The Daily News SATURDAY-, JULY 19, 1930. EDUCATIONAL CHANGES.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 July 1930, Page 8

The Daily News SATURDAY - , JULY 19, 1930. EDUCATIONAL CHANGES.

Among the sweeping changes recommended by the select committee in its report upon the educational system of the Dominion is the unification of control of existing primary, secondary, and technical' departments. Considering that the whole scheme now in force was designed with a view to enabling the pupils to advance step by step, according to their respective -abilities, from the infant classes to the university, it would seem that unless there is unification of control that scheme cannot fully effect its purpose. Experience has proved that by far the larger number of children do not continue their school career beyond the compulsory age or after passing Standard VI, also that an appreciable proportion of those who proceed to the secondary schools do not remain there sufficiently long to justify the expenditure by the State upon them. It will, however, be apparent that under the proposed changes the necessity for unity of control is unquestionable. That does not mean that the views of the committee upon,this question of unity of control will prove generally acceptable. In the first place it will be noticed that the “national department” provided for in the new scheme not only will centralise control, and so attain the persitent goal for which certain de-1 partmental officers have been i striving for a long time past, but i it will be invested with arbitrary | powers giving its regulations the I effect of statute law. Such a step | is, from a democratic point of! view, decidedly retrograde. Again ' and again have strong protests been made against the pernicious system of government by regulations —giving a blank cheque to a department or its Minister to legislate at will. It may be contended that those who officially administer such a special department as that of education, and have the advice and assistance of experts, arc more likely to know what is required than either Parliament or other lay bodies. But that is not the question, the real matter for consideration being whether it is desirable to place such large, powers in the hands of an irresponsible authority capable of inflicting hardships upon the community. It will be noted that the proposed national department is to control the administration of native schools, child welfare, distribution of capitation'allowances, special grants and subsidies, payments of teachers and superannuation funds of teachers. It also is to have power to make regulations requiring boards to,, share services and officers, to ensure that ear-marked grants arc applied to authorised purposes only, to appoint nominated members of boards, to frame the syllabus of instruction for school certificates, to undertake inspection of- schools and classification of teachers, to make increased allowances to school committees in order that there shall be adequate funds to meet essential requirements, and to see to it that subsidies on moneys raised locally for school purposes shall be on a generous basis. There appears to be no erring on the side of modesty in -this list of powers—among others —to be exercised by the new department. Evidently the only link left in the old chain of school management is that of the school committees, which, instead of having a sympathetic and friendly board to appeal to, will be up against the hard and fast bureaucratic system and its rigid red tape barriers. .It is a system, of centralisation pure and simple, and the abolition of the present divisions of the inspectorate, to be replaced by a single inspectorate consisting of specialist inspectors, may be regarded as the apex of centralisation. It is also clear that when the existing post-primary school boards become school councils there will be no further need for the education Boards, especially as the appointment of teachers is to-be- entrusted to a

national appointments committee, constituted on the lines of the present teachers’ grading appeal board. One of the tendencies of the new scheme is apparently to make it thoroughly national. All the same there should be due safeguards against arbitrary action. Practically the inspectors will be the controlling power, and there is much to be said in favour of that view provided centralisation is to take place, though there should, be due provision for appeals. The conditions relating to teachers will doubtless receive their full consideration. The main points demanding attention appear to be the principle of centralisation, the problem of the country schools and the powers of the national board. It is to be hoped that every phase of this new scheme will be thoroughly examined and revised before it becomes law.