EDUCATION ACT.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 26 August 1926, Page 2

EDUCATION ACT.

IMPORT ANT AMEND MENTS

RIGHT OR APPEAL ■WITHHELD' (by TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION.) WELLINGTON.. Aug. 2 5. In the House of Representatives tonight the Hon 11. A. Wright moved the second -reading of the Education Amendment Bill. He stated that one of the more important provisions was the one doing -away with the- issuing to -uncertified persons of licenses to teach. It is laid down, however, that the -present holders of such licenses shall have all their rights preserved so Long -a-s the licenses -remain In- force. Sneli existing licenses may be renewed subject to- -the provisions of the -regulations under whic-h they were issued. Another -clause provides that a teacher who bias- -applied lor and then refused ‘a position offered by an education board, shall be ineligible lor appointment to iai position by -any board for a period as may ho fixed by the Director of Education, unless he satisfies the Director that there wa-s ia- sufficient a-ncl proper reason for the refusal. Children -may not -be ex-pelled from a -school by -a teacher, but may only be suspended. All such suspensions are to be investigated by the education; board for the district, which may reinstate the child or forbid its attendance till the cause _of the complaint has been remedied or no longer exists. Intermediate -and leaving certificates may be granted in cases where, in the opinion, of the Director of Education., a child has -received equivalent instruction outside New Zealand. Medical inspection now applicable only to public schools -and to registered private primary schools, -at the request of their authorities, is extended to all schools, primary and secondary. Mr. P. Fra-ser (Wellington Central) advocated -substituting for scholarships some -material lrelp to enable- promising children to- tide over economic difficulties which prevented -them, from taking advantage of the scholarship. He also- advocated ia. -board of appeal for teachers.

Mr. G. W. Forbes- (Hurunui) could .not understand why -no- provision had been made lor -a board oi appeal. This was the teachers’ right and he was -surprised at the Minister’s silence on the point. Air. T. Forsyth (Wellington East) contended tluat the case against the right of -appeal was so- strong that- it permitted of not -argument. Teachers had the -right of appeal -against grading, and that was- tall they should have. Air J. A. Nash (Palmerston North) said the right of appeal hadi been promised’ by the previous Minister, and that promise- -should he carried out by the present Alinister. Messrs Ransom, Sykes, MoKeen, Sullivan, Glenn, Yeitch, Armstrong and Horn als-o supported the teachers’ right of appeal. ! Air H. E. Holland (Leader of the- Opposition) said 75 per cent of the Reform Party favoured the right of appeal. He'said he favoured clause _4, which gave the sole- right o-f expulsion from' schools to education boards, but thought the time would come when no child would be expelled from school. He wa-s not greatly enamoured of the scholarship system, hut recognised that it co-uld on-ly be supplanted by the State making education; absolutely free and hearing the whole cost of teaching the future citizens of the Dominion- as well as the culture o-f child) mind. There should be the greatest care of the- children’s health, and he could not understand the pruning down of these precautions in the present Bill. The Alinister. in re-ply, said he agreed that, material help should' be given to a promising child, and perhaps the scholarships were not the last word on this phase- of education. He assured the House that no- teacher would he penalised if lie refused to take up an appointment if he had -good reason for not doing so, but there mu-st be- some check bn .teachers who juggle with a number of appointments, and t-liat was all the Bill was attempting to do. Referring to the teachers’ right of appeal, the Alinister said be- was opposed to the right of appeal because the present system was- the last hold which the boards bad on the appointment of teachers. The right of appeal would constitute a grave danger to the country schools, because the teacher highest on the grading list was not always the best qualified- for a -particular school. Not every department gave its officers an absolute right of appeal. In the Railway Department, for instance, the Alinister always- held the- right of appeal, and he warned the House against including any -such principle in this Bill.

The Bill was read a: second time