MATTERS EDUCATIONAL

New Zealand Times, Volume L, Issue 11653, 18 October 1923, Page 5

MATTERS EDUCATIONAL

HOURS OF SCHOOLING EARLY CLOSING ON WET AFTERNOONS. GRANTS FOR BUILDINGS. Tho monthly meeting of the Wellington Education Board was held yesterday morning, Councillor T. Forsyth j (chairman ) presiding. The ether memi bers present were Messrs W. H. Field, M.P., R. A. Wright M.P., G. T. London. E. P. Rishvvorth, C. J. Darkness, T. Moss, A. J. Wjiite J. J. Clark, W. T. Grundy, and D. McCallum. FINANCIAL POSITION. The statement of accounts showed a ci;edit balance to current account of £2739; mipresented cheques, £1022; investments on deposit in Post Office Savings Bunk, £2000; receipts since September loth, £25,528. Payments now authorised total £2-4,657 ; and the estimated cost, of maintenance of buildings and grounds authorised by the, board is £1678. AFTERNOON SCHOOL ON WET DAYS. A communication was received from the Education Department calling attention to section 56 (4), which prescribes that the children shall not be marked on the school registers as present during afternoon school, unless the school has been conducted during the afternoon for at least two hours. Tlie chairman and other members thought, this yather unreasonable in the case of wet days, when it was the custom to keep the children at school longer in the morning and let them off to go home early in the afternoon. Children, especially in scattered districts,,, could not go home and back in wet weather; ana it meant keeping them some two hours longer in their wet clothes.

Mr Grundy said that the department bad some grounds for the letter, 'as an some occasions he had known schools kept, on ip that, way and dismissed early, although it was nut. ;v v.ctday. ■ The chairman held that in the case of a wet day. the practice was quite excusable; but it should be confined to wet days. It was decided to send the commu. nication on to the headmasters and ask them to report it and the. matter mentioned by Air Grundy. BUILDING MAINTENANCE- GRANT ;■ £12,227-

Advice was received, from the department that, the maintenance of huildjngs grant thus year wo.uld be £.12 227.' The secretary (Mr G, L. Stewart) said that it seemed to him that this amount was £4CQ to £7OO less than it should be. Last year the building grant was reduced 10. Der cent.: and the Minister had said tTiat the 10 per cent, was to be paid this year; but he had not yet had an opportunity of seeing the department a bout. it. The seoretary was instructed to take up the matter with the deparment. SCHOOL COMMITTEE SUBSIDIES. Notification was received. that the subsidies disallowed under the' limitation of subsidies for school picnics, etc., notified at the beginning of the year, and; made to some extent retrospective, woujd upw be allowed, in eonsequence of improved financial conditions. In some cases school committees already made commitments before the limitation was. notified, and on evidence tp that effect being produced, the Minister had stated that the amoupts deducted from the subsidies would now bp made -good. !