KEEPING PUPILS AT SCHOOL.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 February 1931, Page 4

KEEPING PUPILS AT SCHOOL.

In deciding to extend for a year the junior free places of secondary school pupils, •who did not manage to gain senior free plates as the result of last year’s work the Minister of Education 'ias acted very wisely. It is certainly unfortunate that he did not make his announcement a week or two ago, before the schools had reopened, for a great many pupils who are affected by it have probably remained at home rather than pay fees. But belated though it is, the concession now inai.de may still prove very, useful. There are, no doubt, a great many parents in the Dominion who would be glad if their children who have had two years at secondary schools could begin to earn s'omethirig, but the difficulty is t 0 find positions for them. There are no openings in the Public Service this year, and in private employment also the number of vacancies is far below normal. Until conditions improve the Dominion will not be ahle to absorb more than a small proportion of the young people who are seeking employ-’ ment, and the best thing they can do meanwhile is to go to school. This inaj only be made possible through considerable sacrifices On the part of parents, since a great many people are now facing difficulties caused by the straitening of their circumstances, but this is a case in which sacrifice is worth making. Even under the free place system the cost of sending a boy or girl to school is a substantial item in the budget of tin* average family, for books have to be bought, clothing is more costly than it would be under other circumstances, and there are incidental expenses—of no great magnitude perhaps—that must be met. But the alternatives to the little sacrifice are not pleasant to contemplate. Either the boy or girl must be kept at home, where possibly there would only be “odd jobs ’ to do, or must be pressed into a modestly paid position with poor prospects. It would obviously be inflicting very grave hardship on a boy of fourteen or fifteen to condemn him to enter an unpromising and uncongenial catling just because times are bad and his parents would like him to add a little to the family exchequer. It might mean that his opportunity in life would be ruined for the sake of the avoidance of what probably would be at the worst a period of temporary hardship. There may be a number of boys and girls, to whom the additional year's schooling would be a real boon, enabling them to qualify for far better positions than they could otherwise hope to obtain. The extension of the free places should therefore be regarded as a very great privilege, and it is to be hoped that parents will see their way to take full advantage of the Government’s generosity.