SCHOOL CONDITIONS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25085, 26 December 1944, Page 6

SCHOOL CONDITIONS

TEACH Eft SPEAKS OUT POSITION IN DOMINION (0.c.) INVERCARGILL, Monday Comment on the conditions in schools in New Zealand compared with those in England was made by the headmaster of the .Mataura School. I)r W. J. Boraman. Many schools in Southland and New Zealand, lie said, were old and draughty, ill-lighted and ill-ventilated, gloomy and dark. There were many things about New Zealand's education system which could be improved. "Not until the roll of a school exceeds 3GO i.i the headmaster free from class teaching and free to attend to his real duties of supervising intimately the work of every class in the school. In England, in more progressive parts in normal times, the number is ISO—exactly half," T)r Boraman said. Many classes in New Zealand schools were too large. One teacher at Mataura had a class of o7 pupils at three different, stages of development. Iwo other classes each had more than 50 pupil,; and some of the remaining classes far too many for any teacher to give adequate attention to individual pupils. "Child activity and individual attention are the keynotes of modern education." he said.'"Yet how can you possibly have child activity in a room so crammed with young humanity that the teacher can hardly make his way between desks?" Dr Boraman added that the primary schools were starved of equipment so far as chemical apparatus was concerned. They would be delighted to got even breakages from secondary schools. Primary schools would not. be able to do what they knew and felt should be done for their charges until the parents demanded that the facilities in New Zealand were raised to the level of the conditions in the best of modern and progressive countries.

COUNTY'S AFFAIRS

MANGONUI DIFFICULTIES REDUCING OUTSIDE STAFF (0.C.) \V HANGAR EI, Monday Owing to its adverse financial position. due to the withholding of Government subsidies, the Mangonui County Council has instructed the engineer to dispense with the services of such members of the outside staff as he saw lit. The financial position was discussed at a meeting of the council, when the chairman, Mr C. J. E. Barriball, stated that a deficit of at least £IOOO was anticipated at the end of the financial year in March, 1915. This position had arisen on account of the Government withholding subsidies due to the council as the result of the council's action in not striking a hospital rate for the current year and so making default in payment of levies to the Mangonui Hospital Board. These levies amounted to £4700. The county engineer, Mr 1?. R. Torrie, tabled a statement showing that, including the subsidy on rates, approximately £SOOO was due from the Government. The council has already informed the Main Highways Board that owing to its financial position it was unable to accept any responsibility for the carrying on of the five-year bridge renewal programme, and in reply to an inquiry from the Works Department relative to the council's contribution to main highway bridge repairs, the council is to inform the department that its present financial position does not permit o." anv such contributions.