds. He deprecated the fact that tho proposed change in the Tiinaru High School Board was negotiated between the board and the Direc* tor of Education, and he, as member for the district, knew nothing of it until the Minister told him about the Bill a day or two before it was introduced. ’ He thought most members would object to being treated in that way. The fault probably did not lie with the Minister or the Director, but with the f/eople in the electorate. Mr Atmore asked the Minister what proportion of the 19,000 drop in school population was duo to the exclusion of the five-year-olds. He supported Mr Carr’s protest against being ignored in connection with the Bill. He thought expenditure had been reduced too drastically in recent years, and urged a redaction in tho number of controlling authorities. Mr Sullivan urged that the grading of primary schools should be based on the roll number instead of the average attendance. , Mr Semple was sorry the Bill did not contain an amendment providing for tho admission of the five-year-olds. { He said it would he impossible for many years to measure the effect that economy would have on education. • Mr Stallworth}’ said definite confusion had occurred through the exclusion of the five-year-olds. .Many young children were playing on the 'streets, or were attending kindergartens, in some of which they were being wrongly taught by unceriificatod teachers. A number of the children also were sent to private schools. Mr Barnard said the Minister’s statement regarding falling population was disquieting, and he hoped the Minister would persuade his colleagues to restore the admission of tho fiveyear, olds.

Mr Holyoake regretted that provision had not been made for boarding allowance for country children. The outback children were deserving of more consideration than they were receiving to-day. Mr Jones said reduction of the grade of schools meant that a large number of teachers were placed on the rationed list. That meant that they were doing the same work for about half the salary. That was not a sound system. It was causing unrest among the teachers, and that was not in the interests of the children. Mr J. A. Nash predicted that the Bill would be welcomed, as there were many things in it which were needed. He hoped the grants to school com-' mittees would bo increased, because it was not fair that committees should be asked to repair windows and do similar work out of its own funds. The school committees in many districts had done great work in improving the surroundings of schools, and tho Bill would be appreciated. Mr Smith, in reply, said that since 1931 there were 19,200 fewer children.' The Government Statistician estimated that in the years 1934-35-36 there would be 6.400 fewer children between the ages of five and fourteen years in New Zealand. In England it was expected that the school population would fall by a million in the next few years. Mr’Smith added that the intermediate schools were doing excellent work, though some difficulties had been experienced because the purpose of those schools was not properly understood. The grants to education boards for capitation grants to school committees last year was £100,500, and there was no suggestion that it should he reduced. Indeed, he was hopeful that the amount might be increased. Regarding mar-

ried women teachers, he knew that some excellent women had been lost because of that law. The point was whether or not married women whoso husbands were able to keep them should be asked to resign to enable younger people to fill their positions. He would like to go further than the Bill did regarding overscale teachers, but could not do so. Requests had been received that the provision should be made retrospective, but no suggestions as to how that could be done had been received. He agreed that the school committees had done wonderful work, and in hundreds of cases the school grounds had been beautified and were equal to anything to be found in the world. Dealing with the rationed teachers, the Minister said they had 1,309 rationed teachers. Of that number 455 were probationary assistants, held relieving positions, leaving 530 addi-/ tional assistants who have been unemployed but for the rationing sciienie. The Bill was read a second time. The House rose at midnight.