EDUCATION REPORT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20679, 26 September 1930, Page 14

EDUCATION REPORT.

QUESTION OF CONTROL. (THE CENTRALISATION ASPECT. DEPARTMENT NOT SUPPORTED. A contradiction of tho viewpoint that tho recommendations of tho Parliamentary Recess Education Committee aim at centralisation was given hy Mr. F. A. Garry at a meeting of the Auckland Education Conference held last evening to discuss the desirability or otherwise of unification of control as suggested in I lie report. "It is one of tho most logical and constructive reports I have ever seon," Mr. Garry said. "While the-desire of tho Education Department to seize control of tho educational system is most marked, I cannot see that, except in ono instance, the dommittee has supported that desire. As a matter of fact, tho department is the most sore body in New Zealand over this report. Whenever evidenco was/given by tho Director of Education on tho lines of wanting control by tho department tho committee turned it down flat. Yet everybody says they do not trust tho report." Emphasis was laid on the poiiit that tho report must bo considered as a whole and portions should not bo removed from their context for criticism. There was a tendency for too narrow a viewpoint toy bo adopted in discussion of tho report. It should bo remembered that the conditions throughout the greater part of tho Dominion were not comparable with those in tho city of Auckland. Tho majority of tho schools wero rural, with nn entirely different outlook from that of a university centro. The committee had said—and he believed it meant it—that it desired intensive local control. Recognising that Bomo of tho districts woro too largo for this to bo effectively obtained, it had recommended that they should bo divided in order to do-contraliso control even more than at present. Unless the proposals for intermediate schools were accepted it was little uso considering unification of control. Tho ovidenco in favour of intermediate schools was so overwhelming that genoral acceptance of that part of the report might be presumed. Competition between existing school authorities for control of the intermediate

schools had been mot by the committee's proposal that all tho schools in a district should be placed under ono board. The committee had found that nine primaryeducation boards were in control of 79 post-primary schools, principally the district high schools, and that 45 postprimary boards controlled 62 post-primary schools. The objections to the unification proposals would no doubt come from those 45 post-primary boards. Professor W. Anderson said he saw in the committee's recommendations a danger of encroachment of administrative authority upon the field of intellectual control. Professor A. B. Fitt said he was satisfied that there was indicated in the report rather a greater measure of centralisation than tho country should have in tho interests of its children.