TEACHERS’ SALARIES

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4293, 28 February 1901, Page 6

TEACHERS’ SALARIES

DEPARTMENTAL SCHEDULE. AGAIN DISCUSSED BY EDUCATION BOARD STRONG LANGUAGE. The question of the schedule of teachers’ salaries, drawn up by tho Education Department, came before the Wellington Education Board yesterday. Mr Hogg moved, ‘‘That after duly considering the schedule of increases in teachers’ salaries submitted by the Education Department, the Board feels convinced that tho 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 tho schools of tho 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; tho extra money being required to maintain existing schools and salaries, and to avoid sweeping reductions. The Board is of opinion that the disturbance of its regulations, by the increasing of certain salaries, is likely to produce dis-

organisation and heart-burnings and must obviously fail to remove the necessity for substantial retrenchment.” Speaking to the motion, he said the Board had been placed in a position of

difficulty, owing to the pressing demand that there was for new schools in districts where a large amount of settlement was going on. The old schools had declined, as far as the average! attendance was concerned. Giving to the migration of the sons and daughters of settlers to the new schools. The 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 taachers 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 ateildance and capitation had declined, while the expenditure had very considerably increased. The object of the Board had been all 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 ing 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 taken away from them, and the central department to administer the salaries, they might as well give up 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 on which tho department proposes to allocate the money provided under the School Teachers’ Salaries Act, the Board requests the department to call a conference of the Education Boards of tho colony at the earliest possible date, ias already proposed, for the purpose of taking into consideration the departmental proposals, and that in the meantime the Government bo 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 Robertson) could not understand why the department refused to furnish the Board with tho basis of 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 in-

sisted that before any reforms were introduced the Boards must be 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, uml in the meantime, lest the money should l»psa, it should ins fundedi <

Mr Lee (Chief Inspector) said he had seen Mr Hogbes. Under-ls eerctary of tho Education Department, at the chairman’s request, Mr Hogben. told him that the department did no*t intend to divulge its scheme until a conference bad been held. Mr Hogben had told him enough, however, to convince him that tie scheme as a whole was likely to prove a satisfactory one. It meant an increase of 8 per cent, on each teacher in tho 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 Loo went on to say that Mr Hogben had convinced him that the scale would he a -very liberal scale, a more liberal scale than that Board had had even_ before the reduction which ho himself bad planned by direction of the Board some time ago. Tie Board was far less liberal in staffing than the department intended to be. The proposal was for an increase of salaryover tho service as a whole. There would be a rise in pupil-teachers’ salaries particularly. Mr Young: That is not in accordance with tho information which he has given us.

Mr Hogg: It is not in accordance w-ith tho 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 ho 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 pu pil teachers had been ignored, and that those in receipt of £3OO and £4OO a year bad received substantial increases. Mr Yomig said it w-as evident that Mr Hogben had told the deputation from that Board and their inspector two very different stories. If he had

made/ a codk-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 the last session of Parliament,, but it was blocked, and now" they wore told that it would bo

“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 ho hau no hesitation in repeating it, that whore it had been tried in their railway. and postal business lr had broken down. The result of classification in these departments had been that inefficient men bad been placed at the head 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 ho 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 could not afford to dispense with efficiency in any walk of life. Classification was a system of dragging down, instead of building up, because the machinery became thoroughly disorganised. Were they going to allow this to creep into their education system? He said it would bo most unwise.

Mr Loo said it was not his province to argue with Mr Hogg, hut he would, nevertheless, like to say something on the other side.' Ho 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 bo 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 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 Boards. Of course, anomalies would arise in individual cases, but it was then for l 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, not much exception could he 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 the 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 Leo 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 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 protest against the 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 telegram from the Canterbury Board as follows: “ This morning the Board passed resolution strongly urging the Minister to remit the Board’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 ho had great pleasure in withdrawing his motion. Mr Buchanan was surprised at their inspector’s attitude, in face of the fact that for years past he had never hinted to the Board that' there was a necessity for salary reforms. The increases advocated by the department were not in accordance with scale; indeed, in many eases they were strongly antagonistic to

it. On no basis were the increases acceptable or reconcilable with fho practice of the Board for many years. IT« would like Mr Lee to explain how 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 tlf/'v had ion or a dozen different plans or schemes such as existed in the colony, it was onlynatural that, when a new system nsino in, those in existence must lu- modified. He {the .speaker) was Ihe author of the scale which tins Board had adopted some years ago, and which worked well* and would have continued to work well if it had not boon deputised 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 oughtto got some of it. The distribution proposed depended largely on attendance, but all the country teachers in small schools and tho pupil teachers would ho better paid all round. It w-as not so much a. question of as staffing and the recognition of tssislants. Mr Hogben bad satisfactorily explained this. His plan was in use in South Australia. Ho (Mr Lee', was not desirous of opposing tho Board in the attitude he had taken up, but only" giving & conscientious opinion- <m_ lb”, scale as a colonial one. He admitted 1 , that it was faulty in pome of its incidents.

Mr Hogg said ho had received letters from teachers and committees which showed that some of the country teachers resented the injustices of the proposed new- scale so. much that they threatened to resign from tho service. Mr Bradcy said the Botvrd was at present groping in the dark. Until n conference such as had been proposed was held they could do nothing. Mr Foist seconded Mr Robertson’s motion, which was carried. ACTION IN CANTERBURY. PRESS ASSOCIATION. 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 tho Board proposes to allocate on a pro rata basis. This intention was intimated to the department on tho 27th January, and no reply has been received. It w-as resolved that the Board express surprise at tho want or courtesy on the part of the department in not replying to the communication and subsequent Alt 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 .who 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 soy oral 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 bavis on which the vote for the increase of teachers’ salaries was allocated. Mr We stall, an ex-teacher, said that appaIfently it was based on the academical 1 , 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 held identical qualifications. The Board gave up the puzzle, but decided to protest.