"THE DEADLIEST BLOW"

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1034, 26 July 1930, Page 10

"THE DEADLIEST BLOW"

EDUCATION REPORT ATTACKED

“BUREAUCRACY GLORIF^ ; * Press Association TIMARC. Tod*, j “ Jt has remained for a commL r ■ wholly composed of laymen to ■7* the deadliest blow- that ha* , , ministered to the local control of ed*b_ >** iton since the national system | introduced,” declared Mr. a. E. • rence, one of tlie lay member* of j Primary School Syllabus Committee in a statement tnfn - I the education report. “The ironic aspect of the "m, . j the Recess Education Comma* * ! that 10 laymen, whoso collects* Q ' perience of tho local a education is almost negligibly considered themselves qualified ; evolve a new education policy wi* in effect, declares that all lay edm j tionists from end to end of New 2* , land, thousands of whom hare

a lifetime of public service to tfct ti . ministration of education, to bo entrusted with the least of local control. The report itat£ erally bubbles over with the vt e *i a professional educationist, but us considered views of experience! «ls a . tion authorities are wholly ignore*,*;, though extensive extracts of evMei,*, are quoted in which the Direct*- .. Education is well featuredT -^^^^ “The only persons cutsia to t:charmed circle of the teaching pro^ sion whose views are considered t sufficient value to have their evid«a ß quoted in the report are Mr. Atnwr who brought out clearly several is,, portant points, and an ex-echm teacher who is now a farmer* Mr. Lawrence suggested that tie eplanation was obvious. “Tho report may be the voice of tb committee, but the hand ii tfl b clearly the hand of the department* One significant omission, Mr. La*, rence suggested, is that there is no report from the Director of Education g the estimated cost of the. ;unior fck school scheme recommended by u* committee. It is known that 1Strong has already made this Ibt«. gation. Why, then, deny the group of laymen the guidance of informant already in the possession of the depar raeni and permit them to male fcs foolish blunder of reporting th*t tit initiation of the new scheme need ache delayed on the ground of addition expense when the Director of Edualion holds other views. “It is true,” added Mr. Lawrence “that the report sugars the bitter by saying that the high school boara of governors will find in the impomr. sphere already entrusted them ertr opportunity of maintaining the chant teristic individuality and best tractions of their schools, and that 2* Education Board would occupy a djfnified and important place In the uev system. “Moreover,” Mr. Lawrence obaerrec “16,000 school committeemen throjgfcout Xew Zealand will no doubt te thrilled to learn that they wiD pfc ratlier th;ua lose by being relieved of their useless and unreal powers, hr. everyone who takes the trouble to mi the report of the Recess Educatro: Committee and read it carefully wff be forced to the conclusion that flu recommendations do not aim at tfcf unification of local control, but fxror the crucifixion of local control of education and the glorification of bureaucracy centralised in the Department cf Education in Wellington.”