School Year Reviewed By Minister

Northern Advocate, 16 July 1938, Page 11

School Year Reviewed By Minister

[Special to “Northern Advocate."] j WELLINGTON. This Day. ! Approximately 17.400 children, under six years of age. as a result of the lowering of the age admission to j school to five years, were in the j schools of the Dominion last year, ac- j cording to the annual report of the | Minister of Education. Hon. P. Fraser, which was tabled in tbe House oi j Representatives yesterday. j

More Teachers. It was deemed advisable, states tliereport. at the beginning of the yen I ', to admit 607 division A and 7G graduate students to the Training Colleges to prepare for trie reforms the Government had. in view, namely the raising of the school leaving age to 15 years and reduction in the size ol classes. The total number of students in the four colleges was 1350. the largest on record. “The teachers have already accepted the freedom and the responsibility which is associated with it,” Mr Fraser added, “and I look forward to greater originality and great initiative in tins courses of work in the primary schools, than has been the case in the past.” Dental Treatment. Dealing with the dental treatment. Mr Fraser states that on assuming office as Minister in December. 1935. he discovered that the number of student dental nurses admitted to the denial clim'c in that year was only 30. and that this number was barely sufficient to maintain the system at its existing strength. In November of that year, the number of nurses was 53. At present it was 140. Milk in Schools.

Mr Fraser added that the milk-in-schools scheme was operating smoothly and efficiently. Out of a total school population in the Dominion of 282,000. there were 137,000 being supplied daily with a ration of milk. New schemes and extensions to existing schemes had been arranged, to include a further 14,600 children. When these were functioning, the total number of pupils receiving milk would be in the vicinity of 151,000.