THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE ELECTIONS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12481, 22 April 1901, Page 4

THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE ELECTIONS.

Although ■ there are no questions of special moment to lend interest to the annual meetings of householders to-night, we hope that parents will not neglect the duty of attending. They must remember that the welfare of their children is largely in the hands of the school committees they , elect, and that this is practically the only opportunity they have of discussing'matters of interest in connection with the schools. It is almost hopeless, under present conditions, to expect a better class of men to come forward for election, and though it may seem like offering a gratuitous insult to earnest and hard-working committees, we cannot deny that, in many cases, the affairs of our schools are committed to utterly incompetent hands. Wnat would happen if the. Education Boards were abolished, and the local administration of the Education Act: left entirely to ,the committees, is a question almost too ‘ alarming for speculation. We have certainly no desire to see the experiment tried. We know that the committees have often good reason to complain of their limited opportunities for action. ' They have little enough money for even the most obvious’of their duties, and they are hedged round with, many unnecessary restrictions. But for all that they do ,not always accomplish the work that lies , nearest their hands. The condition into which the East Christchurch School was allowed to drift a couple of years ago is a case in. point. The blame very often belongs as much, to the householders as to the committee, because, apart from their duty of electing capable men, they pay very little attention to the doings of their representatives. These annual meetings are the proper places for the discussion of questions connected with the schools. We suppose that to-night will produce the inevitable crop .of protests against the present -method of election, and the usual number of questions as to the qualifications of candidates and voters. That the system has not broken down hopelessly must be attributed to the apathy of the electors, for if all the householders in any of the city districts actually desired to record their votes its weakness would be strikingly proved. Householders should, however, make the best use they can of the machinery they haye at their disposal, and we hope to see large gatherings at their annual meetings this evening.