TECHNICAL SCHOOLS

Southland Times, Issue 19517, 17 May 1922, Page 6

TECHNICAL SCHOOLS

CONFERENCE OF TEACHERS. (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, May 16. The annual conference of representatives of the Technical School Teachers’ Association was continued. The proposed platform issued by the executive was considered at length and amended in several respects. After a general discussion on postprimary education the meeting proceeded to discuss the remits. It was resolved to urge that a syllabus of work for higher leaving certificates and departmental examinations be instituted as soon as possible for those who have completed a satisfactory course in technical education, and that optional syllabuses may be submitted by the directors of the various schools to the Education Department for its approvak Some important remits were adopted. It was decided to ask the Education Department to fix the teaching hours of technical school teachers at ten half days weekly, evening duty to be counted as half a day, teachers to be required to teach not more than two evenings a week. A Christchurch remit that continuation e-ducation be made compulsory up to the age of seventeen years was approved. The following remits from the Auckland Education Board were adopted: (1) That a combined conference discuss a refund of technical continuation class fees to the Department. (2) That the capitation grant (26 per cent, of the teachers’ salaries) is inadequate for incidentals for technical and continuation classes in country centres. (3) That this conference make representations to the Senate of the New Zealand University with a view to marks for geography for Junior University Scholarships being increased to 300. In view of the greater number of practical classes in technical schools, it was resolved that the number of teachers pro rata to students should be greater than in secondary schools. With regard to the grading of teachers, the conference decided that any two pass degrees bearing on school subjects shduld be held to be equivalent to an M.A. or M.Sc. degree. It was also decided that when allocating marks the classification officers should give due weight to the recommendations of the principal of the school concerqdu, particularly as to the out-of-school activities of the instructors; that the maximum salary in Division 2 be increased to £450; that in the classification of those in the service before, the initial grading regulations requiring possession of a University degree or its equivalent for classification in the professional division be more liberally interpreted; that in the case of these teachers lack of higher degrees be no bar to positions in the higher grades.