Hawkes Bay Herald. SATURDAY, MAY 27, 1882. THE COST OP TRAINING TEACHERS.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 6261, 27 May 1882, Page 2

Hawkes Bay Herald. SATURDAY, MAY 27, 1882. THE COST OP TRAINING TEACHERS.

In a recent number of the New Zealand Schoolmaster appears a trenchant article on the colonial institutions for the training of teachers. There are in the colony, we are told, four normal schools or training colleges. At the date of the last report issuod by the Minister of Educatian there were 27 males and 68 females in training, or a total of 95 young persons preparing themselves for tho profession of teachers. A comparison between this and the English system is thus instituted: — "There are 42 training colleges in England, and four in New Zealaud. The population of the former is about twenty-seven millions — of the latter half a million. In England there is one training college for every 645,000 persons ; iv New Zealand there is one for every 125,000. If England had the same relative number of training colleges as New Zealand, she would require to provide 171 more institutions than sha at present possesses. • In England there Jare about 30,000 certificated teachers ; in New Zealand about 1200. Reckoning the annual waste in each case at 5£ per cent., we obtain the number of young teachers required to bo sent out from the training institutions of both countries io supply vacancies by death, retirement, and otherwise. This number for England is 1650, and for New Zealand 66. The accommodation in the 42 English training colleges is sufficient for 3206 students, or an average of over 78 for each college. As the size of tho normal schools in New Zoaland is not given by the Government, we shall suppose that the accommodation in each is sufficient, on the average, for the training of 70 students, and, if so, it follows that three out of the four colleges are unnecessary, that they aro a useless incubus on our education scheme, and that they might easily be dispensed with to the improvement, rather than to the detriment of ' education. But there is another, and, perhaps, moro potent reason why so many training colleges are not required, and that is the heavy expense connected with them. Tho amount of grant passed last session for the special training of teachers was £7500. This sum by no means represents tho total expenditure on the training institutions, yet this single item, when divided by the number of students in training, represents about £79 per head, which the Government pay annually for tuition alone. Comparing this amount with the cost of the training of students in English colleges, we find that in 1880 the average cost per head for tuition in the 42 colleges was £16 16s ; for board, washing, &c, £31 15s, on £48 lis for tuition and living. Evidently something must be wrong in the management of the Training Institution of this country when it costs < for the education of each trained £79 per i annum, whilst only £4S lis is the amount \ expended in England for boarding as well ] as educating a student !" Tho writer ( may well conclude with a note of ex- ! clamation. For, with all this preparation, ] the returns seem almost nil. During * last session of Parliament Mr Waterhouse moved for a return showing the I number of those trained at these colleges \ who remained as teachers in our public H schools, and of those who hadtaken toother I walks of life, but this return does not f yet appear to have been issued. As the educational statistics of the census of ° April, 1881, are now gradually seeing the n light, at the same rapid rate of progress ' 1

Mr Warerkouse's question njay beyanswered within the next -twelve months. But, though we have no definite information before us, there is sufficient circuin-, T stantial evidence to brand oiir' normal, schools as failures. All over the colony '■ there are loud and repeated complaints of the difficulty of procuring trained teachers. At a meeting of the North Canterbury Board recently one member stated Ihat he did not know a single instance of a female teacher trained in the Canterbury normal school who remained for auy length of time in our public schools. Very similar criticisms have been made in Dunedin and other centres. The writer iv The Schoolmaster goes so far as to say: — "From what we have been able to gather from the reports of the Training Colleges, we are led to the conclusion that these institutions have been established under conditions which imply not so much a desire to prepare trainers to becomo enthusiastic and intelligent teachers, as a vaunt to the outside world that the Education scheme of this country maintains four training institutions, and therefore that the Education given in the schools must be good. For ourselves we are at a loss to understand why there are so many Training Colleges in New Zealand, but we are at a still greater loss to know why such a large expenditure is needed to maintain them. In the number, the case of maintenance, and in the examination I of the students in the technical part of their work great changes will require to be made before the country is satisfied that the annual grant for the training of teachers is expended to the best possible advantage." Tbere is a suggestion made with the object of securing better results with less expenditure. It is that the New Zealand University, now an institution almost as useless as it is expensive, should be utilised in the training of teachers. It is pointed out that in our larger towns there are Profossors for every branch of a University course, and it would be easy to arrange for students, training to attend lectures given by the. Professors in oertain subjects. By this means economy could be practised, and efficiency increased. ;