UNIFICATION OF SCHOOLS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 19 June 1931, Page 2

UNIFICATION OF SCHOOLS

NO INTERFERENCE IN POUR CENTRES STATEMENT BY MR ATMORE

1 here is no intention of interfering w ith tlie four centres: the work of the dilierent Boards there is too big to handle,” said the Minister for Education (the Hon. 31. Atmorc), discussing with a reporter of the Christchurch “Press” the unification of control of secondary schools, as recommended in the report of the Select Committee on Education and provided for in the Second Finance Act of last session. ( Clause No. 37 of that Act gives the Governor-General power to “direct” the unification; but by that clause no threat was intended of enforcing the legislation. “NOT A THREAT “If is certainly not a threat,” said Mr Atmorc. “Without that clause in the Act we could not have achieved the unification at Nelson and Hawke’s Bay until the next session. Where schools are set up under separate foundation Acts, it is necessary for any such change to be authorised by an Act of Parliament. Thus clause 37 was not a, threat, but simply a provision to allow (he immediate unification of Boards which desired it, to reduce costs, permit concentration, and do au'ay with a rivalry which is not in the best interests of anyone.”

Under the present system, a certain rivalry was almost inevitable, and it might tend to attract children to a certain school irrespective of whether that, school was suited to their needs.

“I think that quite a number of Boards will do as the governing bodies did recently in Nelson and Napier, and, earlier in AVuilaki, Palmerston North, and New Plymouth,” added Mr Atmore. “The question was fully discussed both at Nelson and at Napier. At Nelson a resolution approving of the unification was carried without dissent, and at Napier there were only two dissentients.

TECHNICAL REPRESENTATION “I have found evidence of a fear in some technical schools (which, by. the way, are rapidly becoming rivals of the secondary 'academic’ schools, though even those are not as ‘academic’ as they were) that they would be. submerged in the unification. That is definitely not the case, for in the representation we provide for the election of two representatives nominated by the Employers’ Association, two by the different employees’ associations, and one by the local Agricultural and Pastoral Association.”

The absurdity was, ended Mr Atmorc, that in the past New Zealand had nad three systems growing up without much correlation, with different sets of governing bodies and different sets oi teachers, although the teachers, lie was pleased to see, were federated in May of last year.