SCHOOL BOOKS

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 72, Issue 6238, 5 June 1946, Page 10

SCHOOL BOOKS

GOVERNMENT TAKING OVER SUPPLY END OF PRIVATE MONOPOLY “There has been a monopoly in the supply and distribution of school text books for many years, but the Gov- I ernment is in the process of breaking i that monopoly,” stated the headmaster I of the Stratford primary school, Mr D. Taylor, commenting on a report submitted to the Auckland Trades Council stating that it was time the Government broke the monopoly regarding text books. The report was, to an extent, misleading, he said. The publication and distribution of primary school text books had been controlled by one firm for many years, but the Government was now engaged in a revision of the syllabus covered by text book teaching, said Mr Taylor. Whereas a monopoly has existed previously, publication and distribution were now being undertaken by the school publications branch of the Education Department, which should effect a more regular and equitable distribution of text books, continued Mr Taylor. Books coming from the department were being issued free to schools through education boards. Whether the taking over by the Government of the preparatory work and publication of text booKs .would, mean oijly h change in monopoly was hard say, said Mr Taylor, but he thought the new system would be far bfi£er than tl?e old one. However, a monopoly within the department was more acceptable. With a revision of arithmetic completed. the committee had turned its attention to a revision of the lish syllabus. Interim reports hkclj

been received and perused and approved by teachers. A new departure would be the incorporation of history and geography in the same publication, a text book entitled “Social Studies,” sajd Mr Taylor. The committee had distributed interim reports on its work and it should not be long before the new text books would be available. Arithmetic, English and social studies were the only subjects covered by the books in primary schools, so that once the distribution of English and social studies text books was made, the revision of primary school text books have been completed.