BACKBLOCKS & EDUCATION

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLVI, Issue XLVI, 24 April 1914, Page 6

BACKBLOCKS & EDUCATION

A SETTLER SPEAKS OUT

The hardships under which children of the smallest backblocks settlements labor at present in regard to education formed the subject of a bitter complaint from a member of a deputation which waited upon the Prime Minister at Whangarei on Tuesday evening (says the special correspondent of the Post). The speaker pointed out that unless there were eight or more children in a district they were n6t entitled to a school teacher. He urged that a law should be passed providing that children, no matter where they were, should be entitled to be educated at the expense of the State. If this could not be done bo would advocate the sweeping away of the whole Act. He was quite unmoved at the display of startled surprise that followed this drastic proposal, arid he reiterated that unless the country children obtained justice it would not be at all a bad thing to sweep the whole system away. At present, even if there were eight children in a district, it was not possible for a teacher to live on the per capita allowance, and an additional burden was cast upon struggling settlers. The Prime Minister, in a sympathetic reply, explained the, position, and said that as the question of amending the Education Act was now being considered he would refer the matter to the Minister of Education.