MANUAL TRAINING

Northern Advocate, 10 December 1936, Page 12

MANUAL TRAINING

REQUIREMENTS CF KAITAIA

DEPUTATION TO CAPTAIN RUSHWORTH, 3VI.P. A deputation from the Krutaia District High School committee waited upon Mr H. M. Rushworth, M.P., on Tuesday morning and asked tor ins assistance in having Kaitaia made a manual training centre for the Mangonui County. Mr F. Rowe, the chairman, said they had been trying to bring about their purpose for two or three years. The Education Board was favourable to a technical school at Kaitaia, but the consent of the department could not be obtained, and they were able to get no further. The pupils from other schools in the county , could easily be brought in for training, even from Mangonui. The Government wanted to keep the people in the country but as there was no training centre young people had to go to Auckland to complete their education and • once they get there they did not want to come back. They had a High School with thi'ee teachers and a primary school with 260 to 270 on the roll. The Education Board was preparing plans 'and inviting tenders for the addition of two rooms to the present school, and if they were to have a room for manual training it could be added much more cheaply now than later on. The country people should have the . same educational facilities as those in the towns and cities, and he understood that instruction in wood work and other crafts was being given in the local native schools, as well as in cookery, so that the Maoris were given preference over the white children.

Mr Rushworth: On what grounds does the department refuse to move? Mr Rowe: It 'is thought that the position does not warrant a manual training school at present. The Rev. W. H. Nicholas said tftere was no opportunity to obtain the special instruction required except by the voluntary services of some of the teachers. If provision were made for manual training a number of pupils who now studied for matriculation would concentrate on something vocational. There were plenty of pupils who would avail themselves of the training. At the Awanui School there was an attendance about 70, at Victoria Valley of 70 and at Takahue of nearly 100.

Mr Rushworth: Is there any other manual training centre north of Auckland?

Mr Nicholas: Whangarei is the nearest. Ninety per cent of the children want vocational training. Mr F. Hollay said the attendance at the Kaitaia School had trebled during the past 11 years. The Anglican Church had given the Education Board two acres of land; which in the first instance was for a technical school, but the conditions of the gift permi+ted of its use for any school purpose. It was essential that the children should be educated to the use of tools, even if they were going to engage in farm work. All the surrounding schools were unanimous in their desire to have Kaitaia madef a manual training centre. Mr Hollay mentioned that the committee had spent £l5O during the last three years cn school, ground improvements, and, ,ifi addition, work to the value of £250 had been done by relief workers. , Mr Rushworth said there were two difficulties to contend with. The first was finance, and the second was to be found in the fact that many other districts were similarly situated to Kaitaia, so that the isolation, he was afraid, would not carry much weight. A sudden demand which did not exist during the past few years was now being made for young people who had had a vocational training, and he would do all he could to assist the committee.