STATE EDUCATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21531, 31 December 1931, Page 3

STATE EDUCATION

VICTORIAN SYSTEM INVESTIGATED REPORT OF BOARD OF INQUIRY DRASTIC CHANGES URGED. Drastic remodelling of the State education system (says the Melbourne Age) is strongly recommended by the board ot inquiry which has been investigating the system for some months past with the object of suggesting to the Government means by which further substantial economies might be effected in the huge cost of education. The interim report of the board was submitted to the Government some time ago, but Cabinet decided to await'the complete report before taking any action. The chief recommendations of the main report are as follow: — 1. That a board consisting of (say) three members, including the Director of Education as chairman, a representative of the Victorian State Treasury, and a member selected on account of his special qualifications, be appointed to administer the department, such board to have fun control of the staff. 2. That the Council of Public Education as at present constituted be abolished, and a small committee be appointed to take over the functions of ’ the council in regard to the registration of private schools and- teachers. 3. That the provisions of the Public Service Act, 1928, dealing with the “ratio” system of promotion of teachers be repealed, and an equitable system be substituted, which, while doing justice to the teachers, would be adjustable to the requirements of the Education Department. 4. That a higher standard of qualification (at least equivalent to the satisfactory completion of the_ elementary school course) should be required before a pupil be admitted to a high school. 5. That the different .types of post-pri-mary schools be consolidated, with common courses and a staffing basis of one teacher to 40 children. 6. That the fees at high schools be increased to an amount more commensurate with the cost, provision being made to exempt pupils who show promise and whose parents can satisfy the authorities that they are not in a position to pay such fees. 7. That the scale of fees for secondary work of all kinds should be reviewed; uniform fees be charged for uniform training; fees for academic and industrial training be made more comparable; and iu all cases the fees be a reasonable proportion of the cost of providing the training. 8. That before any regulation under the Education Act is submitted to the Governor-in-Council for approval, two certificates be attached —(1) from the Crown Law Department that the regulation is not repugnant to the provisions of the Act; and (2) from the Treasury Department giving the estimated increased expenditure involved by the approval of the regulation for each of the first three years during which the regulation shall operate. Copies of these certificates to be laid before Parliament. 9. That each individual allowance for maintenance, travelling expenses, or school requisites be reviewed. 10. That the amounts granted for maintenance, books or travelling, etc., to pupils undergoing secondary education be paid out of a special vote, and shown as separate items on the estimates of expenditure of the department. ■ 11. That an estimate be made of the value of the free tuition granted in all secondary schools and the cost shown as a separate item on the estimates of expenditure. 12. That a local contribution should not be the determining factor iu the establishment of a school for higher education. A local contribution should take the form of an endowment towards the cost of carrying on the school. 13. That consideration be given to the question of introducing legislation to provide for the principle of municipal rating for districts provided with State institutions ior secondary education, to be used in the establishment and the carrying on of the schools. 14. That the scale of fees for pupils taking similar courses be uniform for all technical schools. 15. That the whole amount of the pupils’ fees at technical schools be paid into the consolidated revenue. 16. That a careful and thorough investigation be made by the department of the whole ambit of technical instruction in the schools of the metropolis with a view to bringing about a greater concentration of effort. 17. That State school teachers, other than junior teachers, in attendance at art classes in technical schools be required to pay the prescribed fees. 18. That the cost of purchasing sites for the future establishment of schools be defrayed from revenue. 19. That the department prepare a comprehensive list of unusued sites purchased for school purposes, and also unused and unnecessary school buildings with a view to their disposal. 20. That the department prepare a list of all surplus primary schools at present in operation with a view to closing them. 21. That the merit certificate and qualifying examinations be reconsidered with a view to having only one examination, and that a definite standard . signifying satisfactory completion of the elementary school course be laid down, and 'that this be the minimum qualification for admission to a high school. 22. That the present system of obtaining instructors for the trade sections of the technical branch of the service be discontinued, and the method be adopted of selecting highly competent tradesmen who had an aptitude and liking for teach* ing and putting them through a short course of training. 23. That the department review the expenditure incurred in connection with subsidies to high schools, hostels and flats at girls’ schools. In its interim report the board recommended that the Teachers’ Training College at Ballarat and Bendigo be closed, and students wishing to continue their training be transferred to the Melbourne college. No diploma students should be nominated at the end of the year, and allowances granted to students in training should be repaid by them. The cost of correspondence schools should be _ shown in detail in the _ estimates, and teachers receiving instruction through the correspondence branch of the training college should pay fees to recoup the actual cost of tuition. Fees of persons receiving instruction through the secondary correspondence school should be sufficient to maintain this school. Fees should not be charged for instruction through the primary correspondence system, care being taken to prevent the compulsory provisions of the Education Act being evaded. In the interests of economy primary and secondary correspondence schools should bo amalgamated. All small primary schools with a net enrolment of 10 or under be closed, and the pupils enrolled in the primary correspondence school. Immediate action should be taken to reorganise the inspectorial staffs of the department on a combined basis. AVERTING A BREAKDOWN. The board stated that if definite action was not taken effectually to check the increasing cost of the department the Education Act would eventually break down. In 1929-30 the State expenditure on education, excluding loan expenditure, was £3,080,857, compared with £1,957,840 in 1920-21. The expenditure from loan funds for the same years was £258,580 and £94,899 respectively; although in 192728 it was £448,000. The expenditure per head of population was £1 its 7d in 102930, against £1 Os lid in 1920-21. These figures did not include interest paid on the total loans of £5,000,000, which amounted to £128,000 a year. It was imperative that greater consideration should be given to the financial side of the department, which was too extensive a concern for one person to control effectively. Adequate consideration had not been given in the past to the financial side. With a staff of about 10,500 and 2787 schools, the board should be placed on the same footing as the Water Commission, Forests Commission, Electricity Commission, and Country Roads Board. The third member need not necessarily he in the service. The board would then be able to utilise the staff to better advantage. Its first duty should be to make a survey of all the educational facilities, to eliminate overlapping, and the adoption of a system that would co-ordinate various phases and abolish waste and duplication, which now existed.

COULD SAVE £250,000 A YEAR. Substantial savings could be effected. The board of inquiry believed that the proposed board could make an annual saving of at least £250,000 a year. Pending the setting up of the board, the economies recommended in the report could be given effect to. It could not be claimeu that teachers at present were receiving extravagant salaries, but a more equitable ratio system could be brought iuto operation. Secondary education was overcrowded, and a number of pupils were transferred from primary to' secondary schools who had not reached the necessary standard. Pupils under 14 years were not charged fees. Less than half the High school pupils paid fees, which last year amounted to £30,888. The cost of the schools was £231,350. High school fees were £6 a year, and technical school fees from £l6 10g to £l9 10s.