THE H.B. TRIBUNE. WEDNESDAY. AUGUST 21, 1912. OVERCROWDED SCHOOLS.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume II, Issue 221, 21 August 1912, Page 4

THE H.B. TRIBUNE. WEDNESDAY. AUGUST 21, 1912. OVERCROWDED SCHOOLS.

The report of Inspector Smith, received by the Hastings School Committee on Tuesday night, is deserving of more than passing notice, for | it tells of conditions existing at the school that are such a serious menace to the health of the children as | to make it imperative for immediate I action to be taken. Briefly put, In- | spector Smith’s report is that the I school is shockingly overcrowded, and one at least of the rooms is wretchedly cold. This statement, as I most of our readers are aware, is not I fresh news, the fact having been fully : ventilated in June last when Mr. Hanan, then Minister for Education, visitefl Hastings, and was waited upon by a deputation from the Education Board to further the proposal to erect a new school at Mahora South. To thoroughly appreciate the extent of the present overcrowded state of the Hastings school, it may be necessary to refresh our minds regarding the statements macle by the deputation in order to convince the Minister how necessary it was that the proposed school should be established immediately ; in order to relieve the congestion at the main school. In passing it may be pointed out that the disclosures were macle two months ago. and owing to a trivial misunderstanding regarding the price of the land under option, the matter has apparently been shelved. At anyrate no settlement of the dispute has so far been i reported. Mr. H. AL Campbell, i ALP., in introducing the deputation. | said that the health of tlie children. ; if the present Mate of affairs were allowed to continue, would be seri-;

ously impared. The main school had a roll of SOO and the children were jammed together like sardines, and under those conditions it was impossible for them to be reared in a healthy state. Mr. Pegler, the headmaster. ' said the present roll at his school was 842. and the average for the last quarter 760, or 100 more than there was good accommodation for. ' In one class there were 121 pupils. HI in another, and His in another. all in rooms which formerly accommodated 6<> or 7o pupils. In the infant department of three rooms there were 236 children and from this it would be seen that unless the rooms were large they were exceptionally overcrowded. In his reply to these statements. Mr. Hanan expressed great sympathy and said :

“The school had an attendance which violated the opinion of educationalists as to the number of children that should lie in one room, and it was not desirous to have the schools housing children to the' extent the.v did in Hastings. There were many reasons why the school should not be so crowded. It: was not in the interests of the children's

health or the health of the teachers I and it did not make for the physica. lor mental welfare of the pupils.’ There is no disputing the truth oi I Mr. Hsi.an's remarks. Dr. Truby King endorses them and emphasises the duty of the State to provide healthy conditions for the children lit compels to attend school. Parents ! know that their children often romi j home at mid-day heavy and drowsy, i and complaining of headache. This i condition probably is more prevalent j in homes where fresh air is made th( ■ first factor for good health. It mat I be asked what can be done now to I improve to a more healthful condition the existing school buildings. i There is only one thing, and that i.to impress upon the Government its > obligations to the children. The i State enforces compulsory attendance for the children's own goon and advancement, and at the same time imposes such unhealthy conditions as to cause serious risk of im- | pairing their health. From an eco- ! nomic standpoint the Department's 'practice of uvt> crow ding the school-: i is an absurdity, because good results 'can only be obtained iy giving full j encouragement to physical developi ment concomitant with mental trainj ing. The State demands that cm- | plovers shall provide sufficient air space for workers in their factories, 'and criminally neglects to provide it l | for the children in its schools. It is! in fact the breaker of. its own law in, this respect. The children cannot, agitate as the workers can, and if! they could they would not be listened to, because they have no vote. 1 But parents possess the power, and* for the welfare of the children they love it is their duty to demand that the overcrowding of schools shall | cease immediately. There is no! reasf n why school life should not 1;< ’ made* pleasant, attractive and i healthy. It is something the old.:’; generation owes to the younger, and we hope that Ha'-lings will s< t the! example to other places by instituf ing a movement that will be iniper.n- i five in bringing about this much | needed reform in State school methods. !