APPOINTMENT OF TEACHERS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17697, 25 January 1918, Page 3

APPOINTMENT OF TEACHERS.

[From Our Correspondent.] DUNEDIN, January 24

Reference was made at yesterday’s meeting of the Otago Education Board to a resolution passed at a meeting of the New Zealand Educational Institute in Wellington in favour of placing the appointment of teachers under control of the Education Department in Wellington. The chairman (Mr D. T. Fleming) said this meant taking the matter entirely out of tho hands of school committees and giving them no say whatever in the appointment and selection of teachers. From his experience as a member of the hoard and as one who knew something of the ideas of school committees he doubted if they would lightly part with rights which they at present enjoyed in this matter. Personally he was against any curtailment of the rights of the board, but the matter was one which chiefly concerned school committees. Several members of the board expressed themselves in a similar way, olio of them saying that the grading scheme was not likely to ho adopted ns a basis for the appointment of teachers. The chairman said the grading scheme was in in existence ns a fact and they must recognise the determination of the Department was to adopt it as the sole basis for appointment of teachers. The teachers were not the only persons concerned in this matter. Tho board, school committees and parents were also concerned, and were not likely to lightly part with their rights. i