AN EDUCATIONAL HARDSHIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8284, 17 June 1890, Page 3

AN EDUCATIONAL HARDSHIP.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—Seeing how often you throw open the columns of your valuable paper for the discussion of matters affecting the general public, I crave space for this letter. About a year ago the Board of Education erected school buildings here (known as the Canterbury special settlement), appointed a teacher, and the school was opened in due course. The Board has just erected school buildings in the village settlement adjoining. The Board of Education has astonished us by telling us it is their intention to close the school here half-time, so as to allow the teacher to teach at both schools. Now, las a settler most strongly protest against this. If the school attendance had fallen off here, I could understand it, but it has not. The average attendance is just about the same as at the opening of the school, and has been all through. Simply because the Board wish to save the few pounds in salary, our children are to be deprived of more than half their education. I wonder what the good people of Auckland City would think were the Board to propose to close two of their schools half time, so as to allow the staff of one school to do duty at both. I rather fancy the Board would be told very plainly that the people would not submit to such a thing. I had been under the impression that the means of educating my children had been provided by law, and that my children had a right to such education, but it appears I have been mistaken, if the Board have the power to enforce this proposal, which I very much doubt. Wo are continually being told how advisable it is to settle the people on the land. Well, so it is, and ib is advisable to give every assistance to those desirous of doing so, but is this proposal any incentive to people to go out into the bush and form settlements, and incur the hundred and one hardships incidental to pioneer settlement. I, for one, would never have thought of settling on the land if I had thought for one moment that my children «ould be deprived of that essential to civilized life —primary education. Bat perhaps the Board of Education think that village settlers' children have no need of education ; that we can go on in the same style that suited our grandfathers. Then, why go through the farce of building schools ? 1 greatly misunderstand the settlers here if they will submit to such a proposal. Another reason why this proposal should nob be carried into effect is that within sight of our school is a native school which is going on full time. Do the Board, think that we settlers are going to sib quietly by while our money is being spent in educating native children, and our own children growing up in ignorance ? No. I am sure the settlers here will never rest if the Board attempt to deprive them of what they have a legal right to. I was reading the report of the annual meeting of the Board in the Auckland Weekly News a few weeks ago, and there I saw one of the members stated they ought to go to the Government, saying they could administer the Act with less money than they now got. This was to be in answer to certain Boards down South, who had been asking for more. Well, if this is a sample of their administration, I dare say they can. If this is the way they treat other outlying settlements, we had better adopt Cromwell's advice to the Parliament, "Begone, and make room for honestor men." The importance (to us) of the subject is my excuse for the length of this letter.—l am, &c, Robert Darlow. Waimamaku, Hokianga.