EDUCATIONAL MATTERS

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4310, 20 March 1901, Page 7

EDUCATIONAL MATTERS

Mr Chais. Siramonds writes :—I •onsidcr the question of the management of our national schools requires the grave consideration of our members of Parliament and the electors, and a great alteration requires to b 6 made in several ways. I attended the election of a school committee some two years back in this city. There was a roomful of householders, mostly strangers to each other! The outgoing chairman and secretary were on the platform, and after rending the report, etc., the election of a new committee was proceeded with. The members of the old committee neither snoke nor showed themselves to the meeting; and when the chairman was requested to give* their names, to assist in election, ho refused. There was then a hasty nomination of names, not known to most of the persons present, and in filling in tiio voting papetrs there was a hurried and an unsatisfied inquiry of who is who The persons nominated might have been yellow of black people for all that most of the people there knew. I would like those seeking election to be known and express themselves to the householders some days before the election. And then theso unknown members of school committee have the selection of the members of the Education Board, which I consider very wrong. The electors in the different districts should elect their own members to the Education Boards, being such an important position. Under the existing system there is a possibility 'of some districts nob being represented at all. For many years the colony has spent an enormous amount of money in education, and when I notice matters, I am afraid thdre has been a great waste of this money. I consider it a great waste of money to be paying some of the headmasters as much as nine pounds per week, when the pupil teachers do the most of the work at such a small pay; and when you consider the time taught in the schools, deducting all holidays and other days, it does nob average more than three hours’ tuition per day through the year. We have gentlemen working in our Government offices much longer hours, with every ability for a similar position, and only receiving ten shillings per day. The most of our children leave school very young, and with a very indifferent education. Some that have passcid the Sixth Standard cannot tell you where the small seaports arc situated on the coast. I would like to see a simple system of bookkeeping taught; but in a conversation with the inspector, he said the children weire not sensible enough for that, which I do not agree with: and if that is so, is there a need to pay so large a salary to the headmasters? 1 hope before any larger powers are given into the bands of thei Education Boards that Parliament will alter the election system, and not allow the schoolmasters employed to become members of the Board or nay other person similarly situated.