“BASED UPON IGNORANCE”

Taranaki Daily News, 28 June 1934, Page 4

“BASED UPON IGNORANCE”

RATIONING PLAN CRITICISM MINISTER REPLIES TO TEACHERS. LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OF POSITION DETAILED EXPLANATION OFFERED. By Telegraph—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. Resolutions passed at a meeting of Wellington and suburban rationed school teachers criticising the rationing scheme were replied to to-day by the Minister of Education, the Hon. R. Masters. “The resolutions passed are based on a serious lack of knowledge of the real position,” said Mr. Masters. “To say that no one is benefiting but the department is absurd when we remember that at the beginning of the year over 1800 teachers were without permanent positions. Of these 463 could have been used as probationary assistants in schools of an average of 121 pupils or over, 300 as relieving teachers a temporary vacancy occurred, and about 100 others as additional assistants in schools where conditions were exceptional. This would have left quite unprovided for at the beginning of the year over 900, ■who would have had to seek what employment they could away from their profession

“The rationing scheme was put into operation only after approval of it had been given by the New Zealand Educational Institute. It is true that the institute desired that the rate of pay should be higher, but upon consideration members of the executive realised that the offer was the best that could be made in the circumstances. “Rationed teachers generally have charge of a class whenever the conditions of the school accommodation permit. Those who are appointed in lieu of probationary assistants should have charge of a class, and no doubt any additional rationed teacher who wished to show his ability would prefer to have charge of a small class rather than be attached as a supernumerary to a class or to a group of classes. The average size of a large number of such classes in the Wellington district is 29. NUMBERS OF CLASSES. “It is true that some of these rationed teachers are in charge of classes as large as those taught by some grade 1 assistants, and it is also true that in consequence of the employment of rationed .teachers the size of classes taught by some of the permanent staff has been reduced, but this has been done not to ‘exploit’ the rationed teachers, but to give them adequate training and to afford them an opportunity of displaying their ability. It must not be forgotten also that when these rationed teachers secure permanent positions—and week after week this will occur—they will have to take charge of reasonably-sized classes.“The statement that the promised continuity of service has proved false is quite incorrect. There is continuity of service and pay. Such teachers, however, can be moved from one school to another as occasion demands, but this very necessary condition was expressly laid down in the scheme. “That the scheme has resulted in the loss of status and in no immediate hope of future employment is equally meaningless. How is a person losing status by being kept in employment when he might have been one of the 900 absolutely unemployed? How is he losing status when he is keeping in touch with his- -profession and thereby getting an opportunity of improving his official grading? What extra hope of future employment would he have had were he wholly unemployed or only intermittently employed this year? “Through the opportunity of showing what they can do the best will have an opportunity of securing a permanent position earlier than otherwise. Such opportunities are arising day' by day. Since the beginning of the year the number of those not in -permanent positions has decreased by no fewer than 350. PLEA FOR GRADE 0 SCHOOLS. “The plea for the re-opening of grade 0 schools is based on ignorance of the facts. Since the establishment of the highly successful correspondence school there has been less need for retaining the little isolated school of two, thre'e dr four pupils, generally in charge of an uncertificated teacher who is often. a local resident, but even then the numberof such schools in existence was in 1929 234, in 1930 247, in 1931 213, in 1932 204, and in 1933 210. Surely this is no indication of an aggressive policy in closing such a school. ■“The request for an increase in the number of the ‘permanent’ relieving staff -is equally uninformed. There has never been a permanent relieving staff, if for no other reason than that no capable teacher desires such a position. Relieving positions are and have always been filled by whatever teachers were unemployed at the time. \ “Finally, the request that schools should be staffed by the requisite number of grade 1 assistants is only another indication that these young people have not studied the question they are discussing. All schools entitled to grade 1 assistants have the requisite number. The only exceptions are when relieving teachers are occupying temporarily grade 1 positions pending the filling of the vacancy by an education board,tor during the absence on leave of the permanent teacher. This, of course, is unavoidable and has always been the practice. -• “I have much sympathy with these young people,” concluded the Minister, “but one could wish that they would go to a little more trouble in ascertaining the facts before formulating resolutions. Had they sought an interview with the Director of Education or myself the position could have been clearly explained to them without the necessity for a reply being given through the medium of the Press.”