EDUCATION CUTS

Taranaki Daily News, 16 April 1932, Page 6

EDUCATION CUTS

GOVERNMENT’S DECISIONS

NO SUBSIDIES TEMPORARILY

CONVEYANCE STILL FREE

CAPITATION TO .CONTINUE

BOARDS’ FATE IN BALANCE

By Telegraph.—Press Association. Palmerston N., Last Night.

The Government’s decisions in regard to the recommendations of the National Expenditure Commission as they affect primary education were announced by the Minister of Education (the Hon. R. Masters) in the course of his speech at the re-opening of the Central School here this afternoon. “One of the first recommendations of the commission is that all subsidies should be cut out as a general principle for this year,” Mr. Masters said. “I am afraid we will have to do it, not because we do not appreciate what has been done by the public in regard to the finances of schools, but because of the country’s position. 1 The suspension of subsidies will be of a merely temporary nature. "The recommendation that the School Journal should be charged for as a further levy on school committees is not agreed to by Cabinet and the journal will be given free as formerly. As a result of re-organisation of the printing and general administration of the journal I have been successful in reducing the cost from £7OOO to £4500. “The commission recommended that a number of manual training centres should be cut out in the country and not in the cities. If economies are to be effected,” Mr. Masters declared, “I will not let them be effected at the expense of any one school and then at the expense of the people as a whole. CONVEYANCE OF CHILDREN. “Regarding the conveyance of children to schools the commission has recommended that the amount should be cut down by £50,000. This would be a distinct hardship on children in country districts. It is proposed there should be economies as far as possible without laying down any fixed amount which can be curtailed.

“In regard to the conveyance of postprimary children, the commission recommends that they should not be carried free on the railway. The object of the Government is to create economies, but to dispense with free railway facilities for secondary pupils is not real economy and the Government has come to the conclusion that it will not accept that recommendation of the commission. All children going to secondary schools will be entitled to free railway travel as, in the past. “No decision has been come to on the recommendation that education boards should be abolished because I thought it was undesirable to decide until primary boards and secondary boards had had an opportunity of meeting in conference and submitting their views. In the meantime the matter is held over. “Because of my experience of the work of school committees I cannot , accept the recommendation that there should be a reduction of the capitation to school committees. I appreciate the amount of special effort made by the committees throughout the Dominion and it would be want of encouragement if the Government did anything. in the nature of reducing the capitation paid them. SUPPLY OF FREE BOOKS. “The commission recommends that we do away with fi'ce books in necessitous cases, but we are not proposing to cut out the grant that has been made previously. “I am afraid we shall have to reduce the amount for the maintenance of buildings,” Mr. Masters said. “Owing to the line work of the education boards we are able to omit £22,000 of the maintenance grant. “Tho commission has recommended a charge of 2s 6d on all candidates for proficiency certificates, but this the Government cannot see its way to accept. “A recommendation is made that all sewing grants, amounting to £3OOO, should be stopped for the time being. I think mothers will have to take . a greater interest in teaching their girls to sew because I propose to cut the grant for the year at least. In coming to the conclusion we have it has not given any pleasure.” In a subsequent interview tho Minister made, reference to further decisions of Cabinet. It proposed to adopt the. commission’s recommendation that primary school boarding allowances should be cut out. The commission had recommended that small (grade 0) primary schools should be abolished but it was proposed that each case should be dealt with on its merits.

.The special capitation for science classes in primary schools would be discontinued. A saving of £lOO had been recommended iu regard to/ handwork material and that was agreed to. The recommendation that the grant for agricultural education should be reduced was still under consideration, Mr. Masters stated.