A TEACHERS' GRIEVANCE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVII, Issue 139, 14 June 1913, Page 4

A TEACHERS' GRIEVANCE.

There is a good deal to be said in favor of the attitude taken up by a correspondent whose letter is _ pub- | lished in another part of this issue, I regarding the Blenheim School > Committee's recommendation of a i Wellington gentleman for the posi- : tion of headmaster of the Borough Schools. It is certainly not encouraging to the teachers of Marlborouffh, some of whom have spent' many years in the service of the local Education Board, to find themselves put on one side when the more important positions become vacant; and the Blenheim Committee's decision to recommend an outsider,

cumins on top of a similar decision on the part of the Renwick Committee, may well cause the teachers of this district to wonder how they are I to receive promotion. It is wellknown that nearly all the controlling authorities in other parts of New Zealand select men and women from their own districts to fill vacancies in their schools, thus giving the teachers every encouragement to do good work and keep themselves abreast of the times in matters educational. If the practice adopted in Blenheim and Renwiok is to become general in Marlborough, the only way in which the teachers will be able to obtain increased salaries will be by the growth of their schools; and, as the number of pupils is increasing very slowly, advancement in pay must necessarily also be a very slow process. Thus, while teachers in other parts of the Dominion are frequently receiving better positions and larger emoluments, their contemporaries in Marlborough are practically stagnant. We have nothing to say against the gentleman upon whom the Blenheim Committee's choice has fallen; he is unquestionably a very able teacher, and in every way, as far as we are able to judge, fitted to occupy the position of headmaster at Blenheim. But there are | teachers already in the district who would also ; acquit themselves with every credit in this responsible position ; and we consider that the Committee has not done justice to the local teachers in ignoring the recommendation of the Education Board to give preferential consideration to the cases of Marlborough applicants with substantial claims to promotion. Whether the Board will take any action in the matter remains, of course, to be 6eeiu