THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 1901

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11942, 16 January 1901, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 1901

The New Zealand Educational Institute held its eighteenth annual meeting in Wellington on the 2nd inst. and two following days. A great amount of interest centred in its proceedings, and Mr Hogben, the Inspector-general, was almost constant in his attendance. The Wellington branch had arranged a series of papers for two of the evening meetings, an innovation which might be continued with advantage. As these papers were of a very high order they were greatly enjoyed by the institute and by those of the outside public who were present. Mrs W. A. Evans, M.A., in her paper on " Primary and Secondary Instruction," unfavourably criticised the Wellington' scholarship regulations, and in the subsequent discussion it was slated that as a connecting link between the primary schools and the university the regulations in force in Otago were much preferable. Dr Kendall, in his lecturette on " The Eye," drew attention to the large number of children who are suffering from deafness, and who are apparently stupid, through the great prevalence of nasal obstructions. Miss Richmond gave a philosophical address on "Kindergarten," and Mr Pope, inspector of Maori schools, gfive an intensely interesting apd quaintly humorous address on "The Differentia of Maori Schools." As the institute sat on an average over nine hours a clay, delegates had no sinecure. Two sittings were devoted to drawing up a constitution for the district institutes, and most of the rest of the time, apart from the lectures, was given to the discussion of

the questions which have been agitating the educational world for some years. From a teacher's point of view the institute has justified its existence. By its incorporation it has given its members a legal standing, and by the passijig of the Court of Appeal Bill it protects its members and gives them.an amount of security of tenure previously unknown. At present its energies arc bent towards the securing of a colonial scale of staffs and salaries drawn up by experts, and as it will probably achieve its object in the coming parliamentary session we shall hsvvo a word or two to say upon the subject. Wo have consistently opposed the centralising influence of the institute, holding that, to the extent that local and provincial control of educational a/fairs is lost, to the same extent will primary education suffer and become a matter of routine; but given the conservation of these interests, anything tending to a united and contented educational staff must tend to greater efficiency in the work done in our schools. That teachers have had good causo to complain no one 'with any technical knowledge of the work of our ,schools will deny. When salaries are 50 per cent, and more higher in some provinces than in others; when in one or two provinces a large percentage of the certificated teachers do not draw £60 a year; when, again, some schools in one province are almost entirely officered by pupil teaphers, while in another pupil teachers are, where possible, displaced by assistants;—we say whe;i these and other anomalies exist, there is just ground for discontent. But it may be asked, Why are these anomalios permitted'to exist? Briefly, a few of the reasons are these: Some of t.he provinces have a greater percentage of iarge schools than others, and as these are conducted at a considerable profit —the Wellington Board gains, it is said,'a profit of £1200 on one of its schools,—other things being equal, proportionately larger salaries can be paid. In other provinces there are really none of these profit-earning schools; indeed, a large percentage of the small schools are non-paying, with the Result that, as all boards are paid on attendance and on hard-and-fast lines, the boards which carry on numbers of small schools have had to pay inferior salaries. These boards have been in a worse predicament than school committees, for committees can send round the hat or get up entertainments- With these boards necessity, pure and simple—no matter how good their intentions may be,—limits the salaries to sweating rates, and inferen dally causes a corresponding inefficiency in teaching power. ' Until latterly the provinces containing the larger cities were able to pay passable salaries, but these, too, have, been feeling the pinch. Settlement has been going on, and a number of the 11011paying class of schools have of necessity been opened; but the city schools have not increased in the ratio necessary to provide a surplus to meet the deficiency thus incurred. Indeed, in many cases the aggregate attendances at city schools actually show a decrease, with an increase in population. As a case in point, the attendance at the Bunedin and suburban schools was larger 15 years ago than now, though the population then was some thousands less. Then, again, moneys have, in the opinion of the institute—and Ministers have concurred in this opinion, but have expressed their powerlessness to prevent it, —been wrongfully diverted from the maintenance fund, out cf which teachers are paid, to meet deficiencies in other accounts. In Wellington technical education costs £1700 a year .over and above the monevs received for that object, and in every province money is taken from the maintenance fund to make up deficiencies in the funds granted to maintain training colleges, to pay inspectors, and to erect school buildings and keep them in repair. In Otngo as much as £3000 3, year— we think wc are within the mark in naming that sum—has been withdrawn from the maintenance fund to meet expenditure outside of salaries. .With these ai?d o.t-lier facts before them teachers have recognised the powerlessness of •■boards.in some cases, and the unwillingness in others, to right their wrongs. and have through their institute worked, consciously or unconsciously, for centralisation. But we see 110 necessity to centralise. If a scale of stiffs ijnfl salaries is drawnup by experts its adoption will not lessen the responsibilities of boards. The control of the teachers and the supervision of the expenditure of the money can still remain with them. There is no injustice done to boards in ear-marking; monevs for specific purposes, instead of allowing them, as heretofore, to make up deficiencies in perhaps half a dozen accounts by supplementing them wif» amounts drawn from another fund, morally, though not strictly legally, set apart frr salaries. A . ccloni«l scale of staffs and salaries will not in any way interfere with the appointment, control, or removp.l of teachers.-but it will place the finances of boards on a satisfactory fqoting and. will cause the Government to make adequate provision for inspection, technical edition, and buildings: and we aro safe in saving snnrselv-populated and newlv-settWl dt o tr.icts will receive more nviienw! treatment than has obtained in the pact - . We shall in a further article deal with other matters of interest that came up for discussion at the meeting.