NO UNEMPLOYED TEACHERS

Southland Times, Issue 23816, 13 May 1939, Page 9

NO UNEMPLOYED TEACHERS

SURPLUS RAPIDLY ABSORBED STATEMENT BY DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION (United Press Association) WELLINGTON, May 12. In an interview today, the Director of Education (Mr N. T. Lamboume) referred to a statement made yesterday before the conference of the New Zealand Educational Institute to the effect that under the present conditions there must be “a piling up of a large number of teachers for whom under the present methods of staffing there will be unemployment.” Mr Lamboume said although there were teachers who had not yet secured permanent positions there was absolutely no unemployment among teachers who would go where their services were required. Every trained teacher, married or single, who could give effective service and who had not yet secured a permanent appointment, but who was prepared to accept service where required could secure continuous employment immediately either as a relieving teacher or as a supernumerary teacher. As every December a big number of students completed their training and became certified there must inevitably be almost an equally large number, of teachers without permanent positions during the first term or two of the year. but this supply was rapidly absorbed during the year because of the wastage caused by marriage, retirement on superannuation, and death. During the past year or two such wastage had been approximately 500 a year. Furthermore relieving teachers were in constant demand through various causes. In February alone 387 were thus employed. All this went to show that it was impossible to continue to staff schools adequately throughout the year if at the beginning of the year every teacher was in a fixed permanent position. There was a time, continued Mr Lamboume, when a teacher who could not obtain a permanent or relieving position remained unemployed as a teacher. Teachers were assured of continuous work in the profession for which they had been trained. There was, moveover, another very important aspect of the matter. The Government wished to reduce the size of classes and raise the school-leaving age.. It would be impossible to attempt this unless there was an adequate supply of teachers for the purpose. Recent information was to the effect that the supply of teachers available for appointment is rapidly diminishing. One district had already called upon another for teachers and two or three others would be doing so very shortly. There was therefore no unemployment among teachers nor any likelihood of there being so.