WORK IN THE SCHOOLS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15549, 5 March 1914, Page 8

WORK IN THE SCHOOLS

NOT ENOUGH INSPECTORS.

REORGANISATION SCHEME.

QUESTION OF FINANCE.

Tee question of reorganising the staff of inspectors with a view to making each inspector a more responsible officer and of rendering his work more effective was brought before the Education Board at its meeting yesterday by Mr. E. C. Purdie. Mr. Purdie moved a series of resolutions, which in effect proposed that the Auckland education district be divided into three areas— northern, metropolitan, and a southern; that a senior inspector be placed in charge of each such area, and that he be responsible for education therein ; that each area be subdivided into a suitable number of sub-areas, and that an inspector or a junior inspector be placed in charge of each, and be held responsible for education therein ; and that the chief inspector still direct and supervise the work of education throughout the whole education district. Mr. Purdie also proposed that the salaries of inspectors should be as follows : — Junior inspectors, £250 to £350 per annum; inspectors, £400 to £500; senior inspectors, £500 to £600; chief inspector, £700.

In urging the need for reorganisation on the lines suggested by his resolutions Mr. Purdie said that the inspectorate was quite inadequately staffed. The board had tried to keep a grip over the teaching staffs in each of the schools under its control, but it was now generally felt that the inspectors should take this responsibility. Should the responsibility be moved to the inspectors the change would tend to tho greater efficiency of the teaching service. He paid a tribute to the excellent work done by the inspectors in the past, but up to the present they had not been called upon to bear a sufficient share of responsibility. Briefly, Mr. Purdie said, his scheme was to divide the province into separate areas, and place an inspector in charge of each, and hold him responsible for the efficiency of the schools in the area under his control. If a school was weak in the matter of efficiency the inspector could spend more time in that school in bringing about an. improvement, for he need not visit so often the schools that were efficient. In this way weak teachers could gradually bj brought to a state of efficiency. He recognised that the only difficulty in bringing his scheme into operation was the matter of finance, but he considered that this difficulty could be easily overcome. Dealing with the present staff of inspectors Mr. Purdie said.that they were greatly overworked. Conditions were much easier in Southern districts. Auckland had a total of 628 schools, attended by 46,100 scholars, and staffed with 1292 teachers. Only seven inspectors were employed. Thus to each inspector there were in the Auckland Province an average of 6600 pupils, 92 schools, and 185 teachers, the average being much smaller in all other districts. Besides this. Auckland inspectors had to grade over 1000 teachers, and also had to report on a larger number of applications for new schools than was the case in Southern districts.

Mr. W. Auld said he would oppose the scheme put forward on financial grounds. The chairman (Mr. G. J. Garland) said the board was indebted to Mr. Purdie for bringing this important matter up for consideration. The question, however, arose as to whether the "board would be justified in again teaching its teachers how to teach. That was what the resolutions amounted to. Then again the matter of finance entered largely into the question. The board quite recognised the need for more inspectors, as the present staff was quite inadequate for the work that was. demanded of it.

On the motion of the chairman it was decided that the board should resolve itself into committee on March 23 for the purrose of considering the questions brought forward by Mr. Purdie.