FREE PLACES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2736, 22 August 1906, Page 54

FREE PLACES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS.

THE OPERATION OF THE AGE MJBHT. THE GOVERNING BODY MAY ADMIT UNDER CONDITIONS. In reply to ths board's resolution, recommending the abolition of the age limit for free places in secondary schools, or, in. the alternative, the fixing of the limit at 15 years instead of 14 years, the following reply from the Education Department was read at yesterday's meeting of the Education Board : — " Your board's recommendation regarding age-limits fo - free places in secondary, schools, as comrjunicatcd in your memt>. of 20th ult., will receive due consideration. At present I may point out that there i« no age limit for a free place qualification. The age limits inserted in clause 2 ot the free place regulation concern only the priority of righ J of a duly qualified person to obtain admi .sion to a free plage in a secondary school, as set out in clause 3, (Signed) W. J. Anderson, Assistant Inspec-tor-general of 'schools." The Chairman said that the regulations of 1904 fixed the age limit at 14 yea.-s. To-day, by the reply received from th» department, the board learnt for the first time that those regulations were over-ridden or superseded by a fre."h sofc of regulations, of date 30th October. 1905. The peculiar thing about this was that the board had not been 'notified as to 'the chantro in tho regulations. ' It was satisfactory, however, to know that in these new regulations there - was no mention of age of the time of admission to a free place. The communication was received. Although the new regulations have only been officially brought under the notice of the Education Board, their existence was known, and it will he remembered that Mr Borrie, the lato chairman of the hoard, drew public atte?ition to the change at a recent meeting of parents and head teachers convened by tho School Committees' As-o-ciation. In order that the position may be understood, we quote some clauses of the regulations: — Subject to these regulations, a pupil shall be qualified to be a junior free pupi! or the ho'der of a junior free flaoe under the act, if— (a) He is the holder of ap. education board scholarship, a national ncholarehip. a Qu«en'b i»rh?!arshin. or any cither scho'arahip that the Minister s*»a)l approve for *his purpose; -mrovittecl tnat **i» value ol any Fuch scl'olarshiu is not giwa^r than £40 per annum in the case of any pupil who is obliged to live nwav from boone in order to attend the secondary scbool. or than £10 per annum in any other case ; or if, (b) Being not over 14 v?arp of age en 'he lsrt December pre^etLinsj the cJ« + e of Ms admission to a free plflco. ho ha* qu»lifi»<l for B,n education board scholarship, or :i«: i« has qualified for a free place m zho exarniimtion for wuior free )>'.a< >fv s held by the Education Department; or if, (c) Being over 14 Years of age, he ha* qualified for a froe place in such special examination ; or if, (d) Being not over 14 yearo of aga on tho Ist December preceding the d«te of his u<hnisfiiou to a free place, he has obtained v erf ificate of proficiency. a« defined by r«Ku's<'' v/r.sv /r.s under " The Education Act 1904 " ; or !f (c) Being over 14 yearn of age, he hfcs obtained such a certificate of proficiency. To thoroughly understand the position, however, it is necessary to peruse section IV of clause 3, as follows: — (iv) Further the Fecondary sebcol MAY admit, subject to such other conditions AS THE GOVERNING BODY THEEEOF SIMM, SEE fit, any free pupil qualified under (c) ; provided that ihe to+al number of pupi!g =0 admitted shall not <>-«cfted 10 per cent, of all the free pupils admitted under the act. It will be teen that the matter of admitting as free pupils those over 14- years of« age rests with the governing bodies of secondary schools It ia understood such bodies would consider it their duty to tnako imjuirios to a^cortain if the parents of any applicant were in a position to pay the ordinary feee charged, and if it was thought. they were able to do so a free place ■would not be granted.