EDUCATION REFORM

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 11384, 9 December 1930, Page 6

EDUCATION REFORM

Teachers wait on minister.

■mr.atmore explains new " PROPOSALS.

" STANDS FIRM ON UNIFICATION H -• OF CONTROL.

? OPPOSITION ARISES FROM ( MISUNDERSTANDING.

, (Press Association.) ;.v ■ ; WELLINGTON. Dec. 8. "Various' phases of educational problems jvere--touched on by a deputa- / tionrepresenting the Neiv Zealand federation of Teachers. which waited' upon.' the Minister of Education, the Hon. H. Atinore, and agree-' m'eiit' with The report of the Educational Committee was expressed. . In reply, the Minister urged the iimportance' of unification of control. -The -chairman of the Federation executive, ■ Mr. F; M. Fenner, said members■ were in agreement with the* principle of terminating the prisifary education’at the age of 11 plus, and- with' tlie extension of compulsory post-primary .education to the age. of . 15, They were in agreement until the institution of intermediate education, with certain reservations. ‘Jfivo ■ : of -t he bodies, the Technical School-Teachers’ Association, and the Secondary Schools’- Association, considered that while this intermediate educatioh was necessary; the ideal type r whs . the attachment of forms' J and ,11 .aud junior technical forms to existing schools.- They were all heartily hi accord .with, the principle of consolidation. With very little exception the scholarship reorganisation was - approved. Matters connected with general administration were still questions that required to bo thrashed- out. The" Minister: “You mean unification of control?” Mr. Renner: “The general administration difficulties that have to Lo controlled.” . . The. Minister: “J shall remain firm p.n that point as the ultimate solution of many difficulties.” ■ Mr. ; T. L. James dealt illi the question of'classification of leathers, particularly as it affected tr.ose- men m technical schools who lacked academic aualific-ations. At the present time’-. most primary school I earliers were certificated, but there wore a tew. technical school teachers, who would lie in an unfortunate position. Tliis applied especially ui tnosc who had come in from the industrial and -commercial world to take cii teaching as a profession Infer on in life.'

The Minister, referring -,o the point made by Mr. Jiuncs, said he s t rung-, ly-believed in the proposal put forward. Me knew there were men w'm were-• eminently qualified to five teaching,' but who could not sh* w afiv -certificate. These men must he judged dn tho fact that they were doing the work. Mr. Renner.: “How far in future m,ay the Federation hope to obtain a status similar to the- Royal Society at Home?” The' Minister: “I cannot see ar.y reason against the suggestion. Yours is the greatest of all professions. It must be so. as it provides the training for* all others, and' T would go any distance that wav' which may be necessary.” Mr. Atm ore went on to say that bis contontion was that there should be no secondary school without a certain amount of practical education. He wanted practical education to permeate every educational insUiution in the Dominion. There would bo no “smothering” of technical education so far hs be was concerned. He was still convinced that the proposal; m the report for the complete unification of control was a very sound one and that the objections were not based on the consideration of the best interests of tlie child. If necessary, an appeal would be made to parents and to committees. Committees were the creation of boards, and m addresses he had given in different parts of the Dominion he had found wherever he had had direct touch with committees that he received a unanimous vote of approval. He was quite satisfied that if they had one controlling authority, and one federated body of teachers, it would be Very easy then to consider the progress of the child from the kindergarten' to the university, where such extended, education was necessary. In regard to the proposals in the report regarding the national register and the proposed payment of teacher instead of position, he had gone as far as he could to help. He did not think-lie was asking too much when-he sought their co-operation. Broadly speaking, said the Minister, •the proposals in the report wero made for the benefit of teacher, child and committee, and members of the new board would occupy a much more dignified position. Education boards to-day had no real .powers in regard to things that counted. They had no control over appointments, as all teayhers were classified according to grading marks which were allotted by the- inspector, and unnomt- • ments had to be made strictly in accordancewith the grading iist. The report proposed- that there should bo one teacher’s register for the whole of : the teaching staff and that instead of the present system of grading, .all teachers should bo classified in tlireo broad groups. ’Flic committee!, considered that teachers sliould have a voice in the appointment of teachers, and it was proposed to set up:a National Appointments Committee, consisting of an independent chairman and representatives each of teachers and the Department, and all appointments would be entrusted to the committee in question. There was no doubt that the report presented a tremendous advance.' It was an, attempt to benefit all concerned. not excepting the taxpayer, -who would get ‘2os of value for every ill spent, which he was not getting tp-day.- A great deal of opposition was coming from tlie boards through misunderstanding of the proposals.