The Conveyance of Children to Country Schools.—The New Regulations.

Otago Witness, Issue 2784, 24 July 1907, Page 89

The Conveyance of Children to Country Schools. — The New Regulations.

TO THE EDITOS. Sir, — As the result of numerous complaints regarding the absurdity of the conditions governing the payment for conveying children living in remote districts to central schools, the Education Department has cancelled the old regulations and issued* a new set. that unfortunately — whatever the intention of the author — only serves to add fresh disabilities to those the children in question now labour under; and, indeed, >f persisted in will assuredly, -in some erees, stop the running of the school carts altofether. For instance, we have two expressdrivers who engage in the work of conveying the children from the Bald Hill district and the Hukinga School district respectively. The former conveys 20 children gathered from a widely-scatte - ed district, and has to drive to an elevation of, say, 1400 ft above sea level with « part of his load, tho distance one way being from seven to eight miles. For this work the maximum sum he can earn, if all the children were paid for, is 10s per day, or £2 10s per week, holidays not counting. "No work, no pay." Now, the new regulations provide that children " under 10 years of age " must walk if less than " three miles from the echoolhouse, by the nearest road," or, " if over 10 years of age," if " less than four miles by the nearest road." Now, the effect of this rule in the case of the Bald Hill route, will be to cut down the carter's wages by Is 6d or 2s 6d per day, and should he decide, as he doubtless will do, that the remuneration is insufficient, then the whole of the children at the extreme end of the route will be deprived of the present facility for reaching the school, and the attendance will suffer by at least 10 absentees, and the children be deprived of j education befitting their years. > ! The carrier on the Hukinga School district route is handicapped to a still greater degree, for he will lose a still larger proportion of the pupils he now conveys, whilst his maximum earnings ia 8s per day, seven to eight miles — one way. — or a total journey 1 of 28 miles. Now, it is folly to expect this man to continue the work if this miserable remuneration is reduced, and again the children and the attendance will suffer. 1 But this idea of a east-iron departmental 1 rule to fit or apply to all cases is utterly useless for practical purposes. The Hukinga route is a level road, the Bald Hill route steep and rocky. Given an equal number of children, the one route requires at lesAt a 25 per cent, higher wage than the otfcer. To carry 20 children to school in the Catlins or any other bush or swampy country would require two horees for overy one required in Central Otago or Oamaru district. Then, again, how utterly absurd to insist on children of seven or eight years of age walking two miles and three-quarters to and from school on any road, whilst on some roads, like those above-mentioned, one mile is equal to three miles on a good road. But if the new regulation is kept in force j then good-bye to the carriage of children to the Strath -Taicri School. The work cannot be done for the money. What i* required is an approximate estimate of the annual cost of -oonveyinf? chilcci^A to school in the Otago district, with a sum added for contingencies, or provision roa4e for meeting them 6hould they arise. Th ; s estimate, if approved by the Minister, should ho met by placing the sum required in the hands of the Education Board, who could, with the assistance of the School Committees interested, administer the funds in such a way aa to give the very best re su lts in the education of those children who live remote from the school. And let us not overlook the fact that two miles of bad, bogorv road means "remote from the school " for any child who has to traverse it. The sooner the attention of the Minister of Education is called to the matter the quicker will these absurd regulations b* cancelled. — I am, etc..

W. D. M

A SOX, Chairman Strath-Taieri School Committee July 3.

A cheerful cordial that restores mental vigour -WOLFE'S SCHNAPPS.