THE PRIMARY EDUCATION SYSTEM.

Otago Witness, Volume 23, Issue 2684, 23 August 1905, Page 13

THE PRIMARY EDUCATION SYSTEM.

CHRISTCHURCH, August 16.

The North Canterbury Education Board has decided to convene a conference of members of Education Boards to be held in Wellington on September 11, for the purpose of discussing and giving united expression to the desirability of alterations and amendments in the administration of the primary education system. In reply to the board's inquiry whether the restrictions placed on Education Boards regarding the expenditure of the building grant are unnecessary and calculated to hamper them in the endeavour to meet the varying needs of their respective districts; the Hawke's Bay, Otago, Nelson, South Canterbury, Southland, and Wellington Boards have written endorsing the views of the North Canterbury Board, and exiiressing willingness to join tlie board in any action taken towards a restoration of the powers previously possessed by boards. The Westland Board replied that as the needs of the district with regard to new buildings are very small and have been uniformly provided by the department, the board sees no reason to offer objections to the existing conditions, though the board could tmderstand that in larger districts the restrictions might prove irksome.

(Fbom Otjr, Own Correspondent.)

CHRISTCHURCH, August 16. At the meeting of the Education Board to-day Mr G. W. Russell moved— " That it is desirable that a conference of members of Education Boards be held in Wellington during the session in order to discuss and give united expression to desirable alterations and amendments in the administration of the primary education system; that the chairman notify all other Educaton_ Boards of this resolution, and invite their support and co-operation." He said this was a most important matter, and as the session was now on the time was opportune. It seemed to him that the Government had got out of touch with the Education Boards — which were the most important of the local governing bodies, — and therefore out of touch with the people, because the majority of their children were educated in the primary schools. He was bound to confess that he held the opinion that the Education Boards of the colony knew far better what A\as wanted in connection with education than the expert advisers of the Government. What he wanted to see was a conference dealing with the administration of the act, and the representations of such a board would have great weight with the Premier and the Parliament. He was very strongly in favour of the widest form of local self-government, and therefore he deprecated the present attempt to centralise the administration. The relation of the boards to the department, the exchange of inspectors, the relation of the primary to the secondary schools, the question of scholarships, and how to make the teaching profession more attractive were some of the subjects the conference might discuss. If they communicated at once with the various boards in Now Zealand he thought the conference might meet in Wellington in a month. Such a conference would, in his opinion, tend to check the centralising policy which the Government seemed to desire to introduce in connection with education. The chairman said he heartily endorsed anything which, like this motion, intended to strengthen the position of the board, which the e'epartment consistently endeavoured to weaken. So far as the North Canterbury Board vas concerned, it was constantly being; hampered in carrying out its duties by the centralising policy of the Government. The motion was agreed to. It was resolvod that the boards of the colony be notified of the request of the board that they should send r«t>r-e«entariv/>5 to the eonfer-^'iro to b" held in Wellington on .September 11, <^ach board to be retraced to «-pi d not exceeding three representatives and the officials of the respect>ve board- as advisers.

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