ACCIDENTS TO PUPILS

Southland Times, Issue 23228, 17 June 1937, Page 4

ACCIDENTS TO PUPILS

School Committees’ Liabilities

PROTESTS TO BOARD

(Special to The Times)

AUCKLAND, June 16.

A recent circular of the Auckland Education Board pointing out to school committees that they must undertake to hold themselves responsible for any claim for accidents through the use of swings and similar apparatus in school grounds led to several protests from school committees being received by the board at a meeting today. The board reaffirmed the principle that the responsibility lay with the committees.

The Newstead School Committee asked whether it would be responsible should a pupil cut his foot or suffer injury digging in the school garden or when taking part in games or through falling from a tree in the school grounds. The chairman (Mr T. U. Wells) said the board’s warning was directed particularly against swings because many accidents had occurred in the use of this apparatus. The general principle of responsibility accepted by the board was that it was liable when an accident occurred to a pupil when under the direction of a teacher. He thought the board’s responsibility ended there.