SUPPLY OF TEACHERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3803, 1 February 1927, Page 15

SUPPLY OF TEACHERS.

At the meeting of the Otago Education Board on Thursday the chairman (Mr J. Wallace) introduced the subject of the supply of teachers, and referred to the alleged over-supply of teachers in the north. He said there was no reason to believe that the position would be very much worse in Otago this year than it had been in former years. At the beginning of the year it was often said that we had too many teachers, but when the middle of the year was reached the over-supply had been absorbed. At the beginning of 1926 there was an overplus of teachers in Otago, but by July or August these had all been absorbed, and it was found that they had no teachers to send to relieving work. There were often a good many. teachers who were without positions, but that was their own fault. They were looking for selected positions, where it would be convenient for them to go to the university and take a degree. They had cases like that last year, and he ventured to assert that there would be more this year. Continuing, Mr Wallace said: I know of no system by which a trainee coming out of college can be guaranteed work right away. The department has told us all along that we are training too many teachers in Otago. I say we have not had an over-supply. The department has made unfair use of the figures we supplied to it; it made no mention of explamation attached to a number of these figures. This year we may have more waiting for positions than we hltve had, but as we get towards the end of the year our supply of relieving teachers will be used up. 1 -feel strongly on this, and I feel that Otago is badly used in this busin.ess - It. l las often occurred to me that the Wellington Board is far too near the seat of Government and can make a good noise. Mr Livingstone: It is like the shearing of goats, there is more noise than wool. Mr Wallace. Our communication is all by correspondence. We cannot talk to the Minister as the Wellington Board does. The Hon. D. T. Fleming agreed with the chairman that a number of teachers were unattached through their own fault. They would not go where they were told, tins year the board had 180 applicants for 36 positions. . J’ Alitchell said the department was inflicting an injustice on the Otago Board in forcing it to accept North Island trainees tor the Otago Training College. Ihe Chairman: Their college is full. Mr Mitchell - Then .we are training people to go back to the north and swell tiie unemployed list. The discussion was then dropped.