CONTROL ISSUE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20618, 17 July 1930, Page 9

CONTROL ISSUE.

CURTAILING-BOARDS' POWERS

CRITICISM IN AUCKLAND.

FULL TEXT OF REPORT AWAITED.

The Auckland Education Board is to hold a special meeting to discuss the reforms in education proposed in the report of the Select Committee of the House of Representatives. . The board decided at its meeting yesterday to withhold consideration until the full text of the report had been received.

Mr. H. S. W. King said it seemed a case for the individual members to approach the members of Parliament for their districts.

The chairman, Mr. A. Burns, said it would hardly be fair to criticise the report from the present information. If the proposals went through it seemed that education boards would be only glorified school committees. An attempt had previously been made by tho department to abolish the boards, but it had not been successful. Tho cost of administration in Australia and New Zealand was mentioned in the report. The cost in tho Auckland district, which was sorted out as being too large, was a little under 1-g per cent, of the expenses. It was questionable whether any other form of control could do better.

Departmental control, not only in Wellington, but in the individual new districts, would be no more democratic than to abolish education boards altogether, Mr. Burns said. The powers of education boards would be j;o curtailed that very few men would come forward to take an interest in education as in tho past. Mr. G. Brownlee suggested that a full text of the report should be secured and a special meeting held. "Tho Director of Education has always had the idea of centralising control in Wellington and of abolishing school committees," said Mr. E. C. Banks. "This would place him in charge of the whohv educational system of the country. All appointments of teachers would be made in Wellington under tho system, and it would be a, case of first on the grading list, no matter what age. Men like myself, who have devoted many years to the work, would not. bother to be on a board which was really nothing more than a school committee." Mr. J. Boddic said he did not think it would be possible for Parliament to rush such an important matter through without giving reasonable opportunity for consideration to those who for years and years had given attention to educational matters. "I think wo should have a special meeting, but at the same time we should deal with the matter in a constructive manner," said Mr. S. B. Sims. It was decided to hold the meeting as soon as tho full report was received.