MR. PIRANI v. MR. HANAN

Patea Mail, Volume XLIII, 1 August 1919, Page 2

MR. PIRANI v. MR. HANAN

kilt. PIRANI SCORES The Chairman of the Wanganui Education Board, in the course of a lengthy reply to the Minister of Education with regard to the neglected state of the Palmerston schools, concludes with (lie following words. He says : “The Minister quotes a lot of irrelevant figures about the grants for school buildings being exhausted, but the school building trouble in Now Zealand has been accentuated by the parsimony exercised during the last five years, and at a time when the expenditure on his own departmental officers has gone up by leaps and bounds. If there was ever a time when presight was required—when the health and education of the rising generation should have been the first consideration —it was war time. Yet the first essential, decent housing, has been more neglected than ever. No one admits more than I do the advisability of increasinp- teachers’ salaries, better facilities for free higher education, dental and medical inspectors, physical drill instructors, more secondary school inspectors, greater efficiency in the central department, increased grants to scnool committees, school and educational journals, etc., but before and above them all must come sanitary, roomy, well-lighted and heated schools and good play grounds. Yet these arc placed last, not first, by Mr. Ilanan’s administration.

It is possible, as Mr. Hanan seems to hint, that Cabinet may be to blame, yet. I feel confident that if the people of Hew Zealand knew that they authorised the expenditure of £BO,OOO on a State Hire Insurance Office, and begrudged the necessary buildings to safeguard the health and education of our children they would soon receive an ultimatum -which would put an end to that sort of thing.”