What Centralisation Leads To.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXII, Issue 90, 31 March 1932, Page 3

What Centralisation Leads To.

“If education boards are abolished there must follow a large increase in the central staff in Wellington, and therefore in cost also. It must also lead to increased local expenditure in connection with the new bodies proposed to be set up. “The department has for years past been so concerned over administrative problems and over reducing the powers and privileges of education boards that its officers have been unable to ‘see visions’ in educational progress and to take wide far-seeing views of educational requirements. Part of the ‘ abnormally high cost’ (of administration) referred to by the committee is due to the system practised by the department of checking so much work done by the boards. Why do much checking? Why maintain a strong central staff for such unnecessary work? “A central advisory board would form another branch of a costly central department, and it could not function so efficiently as an education board does. What would such a central board know of the school at Waitaanga for example? its location, needs, condition, surroundings, grounds and committee. An education board knows almost .every detail connected with even its furthest away school. What would be the cost of this central advisory board? Whatever it is it must be deducted from the alleged saving of £50,000.