BOARD OF EDUCATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9078, 12 June 1888, Page 6

BOARD OF EDUCATION.

TO THE EDITOR. s IR( 1 shall thank you for space in which to refer to a letter of Mr. Jenkins', which appears in to-day's paper. The subject of his letter is the termination of the engagement of a probationary pupil teacher. Mr. Jenkins says that the head teacher and the parent saw the chairman of the Board) I wish to say that I have not the pleasure even of the head teacher's acquaintance, and that therefore I could not have seen him. Mr. Jenkins, however, and the father of the young lady saw me, and I suggested that the father should write to the Board ; and further, I told them that if he desired to see the Board and would attend at the office at -past, two on Friday, I would then ask the Board to suspend its business and hear him. I, however, advised him against the latter course as unnecessary, and told him that a letter would be sufficient for his purpose. Later on Mr. Jenkins saw me at the office of the Board, when I told him by all means to send .in the letter, but as far as I could judge I did not think the Board would alter its decision. The Board, acting in the interests of the public, can only apprentice the very best of the candidates, and with respect to the particular one in question, it considered that she was not in the first rank, arriving at that decision by a consideration of all the information before it. Perhaps one of the most beneficial effects of the scholarship system is that young women are now applying for employment who have the high classification of D. No consideration is required to decide whether you will employ such or whether you will employ those who have no attainments beyond the sixth standard. One of the difficulties the Auckland Board has had to fight against has been the large number of uncertificated teachers in its schools. This is being rapidly rectified, but should the Board give to applicants for employment who have high classification the answer of " no vacancy"' while it takes on those who have no classification whatever, and are distinguished by no special qualification, it will rightly seal its own doom.— am, &c., June 11, 1888. J. H. Upton.