BACKBLOCKS SCHOOLS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIV, 23 March 1921, Page 3

BACKBLOCKS SCHOOLS

gofxtuv rKArnEHs' salakiks The Millie tor tor Kditca iiou. in tcj>!vinu, iji Ili 0 Bouse "ii Saturday to a question by -Mr. F. Buckly ( Rotorua |, -Latcd that 11:ore must necessarily he some reduction in expenditure on public buildings. Sum,- £320.000 had alreadv boon spout this year oil school buildings. and the Kdncni hm Depot tmoiu had also ant hortsed a Ini’tlit'a- expenditure of £300.000. I hat far exceeded the expenditure oi any other year on education in tin history nf New Zealand; and we could not continue (hat expenditure. lint, whatever curtailment might be made, the claims o! the hackblocks settli'rs would have special care from the Government, That had been the, ease in (hi! past year or (wo. Boughly, in idle past two years there hud been 662 grants for school purposes, and 446 of these wore for the amount of £IOOO and under in respect of .small country schools. It took£loCo nowadays to build a one-roomed school, with the site and the outside accommodfition. So that two-thirds of the grants had gone to the small country schools; and if there had been any partiality at all it had been in the direction of helping the small country settler. (Hear, hear.) The interests of the small country teachers had also teceived the attention of the -Govet nmont. Proportionately their salaries had boon increased much more than those of any other branch of the profession during the last three or four months. The uncertillcated teachers had also teceived very considerable increases. Some 320 of them were receiving £2CO to £SOO a year, and four or live were receiving over £4OO a year.