EDUCATION CRITIC

Grey River Argus, 12 September 1935, Page 8

EDUCATION CRITIC

NEW LABOUR, M.P. UTILITARIAN VIEWS. (Our Own Correspondent.) PARLIAMENT BLDGS., Sept. 11. Making his maiden speech in the House, Mr. J. R. McCombs, the newlyelected member for Lyttelton, devoted his attention solely to education matters. He said the. education system at present was but a shadow of what it was, and no longer met the needs of the Dominion. More than a million pounds had been saved at the expense of the education system, which was no longer free so far as kindergartens and universities were concerned. Schools were being allowed to fall into disrepair. Mr. McCombs criticised the Government’s action in excluding five-year-olds from school, stating this had been done in the face of expert opinion. lie also attacked the system of rationing teachers. There was now no such thing as free university instruction, and children of lowrate workers were now deprived of the benefit of taking lectures at universities. That must be depriving New Zealand of many brilliant students. Referring to secondary schools, Mr. McCombs said there was a lot of time being wasted on Latin. French and (for a large part) mathematics. Members knew how much gond the French and Latin they had learned was to them. Schools were missing the needs of children. A number of boys who should be becoming skill* ed workmen of the future were being taught idle habits at street corners, and he urged the Unemployment Board Itn prepare for the time when New Zealand emerged from depression—probably shortly after the Labour Party came in office.