EDUCATION IN ENGLAND

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22065, 22 September 1933, Page 5

EDUCATION IN ENGLAND

ADMINISTRATIVE METHODS COMPARISON WITH DOMINION MINISTER’S OBSERVATIONS (Special to Daily Times.) WELLINGTON, September 21. During his visit to the World Conference the Minister of Education (Mr R. Masters) made some inquiries into the English system of education. Interviewed concerning the matter, the Minister said that as the time at his disposal was limited he was compelled to confine his inquiries almost entirely to matters of administration. DECENTRALISED CONTROL. “It is particularly difficult to make a comparison with our system,” Mr Masters said, “because the two systems differ very materially when judged from the point of view of organisation and administration. In the first place, there is tbe decentralisation of a very large proportion of responsibility and control which is vested in no fewer than 316 local education jthese being councils of counties, councils of county boroughs, and of other boroughs and urban districts. " Each local education authority entrusts a large amount of its educational work—with the exception of certain financial transactions —to an education committee. which is representative of the councils, and on which sit other persons with experience or interest in the work. This system can be readily understood in view of tbe fact that £40,000,000 out of the total cost of education, £82,000,000, is a direct charge on local rates, the remainder being provided by Parliament out of taxes. " Then again voluntary organisations and various religious bodies play a very prominent part in educational matters, even to the extent of providing a number of training colleges, some of which receive grants in aid, while others are carr ried on at the expense of the organisation or religious body concerned. It will be seen, therefore, that the /positions from an administration point of view are hardly comparable. HEALTH OF THE CHILDREN. “ In the matter of medical service the attention is much more generous than that of New Zealand, largely on account of the proportion of children domiciled in the large cities and towns. As is the practice here, parents are informed of any defect which may be_ found;'but in England treatment is limited to certain kinds of defect or ailment —e.g., minor ailments, defective eyes and teeth, enlarged tonsils, and adenoids. The authority has to provide treatment and the parents contribute what they can towards the cost. An increasing number of authorities are now , undertaking also the treatment of crippling defects, heart disease, and rheumatism. These services are limited to the elementary schools. ' PROVISION OF MEALS. "The local authorities may also provide meals for children attending the elementary schools. This service again is free in necessitous cases, and in others the parents are obliged to pay the whole or part of the cost. Some 47,000,000 meals were provided last year for 320,000 children in the city areas, and rather more than half the meals consisted ot milk. ~ SECONDARY EDUCATION. “New Zealand, on the other hand, is much more generous in the matter of providing for free secondary education. Until 1932 the tuition fees in publicly-aided secondary schools in England showed wide variations, and in some schools no fees were charged. Under the new regulations which came into force in April, 1933, all these schools are required to charge fees, and the fees now charged range from £6 6s to £2l per annum. In Wales the fees are somewhat lower than in England, and have in view the encouragement of the brighter children. Every school must offer annually a number of scholarships to pupils of elementary schools, and may offer additional special places to church schools. Ihese scholarships or special places enable the scholars to receive a total or partial remission of the fees according to the means of the parents. TRAINING COLLEGE STUDENTS. “In the matter of remuneration to students attending training colleges, after making full allowance for the reduced rates recently brought into operation in this country, England suffers in comparison. In the first place, there is a differentiation made in the allowances paid to male and female students, the latter receiving approximately 25 per cent, less than the former. “The principle of the ability of the parents to pay runs right through the whole scale of allowances, and salaries are dependent upon the earnings of the parent and the size of the family. Ihe highest salary paid is that of the student whose parents have less than £4OO per annum with four or more children, the total amount paid in this case being £43 per annum for boarders and £26 per annum for day students who are males, and £34 and £2O respectively for females. “These amounts are reduced gradually as the earnings of the parents are increased until, they disappear when, the salary of the parent is over £6OO in the case of a male and £550 in the case of a female. 'The trainee is required to pay a premium to enter the colleges ranging from £ls per annum to £3O per annum where the salary of the parent is over £BOO per annum. KINDERGARTEN SYSTEM. “ In view of the large population in the poorer parts of the large towns, I had expected to see the kindergarten system more fully developed, but there is only a comparatively small number in existence, some being provided by the local education authorities and some by voluntary bodies. Of the total of 57 throughout England and Wales which are making provision for under 5000 children approximately, half are provided by voluntary bodies without any assistance from the State. Many of these are nursery schools where children are cared for during the time their mothers are in employment. Good food, fresh air, medical and nursery attention, and play rather than formal education are the characteristic features of such schools. “My only regret,” the Minister concluded, “ is that my time was so limited that I was not able to inquire more fully into the whole system operating in Great Britain. However, I have a great deal of information for submission to my department which I feel sure will be helpful.”