FITNESS OF TEACHERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 July 1922, Page 5

FITNESS OF TEACHERS.

RULING IN PARK CASE. STATEMENT BY MINISTER. (By Wire.—Parliamentary Reporter) Wellington, July 1. . The Minister for Education (Hon. C. J. Parr) made a statement regarding the judgment of the Supreme Court in the Park case, in reply to a question put by a Dominion reporter |o-day. The Court has ruled, in tnii case that the Minister for Education has no power to cancel the certificate of a teacher for any cause. Mr. Parr said that the judgment had created a very anomalous situation. “The case of Misfi Park is in itself trifling, as compared with the fas-reaehing results that follow on the judgment of Sir John Salmond,” fjaid the Minister. “The regulation giving the Minister power to cancel the certificate of a teacher has been in operation in New Zealand for over forty years, and has been- acted upon. The Judge says now that the regulation is not good in law- I think that every previous Minister for Education has act.ed upon it. It was made originally in 1878. “The regulations give the Minister power to issue a certificate of competency and fitness to a teacher. Sir John Salmond’s judgment says' that the Minister cannot subsequently, in any way, control this certificate, no matter what happens. I suppose there are over twenty teachers who at different times in the past have had their certificates taken away by the Minister of the day, because of groas misbehaviour. For instance, teachers have committed crimes which landed them in gaol. Previous Ministers and myself have taken away their certificates under the regulation which is now declared to be ultra vires. One teacher (Miss Weitzel) was convieted in the Police Court of open sedition and dismissed by the board. Her certificate was taken away. If Sir John Salmond’s decision is sound law, then it follows that in all these cases the department, and the Minister for Education for the time being, have acted unlawfully, and it would seem to me as if we may be called upon to restore their certificates to people admittedly quite unworthy. In short, the effect is that although the teacher falls from his high estate and becomes a forger, seditionist. or even murderer, the certificate of fitness that the ’Minister has given him is to stand for life and cannot be withdrawn. In the interests of the teachers themselves such a position should not be allowed to remain where it is. Common sense and ordinary decency alike require that a certificate of fitness, which is a variable and inconstant quantity, should be subject to sopne subsequent controlling power.” Asked what he proposed to do, theMinister said that, for the present, he could not say anything further- The Solicitor-General was advising him in the matter and was now considering the position. A point to be considered was that there were hundreds of Native school and private school teachers who did not come under the education hoards at all. It appeared that under the judgment the Minister could not in any wav control the certificate issued to such teachers.