APPOINTMENT OF TEACHERS

Otago Witness, Issue 3333, 30 January 1918, Page 36

APPOINTMENT OF TEACHERS

CENTRALISATION POLICY CONDEMNED A discussion took place at the meeting of the Education Board on Thursday morning regarding a resolution carried at the recent meeting of the Educational Institute in Wellington urging that the selection and appointment oi teachers should be undertaken by the department in Wellington. The Chairman (Mr D. T. Fleming) stated that any further curtailment of the rights of boards and school comz-iittec-s in tfio appointment of teachers would be- very strongly resented, and committees were not at all likely to part' lightly with the rights they at present enjoyed. The New Zealand Educational Institute favoured the automatic, appointment of teachers by a central authority, without any reference whatever to tne boards or tho school committees. But the teachers were not the only persons interested in this matter. The parents, as represented by tbo school committees and the boards, bad a right to a voice in the appointment of teacher?. The centralising proposal would place the appointment entirely in the hands of departmental officials and the grading scheme, the assumption being that officialdom and grading would produce results more perfect than those which at present were achieved. They knew what officialdom meant, and the less they had of it in a democratic country like this the better. He was glad to note that the Otago Education Board had in no way been responsible for the resolution passed by the institute. Matters had worked very smoothly in this district, and excellent relations had always existed between the teachers and the board. Regarding the influence exercised at times on boards and committees in the appointment of teachers, it was not beyond the knowledge of that board that even some of those who were strongest in their demand for centralising the appointment of teachers had not hesitated to approach members of the board in the interests of some particular teacher, without regard to the standing or grading of the other applicants. He thought it would bo a huge blunder to place a matter of this kind in the hands of a departmental authority. One of the things they were most proud of in Otago was the. interest shown in educational matters, and it would be a grave error of -judgment if anything were done that was calculated to minimise that interest. —("Hear, hear.") Messrs Wallace, Wilkinson, Horn, and Todd supported the chairman's statement. It was decided, on the motion of-Mr Wallace, seconded by Mr Wilkinson, that tho board heartily endorses the chairman's statement regarding any curtailment of the rights of boards and committees in the selection and appointment of teachers, and places the statement on record as an expression of the views of the board on tho matter. It was also decided to inform the department and the Minister as to tho board's opinion.