THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CI, Issue 11901, 26 May 1899, Page 2

THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—lt has often been forced upon my conviction that there is nothing,, in the way of just and liberal-legislation, more required at the present time than a very distinct alteration in the law of libel. There should be more latitude allowed to those who tell the truth about public servants With their own names attached to their assertions, and. I. would not be very severe upon such writers, even if they made a few mistakes, for which they would be sure to get severely punished by exposure. But when a writer is so cowardly and so cruel as to sneak behind an anonymous signature to make false statements about a deserving public servant, the law should treat him as it treats other cruel and dangerous animals? ° r those who shoot at their neighbours from behind a hedge. I thank you for the manner in which yon have contradicted, the statements of ■ “ Country Teacher,” about the Secretary of the Board of Education; but, as your cortradiction has produced no withdrawal or apology from that mean detractor, who, I notice from your to-day’s issue, has continued his uuworthy attack, I would like to give him a little bit of my mind. And, first let me say that I hope the signature he has crept under is as false as his assertions are; for a “ Country Teachfer ” should, above all things, set an example of truth and manliness to our rising citizens; ■so that I hope we have no such teacher as he would be in our employ; especially as his ignorance is almost equal to his uomanliness. . All his assertions are untrue. There has been no general reduction of teachers’ salaries since 1894, nor any alteration in the staff allowed to any given, number of children. What your intensely ignorant correspondent calls reducing the staff is just the thing that is necessary to prevent any general reduction, by taking care that no individual schools are allowed to exceed the scale, in which all must he treated alike. This is, of course, the only way in which a general reduction either of staff or salary can possibly be avoided. As to the increase of the Secretary’s salary, it is still very much less than was awarded to his predecessors, when there were about half the number of schools, teachers and children to be dealt with, and less than the Board is still paying to men who do not work as many hours, or perform duties of so much importance. With the annual change of Chairman of the Board, no member can ever be qualified to do all the highly responsible work which nominally devolves upon, the Chairman, but; which actually and necessarily falls upon the Secretary. Even as Chairman of the Appointments Committee, year after year, and after thirty years’ experience of work on the Education Boards in Nelson, and Canterbury, I am convinced that the Secretary, who can put his finger upon every report of every teacher in the service, must he one of the chief factors in the appointments and removal of teachers, upon which the efficiency of our education system mainly depends. For such vitally important work, he is better worth £2OOO a year now than he was worth £2OO when he first came to the office; and no man could be obtained who could do that work better than he is now doing it. I am sorry to add that I believe he is being overworked, and cannot stand it long without assistance. Whilst our teachers get five hours a day for five days in the week, for about nine months in the year, he gets seven hours a day in his office, and often takes work hoine at night, for twelve months in the year; as, althoughthe Board allows him two weeks’ holiday in the year, it is not always possible for him to take it. And yet a writer, for I cannot , call him a man, who knows no more about what this over-willing, overworked, oversensitive toiler is doing than he knows about the inhabitants of Jupiter, is allowed to inform the public that he “has .an easier billet than any teacher in the service of the Board.” As this is probably the last time that I shall ever write to you about the North Canterbury Board of Education, I may be allowed to say that that Board is the only public body I know of which, during the twenty-two years of its existence, has undertaken double the amount of work that it had to begin with without any increase of expenditure. It is now constructing its building far better- and far more economically ; it has weeded out its worst teachers; has educated and stationed a staff of wellqualified teachers, of exceptionally, high character, which any province might be proud of; and it has done all this, not only without any.increase.in its office and Normal School expenses, but is actually spending less on its office’ staff at the present moment than it was spending in the supervirion and control of the much smaller number of schools that existed in 1877. Surely this is something to be proud of, and’something to.show how much.less public.money would Have been thrown away, if we-had frosted more to local self-government and less to the wanton extravagance of a constantly borrowing centra? , government, wastefuUy scattering public "money and prostituting public credit for mere party objects.—l am, etc., ALFRED SAUNDERS. May 25, 1899.