PRIVATE SCHOOLS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 111, 23 April 1936, Page 6

PRIVATE SCHOOLS

Little Education Given POSSIBLE ENGLISH ACTION (From Our Special Correspondent), (By Air Mail). LONDON, March 28. Unlike Australia and New Zealand, England is cluttered with private schools—6o,ooo in fact, which are attended by about 500,000 pupils. A Bid is being promoted by Surrey County Council to give them certain powers over those schools, and other councils are considering similar action. Experts who have investigated the subject of private schools have reported that thousands of boys and girls leave some private schools every year completely uneducated, others untrained and ill-equipped for any form ot occupation, notwithstanding the heavy fees.

There is no law to compel a private school to be registered. Any person may set up a school without control by the local authority or the Board of Education. According to the Education Act, 1921, it is the duty of the person to furnish certain particulars to the board, if required to do so. No official action is possible with regard to the form of education given at private schools.

Parents allege that, in spite of the large fees paid, the terms tend to become shorter. They say that holidays in many instances extend to four months a year.