HEALTH OF SCHOOL CHILDREN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13263, 23 August 1906, Page 3

HEALTH OF SCHOOL CHILDREN.

THE CHIEF HEALTH OFFICER'S

PROPOSALS.

DISCUSSION BY THE EDUCATION

BOARD

Comes of the address given by Dr. Mason, chief health officer, recently, before the Otagu Educational Institute, on the question of medical examination of school children, were submitted recently by Dr. Mason to the Education Department, and a copy lias been fonvardsd to the Auckland Hoard of Education. The proposals were:

That a medical man be appoint at a salary, .say, of £150 per annum, whose duty it would be to examine those children in the city schools who were, in the opinion of the master, below par in anyway.

2. That this salary should he paid half by the Board and half by the Health Department.

3. That a medical man be appointed at a salary of, say. £500 per annum, whose whole time would be employed in examining sjich set-aside children in all the schools in the education district, and in connection with this Dr. Mason bracketed the following opinion: I think it would be possible for each such Wholetime inspector to cover a district equal in extent to the health district, set out in the Public Health Act. 1900. That being so it might be feasible for two pr more education' boards to join hands, and in this way lessen the expense , 4. That the Board invite masters and teachers in its district, to meet at some centre, when the district health officer will address them. The object of the lecture will be to indicate the ordinary signs which the teacher should observe. Dr. Mason also suggested for the consideration of the Board the advisableness of extending to those attending such meeting the same privileges an they received when .ourncying to a centre for instruction in technical matters. The Chairman said lie thought, the Department should, if it was going on with the matter, submit, to the Board what was proposed to be done, whether the Department was going on with the first, second, or third proposal. Mr Harris said this was a very large order He did not believe in the responsibly being taken from the parent? m that, way. . , ,', i Mr. McKenzle: There might be a great deal of good done in this way. Mr. Harris: That may be so, but give the parents the responsibility. .... Mr. Edgecumbe said there might be children going to school whose parents did not know there was anything wrong, whereas the children might really be unfit for lessons. He thought the principle was a right one. The Secretary said the earliest time at which teachers'could attend with any general advantage, to hear an address from the district health officer, would be the last week in September, and if not then, it would be the last week in January. It might be well to refer the suggestion to Dr. Frcngley, and ask him if it would be convenient for him to give such a lecture about the end of September. Mr. Harris raid he took it that if the medical man reported that a child was in ill-health the parent would see to the treatment, He knew that there were cases where parents were in very poor circumstances, and very probably children might he delicate from*wont of proper food, and therefore unfit for lessons. Did the Department propose to supply food in those cases? The Chairman said he thought before such could be done legislation would have to ha framed. The Board should reply that it wculd co-operate with the Department in the matter of the clause relating to a lecture to the teachers, but tho Department should propose a' definite scheme, either for appointing someone for "a definite time, or for the whole district. • ' Mr. Edgecumbe said it was in.-the general mid public, should be examined, but it did not follow that the State was going to supply the necessary medical attention or treatment. The rights or responsibilities of parents would not be interfered with. Mr. Harris said no one knew better than the parents when a child was sick, and if a child was sick it was the duty of the parent to look after'it. Tho Chairman: It may be easy enough to find out if a child is sick, but there are such things as tendency to disease, or curvature of the spine, that might not be detected by a parent, and the presence of the complaint might remain ■ unknown without medical examination until too late to effect a cure. Mr.' Edgecumbe: There is defective eyesight, defective hearing, and other complaints-; that affect a whole family,' and might po quite unnoticed by parents. On the motion of the chairman it was decided to defer the first, second, and third clauses for some definite proposal from the Department, and to communicate with Dr. Frenglev with regard to the fourth clause, asking him if it would be convenient for him to deliver a lecture to teachers on some day during Michaelmas holidays.