PRIMARY SCHOOLS’ CAPITATION.

Hawera Star, Volume L, 19 May 1930, Page 6

PRIMARY SCHOOLS’ CAPITATION.

(To the Editor.) Sir,—ln your report of the proceedings of the School 'Committees’ Association it is stated that I had resigned as a member of the Stratford l Technical High School Board as a. protest aggimst the high capitation paid to secondary schools. What I meant to say was “that having resigned I was now at liberty to speak more freely on this subject.” The figures were quoted by Mr Kemp, viz., “That a Technical School 'with an attendance of 300 received about £9OO per -annum and a primary school with the same attendance was paid only £1i70.” The position is, Sir, that the primary schools, especially those schools grading over 3A, only receive enough capitation to barely pay their janitors, which makes it necessary for school committees to hold functions to raise enough money to carry on, whereas the Technical High Schools have more money paid, to them than they .can spend economically. .Some of them l have as much as £SOO on fixed deposit besides two or three hundred iii the Bank on current account. It seems to me that this is an unfair state of things, and I feel that as the Government is short of. money that less capitation could be paid to secondary schools and given to primary school committees.—l am., etc.,

JOHN 'COOKER, iChairman of the IS.T.'S.A TLiwhitiroa, May 17, T 930.