TEACHERS' SUPERANNUATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12326, 20 July 1903, Page 6

TEACHERS' SUPERANNUATION.

DEPUTATIONS THE PREMIER.

EDUCATIONAL REFORMS. [BY TELEGRAPH.—SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.] • " ' , Wellington;, Saturday. A deputation*, representative of. the publio school teachers of the colony, waited upon Mr. Seddon yesterday in his capacity of Minister for Education in reference to the Superannuation Bill. Mr. Hughes, of Christchurch/ president of the institute, in introducing the object of the deputation, congratulated Mr. Seddon upon his having taken over the portfolio of Education. The teachers of the colony, he said, looked forward to Mr. Seddon'a administration of the Department with confidence and hope, as they believed that he would conduct it with the characteristic energy, capacity; and resolute self-reliance that had marked his administration during his long term of office as Premier. The work of educating and training the citizens was a work second to none in the colony. With regard to the matter of a supernanuation scheme, about which they had come, such a scheme had been successful in Germany and other countries, and it was necessary here in order to make the teaching profession attractive. Mr. Stewart ■ said there was no need to speak of tho. benefit that would accrue to tho colony through the initiation of such a scheme, because the Government, in circulating the Bill dealing with it, had recognised this. The teachers of the colony had come to • the conclusion that the interests of the teachers and of education were safe in the hands of-the Premier, as he knew all the bearings of the matter and was advised by a gentleman who hud a practical knowledge of all branches of education. He would be glad indeed if the Premier would get the Superannuation Bill' passed this session. They would leave themselves in the Premiers hands, and trust to his wisdom and the wisdom of his advisers to provide the best scheme possible. * Mr. Seddon, in reply, thanked the deputation for its congratulations. He expressed regret that the ill-health of the former Minister for Education had necessitated a change in the administration of the Department.

in addition to this, Parliament had expressed a wish that the Minister for Education should bo a member of the House of Representatives, and it was the duty of the "Government to meet the wishes of Parliament in. that respect. He (Mr. Seddon) had accepted the position with some diffidence, because he knew his own shortcomings, but what ho lacked scholustieally would be made up by the warm desire he had that the education of the youth of the colony would not suffer during his tenn of office as Minister for Education. Coming from Victoria in the early days he was aware of the deplorable system that existed in 186 S. From that time he had always taken an interest in educational matters ; it was inherent in him to do so,, because bis father was a schoolmaster and his mother was a schoolmistress. The abolition of training schools, owing to the financial difficulties from 1837 to 1890, had struck a blow at education in the colony. Although a few pounds had been saved, an almost irremediable injury had been done—(hear, hear}— it was, in his opinion, false economy. (Hear, hear.) Now they had to retrace their footsteps, and they must have; training schools. The workingman had little time to devote to his children after his day's work, and it was in the schools that the children had to receive their training. - If, therefore, they had not teachers who had a high moral standard and educational attainments their children could not progress. 'With' all this responsibility upon the teachers the question of payment arose. So far as the public 6ohool teachers in this country were concerned the position often meant simply gentlemanly beggary. (Hear, hear.) They had a position to keep up, and . in some instances their wages were loss than those received by a working mechanic, who had not the same calls upon him that the teacher had. He referred to the largo number of female teachers that there were in the colony, and with all due respect to the women of New Zealand, he said there must be something wroag. ■■< It would never do to have all female teachers in the colony. Unless something was done we would be going from bad to worse. They would have to review the position and do something in the direction he had indicated. When a young man went into the Civil Service he got £40 a year and £25 a J'ear house allowance if he was not living wit*lis parents. Contrast that with what pupil[teachers got, and it would be found that it ■teas not to the advantage of the latter. The Civil Service was overcrowded, but they could not get youths to go as pupil-teachers in fact, a pupil-teacher was a burden upon his parents for some considerable time after he entered upon his duties. The Premier went on to say that they must increase the training schools of the colony, and they must see that the pupil-teachers got during their training course a fitting salary. Coming to the question of a superannuation fund, the Premier said that the fund would have to be started on a satisfactory basis. If all the teacher* of a given age were called upon to pay a lump sum that would serve as a nucleus of the fund, but how many, he asked, were in a position to pay that sum? Most of them had large, families, and he did not think that 25 per cent, of the teachers in the- colony would be able to pay the amount required. If they could not cL) that, how. he asked, was the difficulty to be met? The younger members of the profession would refuse to make larger contributions, so as to meet the- call entailed by the inclusion in the scheme of the older teachers, but unless they started the scheme on a sound financial basis it meant trouble later on. When they met him at Auckland ho told them that he would go into the matter carefully. The Secretary for Education had advised him in regard to the Bill submitted that further contributions would be required, or otherwise the scheme would start financially bankrupt. They did not want that. It could only be strong financially by the fund being started by contributions, and those contributions must come either from the teachers or from the State. The difficulties in that resnect were very great. He had been advised that the police superannuation fund, although it started with a large sum of money to its credit, was actually not in a satisfactory position, and he had been told the same thine of the railway servants' superannuation fund, but there were allowances to be made and circumstances to be taken into consideration which were not looked into by actuaries. Ho was having the present Bil 1 fullv gone into by actuaries, and he said that if thev could not give the scheme a pood start they had better not have it at all. On» could not gainsay the necessity for it, and there was a way of starting it which would do '. away . with the necessity of providing a lump sum. and that was by giving better salaries, which would enable teachers to contribute a larger amount to the fund(applause) —and, to his mind, that was the direction in which they should go. Tho question of increasing the salaries was one of the most important in record to our educational system. In answer to a question as to whether he would get the Bill through this session. Mr. Seddon said, "I will do my best in re- | spect to this after."