TEACHERS' GRADING SCHEME

Otago Witness, Issue 3254, 26 July 1916, Page 9

TEACHERS' GRADING SCHEME

EDUCATION BOARD DISSATISFIED.. A statement regarding the new teachers' grading scheme, with special reference to j its treatment of Otago teachers, was made ! to the Education Board on the 26th by its ; chairman (Mr D. T. Fleming). The Otago i Board, he said, was not concerned very i much with the- new trading scheme beyond seeing that a reasonably fair deal was being given to the teachers in ils service. Apparently the teachers thought they had not got that. There were approximately i 3375 teachers in the graded lists, divided | int< 111 sections of graded numbers, each j including one up to 50 or more teachers of i equal grading. In the first 47 sections there were 527 teachers. The best teacher in Otago was placed onlv in the fourth section. Of the 34 females in the" highest 410 teachers, Otago had onlv two. It seemed to him that the Otago ' teachers had suffered by some means or another. Here was another extraordinary point. The average place of the head masters in Canterbury m charge of schools of over 400 pupils was 35th on the graded list, but the average place of Otago head masters in similar schools was 76th on the list. No one could say that the Otago teachers were so far behind the teachers in other parts of the dominion os to warrant a position like that. The results of scholarship and civil service examinations did not bear out that comparison at all. The Otago teachers did not expect to benefit by this scheme, but they desired a fair run. He mentioned these matters for the information of members and to let people see what the grading scheme meant so far as our teachers were concerned Mr Mitchell suggested that the matter should be allowed to stand over till the next meeting, when the new board would be in office. He had gone into this matter thoroughly, and was absolutely certain that very serious injustice had been done not only to Otago teachers as a body, but as between Otago teachers themselves. Injustice had been done as between the educational districts. He could name one teacher that the Otago Board was thankful to see the last of, but now he stood almost 1000 places above a good man now in the service of the board. The principle on which it was done puzzled the wit of. man. The board should wait till it got a direct expression of opinion from the teachers, and then it should go to the department and demand an investigation. The proposal to defer the matter was adopted.