SCHOOL PROBLEMS.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 September 1920, Page 5

SCHOOL PROBLEMS.

THE SIZE OF CLASS ROOMS. MINISTER'S INTERESTING STATEMENT. (By Wire.—Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, Last Night.' Replying to Mr. R. Masters (Stratford), the Minister for Education said the replacement grants formerly paid to Education Boards with respect to Bchools have been discontinued. When a proposal to replace an old or wornout building is approved, an Education Board is required to contribute to the cost only such an amount as it has actually received with respect to the building under the formerly existing system, and the rest of the cost is borne by the department. Grants for the erection of primary schools are provided on applications made by Education Boards, which are required to submit to the department information showing the necessity for the proposal, the character of tho accommodation to be provided, and an estimate of the cost. If an application is approved a grant to cover the necessary cost is made. In all the larger secondary schools assembly halls are held to be Tery desirable, but the extent to which they can be provided in whole or in part out of State funds is governed by financial conditions in general. When plans for secondary schools are being considered provision for an assembly hall is embodied in the plan, though the erection of the hall may itself have to be postponed for a time. Floor space per pupil is only a rough and ready, and often misleading, method of estimating accommodation, and no arbiy trary standard of floor spacers equally applicable to all schools in general, and particularly in schools of the larger size. Some elasticity ink-accommodation is necessary to provide for the carying size of classes from time to time and to admit of effective organisation. When additions are made to schools the usual practise is to bring the accommodation up to a 12 square feet standard, and it frequently also happens that where a unit of space has to be added the space actually provided 'may considerably exceed 12 (square feet. In secondary schools, where single desks are preferable, the average floor space in the different rooms will vary considerably according to the size of the classes to be accommodated, but, over all, the average floor space per pupil regarded as reasonable would be from 16 to 18 square feet.