ADVOCATE OF ECONOMY

Otago Witness, Issue 4041, 25 August 1931, Page 72

ADVOCATE OF ECONOMY

EDUCATION AND RAILWAYS SIR HAROLD BEAUCHAMP’S VIEWS. AUCKLAND, August 20. A curtailment of the education vote by reducing the benefits of free education was advocated to-day by Sir Harold Beauchamp. Such a course, together with the economies that could be effected by the closing down of non-pay-ing branch railway lines, would, in his opinion, go a long way to putting the country financially on its feet and relieving the taxpayer of his increased burden.

The Prime Minister’s energies had chiefly been directed to the raising of money by additional taxation, said Sir Harold, but large savings could be effected which would materially assist in removing the deficit. A few years prior to the war the total educational vote was £750,000. To-day it was £4,500,000. “ This great increase in the cost of education has occurred chiefly through the flooding of the secondary schools with boys and girls by means of free places,” he declared. “ It is my opinion that when a boy passes the Sixth Standard he should be required to sit for a fairly stiff examination, and if he fails to pass it he should be excluded from the benefits of free education through all secondary schools. If parents are desirous that those boys who are not particularly brilliant should obtain a better education they should pay for that education themselves as was done in Scotland for many years. There, parents denied themselves many luxuries and comforts to give their children higher education. With respect to the heavy annual losses on the railways, Sir Harold said that non-profitable lines should be dealt with as private companies would deal with a number of branches that were not payable. If there were no prospect of making them payable they would be closed.