WAIROA: SCHOOL MATTERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume X, Issue 2798, 16 January 1873, Page 3

WAIROA: SCHOOL MATTERS.

Wβ are going to have another change of school teachers, the old ones —Mr. and Miss Bluck —having had to leave, owing to the local committee havins got a peremptory order from the Central Board of Education to dismiss them, they having failed to come up for examination when requested by the board, in s genera! notice to all teachers. The examination of the school by the Inspector is rather a farce, as it is nearly two years since he was last seen within the Wairoa school walls. I believe it was iu March, IS7I, he last visited the school, and in his report of his visit on that occasion to his superiors he says:—"lt appeared to be a tradition in the school that the pupils were not to be in any way coerced." I was not aware that it was a duty of the Inspector of Schools to report any tradition in 3 district, but what facts came before him. It is wrong fov an Inspector to allow himself to be earwjVged. About the only fault the Wairoa committee had with the last four teachers who have taught the schools was that they were too lenient. Mr. Grant, late teacher at Otahuhu. now at Napier, accepted the appointment of teacher to the Wairoa school as successor to Mr. Bluck, by telegram, but has since resigned ; and Mr. fl. Le Gallus and Miss Runibal have now been appointed by the local committee, and only wait the sanction of the Central Board of Education. We were in hopes that, now we were going to have a direct tax for education, the school would be free to all; but no, the school committee have got a communication from the Central Board requesting them still to charge fees. The Central Board appears to be above the Act that constitutes them. The arrangement of the local committee as to fees is not giving genera' satisfaction in this district, a≤ no clars arrangement does. The rich pay one shilling p?r week for each child ; the poorer sixpence. The dissatisfaction is not who will be rich enough to piiy the shilling, but so and ro is as well offae I am, and only pays sixpence while I pay one shilling. The sooner we hav« a free school, ti3 the Act directs, the better it will be for the education of the children. The school committee in the meantime have been requested by the Central Board to recommend boundaries for a school district when a. public meeting of the householders of the district will be held to elect a school committee under the new Act. —["Correspondent, January 14.]