EFFECT ON BOARDS

Matamata Record, Volume XIII, Issue 1141, 24 July 1930, Page 4

EFFECT ON BOARDS

CENTRALISATION OPPOS ■ ■ : ‘■'■ i ' -i V:..:i';v Mr. E. C. Banks’ Commej Mr. E. C. Banks, of Mataraat member of the Auckland < Educ; Board, stated that the report the Parliamentary Committee w good one, except insofar as it gested that education should be centralisec Wellington, There was bound! t strong' opposition to this claust the proposal meant that teachers aries, teachers’ appointments .an money matters would be taken i from local boards and centra under Wellington control. It further proposed that local Ei tion Boards should have the s inspector as chairman and seen and that half the members si be Government nominees, while office would he a room in one o schools. Mr. Banks stated he totally opposed to these sugges asi he felt they would not be ii best interests of education. He ported the idea of reducing the trolling authorities from 54 t as a very good move, but fave giving the 18) new boards more ers of control than at present, ! stead of concentrating all jsow Wellington. Under the new pro of 18 boards the primary, school and secondary : departi would be administered by a £ authority, and besides reducing pense this would result in more ciency and also continuity in e tion. Under this latter , system would most ; likely ; - be educ boards based, on such.■. centre! Whangarei, Hamilton and. -Taur providing the new areas were c

ed on a population basis. This i be all for the good. Referring to the proposed agj tural bias, Mr. Banks stated thi his evidence before the commits had suggested that after En and arithmetic scholars should

plant life as the next subject, 1 followed by animal life and phj geography. This would give thi cessary bias. Then would follow further subjects of woodwork, mestic science, civics, geogr; history, drawing and music. If] subjects were taught in that a all the bias required would be a

In regard to consolidation, Banks held that it would be a lift in this direction to make all trict high schools like that of M mata. Where there was a one-ta school near a two-teacher school

* would close the former and coi trate the children. If this were possible, then the 5 and 6 stand should be consolidated and onlj fant schools left. The termination of primary ec tion at 11 plus years of age was of the best things that could ha; so long as French and the mat! lation examination did not rema fetish. This suggestion would time for exploratory courses. Raising the compulsory age tt was a very good move, and si be, carried irrespective of ati ment. At present 40 per cent of children attending high schools at the end of the first year. Dtt this period they had taken up subjects, so that the year was of tie use to them. The third yea: the Junior High School was equa the first year at a High School the alteration wotild be a dist gain. The Kowhai High Sc! had about 900 children from 12 tc years of age. In Whangarei Waitaki and that class of town junior department should be adde the high school. In places like H ilton and .New; Plymouth the tecl cal and high schools should be e bined. If district high schools fl to have junior high schools like 1 tamata attached, then there would the complete unit of primary, jin and senior departments! In concluding, Mr. Banks sta that the report would be considc at a special meeting of the Auckl Education Board which was be held to-day.'