EDUCATION REPORT

Greymouth Evening Star, 24 July 1930, Page 2

EDUCATION REPORT

NO COPIES FOR BOARD

[special to “star.”]

AUCKLAND, July 24.

“I am sorry there are not enough copies of the Parliamentary report on education to supply to members,” said Mr. H. Burns, Chairman, at the opening of this morning’s meeting of the Auckland Education Board, called to consider the education proposals. “I wrote to Wellington, asking for sixteen copies, but only received one, and that through tho courtesy of Mr. Atmore.” F. H. Snell: How is it that of the 250 copies printed, the largest Education Board in the Dominion could get only one?

Mr. Burns: I suppose each member of both Houses got one. It may have been a measure of economy. Mr. E. C. Banks: Why didn’t they get sufficient printed while they were at it? Mr. Snell: It is unfair.

Mr. Burns: 1 know of one local body in Auckland not connected with education, that received six copies. It is a hard thing to call members together to discuss a report, which they have not seen in full. Mr. H. S. W. King: We’ve a right to object to a local body getting six copies while we can get only one. Members of the Board had to be content, with a typewritten precis of the main features of the report,, and this was extremely inadequate for their needs.

“If control becomes centralised in Wellington, I am going to give up educational work,” declared Mr. E. C. Banks, at to-day’s meeting of the Auckland Education Board. Mr. F. A. Snell gave his support io 11. S. W. King’s motion, deprecating centralised control. “The next step will bo a dictatorship, and then we will be reduced to serfdom,” he said. Mr. A. Burns: Mussolini! A\’e should bring the whole question before the politicians. They do not want to filch rights from the people. Messrs. A. Burns, T. Wells and the Secretary were appointed the Board’s delegates to the conference of Education Boards,“to discuss the whole question. Mr. Burns stated that the delegates’ expenses would have to be paid out of the unauthorised expenditure. “Oh, I’ll put in my whack,” interposed Mr. Banks.

AUCKLAND OPPOSITION

[PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.]

AUCKLAND, July 24

The Auckland Grammar School Board after considering the Atmore Education report,, carried a resolution, that the efficiency of the great Secondary Schools of Auckland, will inevitably bo gravely impaired by the proposed charges. The essence of the system would be a. levelling down and complete centralisation of authority in ■Wellington. The Board considered the equality of opportunity for all classes and the resulting pre-eminence of (he most intellectual pupils, regardless of class, to be the essence of democracy, and that the results of the Auckland Grammar Schools are the best tribute to the existing control system.

The Auckland Education Board considered the report at a special meeting this morning, and carried a resolution that (he report proposing the centralised control 'of education was not in the best interests of New Zealand, and would deny to the people the right of electing those whom they wished to govern education. Mr A. Burns said if he did.not know the Atmore report, had been written by two members of the Education De-

partment staff, lie would have thought it had been written by Mark Twain,, when it referred to the “dignified and important place the Boards would occupy in the new system.”