The Education Board and Country Schools.—An Unjust Regulation. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2170, 26 September 1895, Page 22

The Education Board and Country Schools.— An Unjust Regulation. TO THE EDITOR.

Sir,- I desire to draw attention to the Otago Education Board's attitude towards country Echoo'B, my attention Uaviug beea drawn to it at this time by a note in your Dunback coi respondent's letter to the effect that they cannot get a mistress till the attendance is 51 for two quarters. Now, like all the regulations of the Otago Kduration Board, this one can be set aside if enough pressure is brought to bear, and I could just now n*nie three schools to which the board has nent teacheis temporarily to help in the work till the two quarters had expired. Such being the case, the questions arise— ls this a right and proper thing to do? And if so, why was it not done at Dunback? To the first question I propose to devote my attention for a few moments, and I may say that, in niy opinion, it is a perfectly right and proper thintr to make a temporary appointment. riureJy, if it is decenary that a mistress should be appointed in a i-ehool wheie the average attendance liia been 5L for iwo quarter', it mict b« adnjittid tf,.it the t-j clitr ha < fir thi two qnuter-, bejo cioing his own woik and that of mistress to). In other words, for s-x months a teacher is expected to overtake the work of himself and an assistant, to do it on bis regular salary, and to keen hi* bdiolars up to the mark. I contend, Sir, that in abkm^ a teacher to do that the board is acting as a tyrannical taskmaster end pockethig money they have no light to. For thvsc rea^ous I believe in granting a female assistant temporarily as soon as the attendance reaches the average ; and I m;iy say that I consider an average of 61 is too high. As to the second questiou, I of course cannot pretend to answer it. I can only say that if the St.

Clair people had the matter in hand, the board would grant it whe'her it was nceael or uot, just as they grmtid that nice little upper ten sehodl a few months b^ck, notwithstanding the fact that the deputitlm sent out to report were informed that there was room for 100 children in the Ma and rew Uoid Schoul in th" sirne district. Unfortunately, l v ie hiMien Attending M.xcimhvw r^ad had to wear cciylny cloth'M, and r-o the State builds a high-tonel school for thu aii^torracy of H h . Cl-tir, a id telli the Dunbadc teacher to accomplish impossibilities. Comment is mmpcessary —I am, <fee , J- J- Kamsay. Hyde, September 23.