FULLY EMPLOYED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22439, 20 September 1947, Page 6

FULLY EMPLOYED

AGRICULTURAL TEACHERS CANTERBURY ATTITUDE (P.A.) CHRISTCHURCH, Sept. 19. The Canterbury Education Board decided this morning that as its agricultural instructors were already fully employed they would not undertake any duties on behalf of private schools. The board will inform the Education Department of this expressing the opinion that the question of expanding any part of the public funds for providing such service in private schools was one of national policy which was for the Government to decide and which should be the responsibility of the Government alone.

The board’s agriculture committee reported that a circular from the Department to education boards on the subject stated that application had been received from the director of Catholic Education, Dr, N. Gascoigne, asking that instructors be made available to private schools with a view to the guidance and development of a boys’ and girls’ agricultural class. The department commended to boards for sympathetic consideration any such requests from private schools.

Commenting on the discussion at the meeting of the Wellington Education Board regarding requests by private schools for the services of public school instructors and officials, the director of education. Dr. C. E. Beeby, stated that it was his department's policy to help private schools as much as possible. He was aware that the education boards were short-staffed, but the department was always glad if the boards could render assistance to private schools He did not know anything about there being concern over such requests. There were quite a few services which the private schools received along with the public schools, such as free school journals and textbooks and trie free conveyance. If it meant raising the standard of education he did not see why there should be any objection to outside instructors helping the instruction at urivate schools.