FREE SCHOOL BOOKS

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LVI, Issue LVI, 26 October 1908, Page 7

FREE SCHOOL BOOKS

Ar A COST OF £6000 PER YEAR.

MINISTER EXPLAINS THE PROPOSAL.

Interviewed by an Auckland Star representative} the Hon. Geo. Fowlds, [Minister for Education, went into an elaboration of the. system of free school books, which the Government now intends to introduce into all the State sthools of the Dominion.

"Once the whole of the schools have beta furnished with free books," deti^red the Minister for Education, "it is estimated that it will take about £6000 per year to maintain the supply. That computation is based upon the present roll number of children attending the schools of the Dominion. The sum of £3500 provided for in this year's estimates will enable the Education Boards to supply free text books in the primer classes and standards one and two. About the same amount, or a little more, will be voted next year to maintain the supply in these classes, and to enable the Boards to furnish standard three with free books. The grant will then require to be increased during th© next three years, to enable standards four, five, and six to be taken in, and at the same time maintain the free books in the lower standards. It is possible that the grant in one of these years, when reaching the higher standards, may be increased to j £9000, but after all the classes are supplied, the sum necessary for maintenance will drop down to £6000. It is estimated that the books will last, on an average, between two and tliree years.

"As I have stated," continued the Hon. Mr Fowlds, "the method of dealing with the question will be to allocate the money to Education Boards upon a capitation basis, according to the number of children upon the rolls of the schools, leaving it to the Boards to make their own arrangements for the ' supply of books to the different schools within their districts. Several inquiries have reached me from booksellers, who have books in stock, and I hope that the Education Boards will take this fact into consideration when procuring supplies, so that none of the booksellers will be injured by having any of the books, left on their hands. In the course of a year or two, after these stocks have been exhausted, the Boards will naturally endeavour to get books at the lowest possible cost."