TECHNICAL EDUCATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18556, 17 May 1922, Page 6

TECHNICAL EDUCATION

TEACHERS IN CONFERENCE. (Pee United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, May 16. The annual conference of representatives of the Technical School Teachers’ Association was continued to-day. • The proposed platform issued by the executive was considered at length and amended in several respects. ' After a general discussion on post-pri-mary education, the meeting proceeded to discuss remits. It was resolved to urge that' syllabuses work for higher learning certificates and departmental examinations be instituted as soon as possible for those who have completed a satisfactory course in technical education, also that optional syllabuses may be submitted by the directors of the various schools to the Education Department for its approval. It was decided to ask the Education Department to fix the teaching hours of technical school teachers at 10 half-days weekly, evening duty to be counted as half a dav and the teachers to be_ required to teach not more than two evenings' in the week. A Christchurch remit that continuation education be made compulsory up to the ago of 17 years was approved. The following remits from the Auckland Education Board were. adopted“ That a combined conference be held to discuss the refund of technical continuation class fees to the department; that a capitation grant (26 per cent, of the teachers’ salaries) is inadequate for incidentals for technical and continuation classes in country centres; that this conference make representations to the Senate of the New Zealand University with a View to the marks for geography for the junior university scholarships being increased to 300.” In view of the greater number of practical classes in technical schools it was resolved that the number of teachers pro rata to students should be greater than in the secondary schools. With regard to the grading of teachers the conference decided 'that any two pass degrees bearing on school subjects should be held to be equivalent to an M.A. or M.So degieo; that, when allocating marks, the classification officers should give due weight to the recommendations of the principal of the school concerned, particularly as to the out-of-school activities of the instructors; that the maximum salary in division 2 be increased to £450; that in the classification of those in the service before the initiation of grading the regulations requiring possession of a university degree or its equivalent for classification in the professional division be more liberally interpreted; that in the case of these teachers the lack of high degrees be no bar to positions in the higher grades. _ It was decided to urge that technical teachers should have separate and direct representation on the Council of Education, and that manual training teachers be empowered to vote <it &uch elections with technical school teachers. The following Auckland remit was approved:—“That there should be one division only in connection with the grading of technical school teachers', and further, that it possible, both secondary and technical school teachers should be graded in the same division so that an interchange of teachers between the two types of schools might be facilitated.” ■ , An Auckland remit that the department should take steps to prevent teachers. of secondary and technical schools engaging in private teaching, except with the approval of the boards concerned, was defeated, the conference holding that the boards of governors already had ample powers to prevent, by regulation, any abuses regarding the matter. It was resolved to recommend that in the case of girls holding junior free places in the evening vocational courses and special classes in technical schools home nursing, Plunket nursing, or some other approved domestic subject may take the place of mathematics. ~ . , ~ It was decided to urge that there should be a definite scale of salaries for pupil teachers in technical schools, ftt lepst as liberal as that provided for the primary schools, and ihjxt- two years’ service as a student assistant teacher with a partial pass be accepted as qualifying for entrance to the training college.