TEACHERS’ SALARIES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1514, 7 March 1901, Page 58

TEACHERS’ SALARIES.

DEPARTMENTAL, SOHEDULE. AGAIN DISCUSSED BY EDUCATION .BOARD'.', STRONG LANGUAGE. The .question of the'schedule of teachers’ salaries, drawn up by the Education. Department, came 1 before the Weilington Education Board on the 27 th. Mr Hogg moved,- "That-after duly considering the schedule of increases in teachers’ salaries submitted by the Educatidh Departmelii-; ‘tlie Board feels. convinced that the process will not remove the drawbacks and difficulties from which it is suffering. Owing to a considerable decline in the average attendance of children in the schools of the district, and: •consequent loss of, capitation, the Board during the past year has been confronted with financial embarrassments. Hence the application to have the capitation raised from £3 15s to £4; the qaxtta money being: required to maintain existing schools,., .and sate Vies, add: to avoid sweeping reductions. The Board is or opinion that the disturbance of its regulations, by the increasing of certain salaries, is. likely to produce disorganisation and r heart-burnings and must obviously fait toi remove the necessity! - for substantial:/ retrenchment.” Speaking to - the motion,: ■ heUsaid ' the Board had been placed in a position of difficulty, owing to the pressing demand that there . -.was TqVdnew' schools in districts where a, large- am bu lit of '.settlement was: going of ~ The old schools had declined, .as-far as the average - attendance- was. concerned, owing to the migration of the sons, and daughters of settlers to the new schools. Tlie consequence was that some of the experienced teachers in the old schools, owing to reduced attendance, , were getting salaries in. excess of the regulations, and certain junior ttsachers on the other hand had had their salaries materially improved. These circumstances had contributed to place the .Board in a very embarrassed position in regard to its finances. The average atendance bind capitation had declined, while the expenditure had very considerably increased. The object of the Board had been ail along to stave off retrenchment if possible. They did not wish to reduce the salaries of the old teiachers, and hence their action in wait ihg on the Minister of Education and asking that the capitation should be increased. But an important principle was involved in the proposals which the department itself had made.' If they allowed their powers as a distributing body to be takefn away from them, and the central department to adminis-ter-the salaries, they might as well give u£ the rest of their functions, and become mere cyphers. He was satisfied that neither the Parliament nor the people of New Zealand would allow such a catastrophe to take place. ' Mr Young seconded the motion.

Mr J. Robertson said a committee of the Board had met that morning, and had arrived at a proposition, which he would ask Mr Hogg to accept instead of the one which he had just proposed. It was as follows :—“That, it being impossible, with the information the Board possessed, to understand the principle cn which the department proposes to allocate the money provided under the School Teachers’ Salaries Act, the Board requests the department to call a conference qf the Education. Boards of the colony at the earliest possible date, as already proposed, for the purpose of taking into consideration _ the department j. proposals', and that in. the meantime the Government be asked to fund the amount available under the above Act. for primary education pending an agreement on the question between the department and boards.” He (Mr Ro- . betrtson) could not understand why the department refused to 1 furnish the Board with the basis pjt the. new scheme. One would almost: think that the Government, having been defeated in its attempt to introduce its Bill into the House, now intended to accomplish its object by setting the Board at loggerheads, and then stepping in to administer the Act itself. Parliament had insisted that before any reforms were! introduced the Boards must he consulted, and he believed that if the department Would consent to that course it would ,be better if a conference between representatives of the department and the boards could be held immediately, and in the meantime, lest the money should lapse, it should be funded. Mr Lee (Chief Inspector) said he had seen Mr Hogben, Under-Secretary of the Education Department, at the chairman’s request, Mr Hogben told •him that the department did not intend 'to divulge its scheme untila conference had. been held. Mr Hogben had told him enough, however, to convince him that the scheme as a whole was likely to prove a satisfactory one. It meant an increase of 8 per cent, on each teacher in the colony, or a total increase in expenditure by the government of £28,000.

Mr Hogg: There is no increase all round. That is the main objection! Mr Lee went on to say that Mr Hiogben had convinced him that the scale would be a very liberal scale, a more liberal scale than that Board had bad even before the reduction which be himself bad planned by direction of the Board some time ago. The Board was far less liberal in staffing than tbe department intended to be. The proposal was for an increase of salary over tbe service as a whole. There

would be a rise in pupil-teachers* salaries particularly. Mr Young: That is not in accordance with the information which he has given us. Mr Hogg: It is not in accordance with the information furnished by the department to this Board. Mr Young said if their inspector’s version was correct, Mr Hogben had published a cock-and-bull story, which he had called a scheme, in the first instance. Mr Hogg said it was a monstrous statement to say that the pupil teachers’ salaries had; been specially considered. It was notorious that the pupil teachers had been ignored, and that those in receipt of £3OO and. £4OO a year had received substantial increases. Mr Young said it was evident that Mr Hogben had told the deputation from that Board and their inspector two very different stories. If he had made/ a cock-and-bull story, he had only himself to thank for it. Mr Hogg said this scheme had been undergoing -a hen-wives’ process of hatching for twelve months. It was being prepared for die last session of Parliament, but it was blocked, and now they were told that it would be “unwise to divulge it.” They heard a great deal of harping on classification of its teachers, and a colonial scale, but what did it all mean? He had it from heads of departments, and he had no hesitation in repeating it, that where it had been tried in their railway and postal business it had broken down. The result of classification in those, departments had been that inefficient men had been placed at the heau of affairs, with the result that accidents had occurred and mistakes had been made, and these incompetents had had to be disrated. Classification in the services which he had mentioned had pushed men to the front, not because of their merit, but because of their seniority, and young, vigorous brainy men had been passed over. But they coukl not afford to dispense with efficiency m any walk of life. Classification was a system of dragging down, instead of building. up», because the machinery became thoroughly disorganised. Were to allow this to creep into their education system? He said it would be most unwise. Mi .Lee said it was not his province to argue with Mr Hogg, but he would' nevertheless, like to say something on the other side. He would say as an expert. that Mr Hogben’s scheme was a good one; that it meant, as far as the Board’s teachers were concerned, a distribution of £3OOO throughout the service, and if they refused the increase, they would practically be throwing away that sum. The scale was on the basis of the numbers in attendance—on the average attendance principally—but it also recognised grades of teaching service which the Board did not. The department had 1 arranged special classification in that respect, and for payment accordingly. The department recognised the principle of extra payment for extra, responsibility. Mr Hogben was not prepared to make any departure from the broad principles laid down, at the instance of individual Education Boardis. Of course, anomalies would arise ini individual cases, but it was then for the Boards concerned to adjust their staffing arrangements accordingly. Persons were not recognised. Positions were recognised, and positions paid for. Really, from, an expert point of view, net much exception could be taken to that. This particular district could not expect to have everything it* desired in reform legislation, because those reforms had to be spread broadly over the colony. From what he had seen and knew, he considered that a very liberal offer had been made by the Government to the teaching profession. Mr Hogg: What does this liberal offer amount to? It means that for a miserable mess of pottage the Boards of the colony are asked to sacrifice their birthright!

Mr Young said it was apparent that Mr Lee’s experience was evidently similar to that of Bishop Colenso. He had! been sent to convert the Kaffirs, and the Kaffirs had converted him. (Laughter.) Mr Hogg said their inspector had evidently put his head in the lion’s mouth, and been crunched. (Renewed laughter.) The chairman (Mr Blair) said that if what Mr Lee had told them was correct, the Education Department proposed to violate the spirit of tbe present and original Act, which clearly set forth that no new regulations must be made without the consent of the Education Boards. Mr Lee had said, in face of this, that the department had made a scheme, and would not depart from. it. They knew that it was proposed to add £3OOO to teachers’ salaries in this district, but until they knew the basis upon which this was to be' distributed it was impossible for them to give their consent to the scheme. Mr Lee was satisfied that the scheme was a fair one, but the Board wanted to know how it was that under it a third teacher without any special qualifications was awarded, within a pound 1 or two, the same salary as a first teacher. Another thing they wanted to know was why a system which had worked admirably all along should be altered, and unnecessary positions created which bad not been in existence all along. The Board required an intelligent basis

upon which to arrive at a decision. They did not want to be antagonistic to the department, but they must proagainst toe holding back of information necessary to enable them to arrive at a decision. It was not only this Board which had been in a quandary. He held in his hand a telegium from, the Canterbury Board as follows: c ' This morning the Board passed resolution strongly urging the Minister to remit- the Beard’s share of grant so as to enable it to make a pro rata increase on all teachers’ salaries.” He urged members to support the amendment*. Mr Hogg said he had great pleasure in withdrawing his motion. Mr Buchanan was surprised at their inspector’s attitude, in face of the fact for y cars past he had never hinted to toe Board that there was a necessity for salary reforms. The increases advocated by the department were not in accordance with scale; indeed, in many cases they were strongly antagonistic to it. On .no basis were the increases acceptable or reconcilable with the prac-tice-of rhg Beard rer' rearreui, *•*? . T . cind uko Mr Leo to explain hcvv it was that if the proposed alteration in scale was a. fair one, the other Boards in the colony were so loud in protest against it.

Mr Lee .said that if they had ten or a dozen different plans or schemes such as existed in the colony, it was only natural that, when a new system came in, those in existence must be modified. He (the speaker) was the author of the scale which this Board had adopted some years ago, and which worked well, and would have continued to work well if it had not been departed from. But the colonial scale was a more, liberal one than they had ever had here.

The Chairman: But who is going to get the benefit? Mr Lee said that all of them ought to get some of it. The distribution proposed depended large!}' on attendance, but all the country teachers in small schools and the pupil teachers would be better paid all round. It was not so much a question of payment as staffing and the recognition cf assistants. Mr Hogben had satisfactorily explained this. His plan was in use in South Australia. He (Mr Lee) was not desirous of opposing the Board in the attitude he had taken up, but only giving a conscientious opinion on the scale as a colonial one. He admitted that it was faulty in some of its incidents.

Mr Hogg said he had received letters from teachers and committees which showed that some of the country teachers resented the injustices of the proposed new scale so muoh that they threatened to resign from the service. Mr Bradey said the Board was at present groping in the dark. Until a conference such as had been proposed was held they could do nothing. Mr Feist seconded Mr Robertson’s motion, which was carried. ACTION IN CANTERBURY. CHRISTCHURCH, February. 27. At the meeting of the Board of Education to-day, a motion was passed strongly urging the Minister of Education to end the delay in distributing the grant in aid of teachers’ salaries, which the Board proposes to allocate on a pro rata basis. This intention was intimated to the department on the 27th January., and no reply has been received. It was resolved that the Board express surprise at the want of courtesy on the part of the department in not replying to the communication and subsequent telegrams. An animated discussion took place with regard to the action of the local branch of the Educational Institute, and reference was made to the claims of the poorer-paid teachers being disregarded. TIMARU, February 27. The Board of Education to-day adopted reports criticising the allocation of the special grant in aid of teachers’ salaries. The reports pointed out several classes of anomalies. At the same time, the Board is willing to accept any sum placed in its hands for distribution on any basis. Some criticisms of ~a general character were also adopted on the proposed colonial scale of staff and salaries. They were generally to the effect that the reduction in responsibilities would result in lessened interest on the part of the Boards, who were better able to deal with the varying needs of districts than a central department. NAPIER, February 27. At a meeting of the Education Board to-day, a letter from the department was read, declining to state the basis on which the vote for the increase of teachers’ salaries was allocated. Mr Wes tall, an ex-teacher, said that apparently it was based on the academical degrees held. As those with high degrees generally held the best - appointments, their already good salaries were largely increased, while underpaid teachers in small schools got next to nothing. The Chairman (Dr Sidey) said that would not account for all the anomalies, as in one school of fifty-nine pupils the master had his salary increased to a higher figure than one with sixty-nine pupils, though both helld identical qualifications. The Board gave up the puzzle, but decided to protest.