PRIMARY SCHOOLS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17614, 19 October 1917, Page 4

PRIMARY SCHOOLS.

PROPOSED STATE OONTROIi.I ■ ) ' SCHOOL COMMITTEE'S CON- • FERENCE. \ A special meeting of the Cantoronrj' School Committess' Association wa/ held last evening. to consider a motto by Mr G. Franklin, that tho Educatioh Act should bo amended to provide that primary education in tho Dominion should be given by State schools onlyMr A. Pevenll (president) presided, and thirty delegates attended. Mr FraiiKlin's motion was that all primary education, up to and including tne Sixth Standard, should be given br State schools only, and that a chill should not be deemed to have attended* school until be or sh e attended a Stata school prodding the instruction,' set lorth. The amendment of tho Act to enforce that proposal should .apply to church and sectarian schools from January 1, 1918, and to kindergarten and pnvato schools from January 1; 1919. After those dates all primarj instruction should ceasa in such church, sectarian, kindergarten and private ■ schools (primary), and in schools that give primary education in addition ta more advanced work.

In moving the motion, Mr Franklin said that improvements • were badly nr-eded in several aspects of th? primary system. The best way of bringing about an improvement was to make the State responsible for ,all primary education. Private sohooh could step in afterwards and attend to higher education if they wished to do so. If the change was made,- teachers would be better paid, there would b 3 better school buildings, and the whola system would be placed on a higher standard. Private schools still could have their functions, but they would start further ahead. The change would ensure that the primary schools would have the best teachers the country could supply, and it wou-!d strengthen and widen the whole primary system. Mr D. Lumsden seconded the mot'-on, and said that teachers, in view of the?" responsibilities, should 1 be the best paid Civil Servants in the Dominion,

Mr R. Carter said if a tree was to bo destroyed,wt should be dug Up by the roots. Mr Franklin's proposal was liko clipping the tree's branches with a parr of scissors. In any case, tho time wai not opportune for a radica.l change. Mr D. Rowse said that life after tha war, would be so strenuous that every child should be educated on ths soundest basis. Complete State' control was the only possible system. He would vote for th? motion. Mr J. Wilkin said that tho country hardly could ask all residents to send their children to State schools until the State system was greatly improved.. Mrs Marrie said that tho proposal had not the ghost of a chance of being adopted. It was likelv to foster sectarian strife. How could outside people be asked to send children to Stats schools when those schools could not accommodate the present attendance? •What was wanted in State schools wa3 morn classes, more teachers, and fewer children in the different classes. The problem was too big to be solved just now.

Mr W. Jones said that the proposal had not even the shadowof a chance of success. The Government should raise a Jocal loan to rebuild all the. schools and make other improvements. Then, perhaps, it could' say that children should attend its institutions only. Ho knew of many cases in wind) parents had taken children from Stats schools in order to send them to private schools. Tho motion, in a democratic country, was an extraordinary one. Many ratepayers said, "If theState won't provide' suitable classrooms and suitable teachers for our children, we will do it ourselves." So they put their hands in their pockets, and provided the funds, and some, people now wished to prevent them from taking that course. He felt> ashamed of the motion Mr T. Carlisle, said that there was serious trouble ahead unless the problem of primary education was solved. If New Zealand was to be strong educationally, all sectarian feeling should ba eliminated from the question. Ht> would give no sectarian school any standing whatever. The gentry of tho country should be prevented from sending their children to private schools. Mr J. Butterfield said that a class of on G hundred or even ninety or eighty, was too much for any lady teacher. Improvements might be made in State schools in that direction and in othm* rrspects. State schools should bo as modern and as efficient as it was possible to make them. Mr G. White said that the educational svstem bad gone backward since air Seddon's day. The time was opportune to attack every public question. The war had not prevented the people dealing with the liquor question, and tho educational problem also should be solved now. The motion might b e laughed at dn Parliament, but it w-as a very serious, matter to parents. It certainly would strengthen the education system if all children wore compelled to attend State primary schools.

Mr E. C. M'Keon strongly condemned statements likely to foster sectarian, feeling, and defended tho private, schools. Ho said that last year tho highest percentage for national scholarships in Christolmrch was obtained by a private school, and a prdvato school in Hokitika obtained the highest percentage for the whole Dominion. Obviously, the private schools in tho Dominion were not as defective as somepeople tried to prove. In the Commo.iwealth, also, private schools had taken a high place in national scholarships. If private schools were interfered with terrible sectarian strife would bo caused. If the motion was carried, tho promoters of the movement would raiso a hornet's nest about their ears that would make them wish they had left! the thing alone. Tho chairman said that when tho State schools had_ ad«f|uato accommodation and instruction, and when everything was absolutely free, there would be no ueed to ask people to send theit children to the schools; they would d< it without being asked. The first stej was to improve present conditions and methods. Mr Franklin, in reply, said that tha private school was all very wttll for tho wealthy,- but not for tho masses. It was decided to alter,the dates on which the proposed amendment should come into force from 1918 and 1919 to 1919 and 1920. • The motion in that form waa carried by 12 votes to 11.