SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS

Grey River Argus, 2 December 1938, Page 5

SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS

NEW REGULATIONS Grouping, Grants and Training [Per Press Association.] WELLINGTON, December 1. A number of regulations are issued with to-night’s Gazette, which affect schools throughout the Dominion and the Education Department generally. The first of these is an amendment to the Training College regulations, which provides for the approval of certain schools as “model” schools, although they are not actually attached to normal schools. This step has been found necessary because of the large number of students who are now in training, and of the fact that the model schools at the normal schools have been found adequate for the purpose. Another set of regulations issued is the Education Boards’ grants regulations. In the Education Amendment Act, 1938, passed last session, provision was made for payment of increas-1 ed grants to Education Boards for general purposes, and for grants to School Committees. The regulations now issued provide that the grants for the year 1939 shall be passed on the rolls of the public schools within the different Education Board districts on September 16, 1938, the date on which 'the roll is taken for determining the i staffs of the public schools for next i year. Recently, teachers’ salaries regulations were passed, and these provided for a new scheme of staffs and salaries, which affected nearly all teachers in different degrees. Under this scheme, it is intended to devise a new grading group scheme, which will take some time to bring into effect, and it is proposed, in a primary teachers’ grading regulations amendment which is issued with to-night's Gazette, that, for the grading of primary school teachers in February next, that they be classified in grading groups according to the grade of salary which would have been payable to them undei- the old regulations.

Another regulation deals with the examination and classification of teachers. This has been rendered necessary because the training college entrance examination was a prerequisite for the teachers' Class C. examination, and it included the subjects of history and geography. The amendments provide that these subjects shall be added to the list of compulsory subjects for the Class C. examination. The effect will not be to increase the number of subjects for this examination, as the amendment further provides that the number of optional subjects required to be passed have been reduced by two.