TEACHERS' SALARIES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13533, 2 March 1908, Page 2

TEACHERS' SALARIES.

PAYMENT ON ATTENDANCE

AN "INIQUITOUS SYSTEM."

At the meeting of the local branch of the Teachers" Institute on Saturday, Mr ,J. A. Valentine read a paper condemning the system of paying teachers on the basis of the average attendance at their schools. This system, he said, had been described is " iniquitous," and he had been told that that was too strong a term, bue he did not think so. 'ihe "Lyt-t-elton Times" had a leading article 011 the conference regretting that go much time had been devoted to the subject of salaries. It was impossible to avoid it, whilst an "iniquitous" system remained unamended. At the January meeting of the Education Board the*, secretary reported that 18 of the 126 adult teachers in this district must suffer reduction of •-alary through fall in the average attendance. Mr Valentine proceeded to give particulars of some of these cases.

.1.. a teacher, age 36, of 20 years' experience, with a high certificate, last year received £180; this year he will get £165, because his average had declined from 56 to 46. A telegraph officer of 28, after 12 years' experience, might rise to £220 a year, with no fear of a reduction. No wonder then that the salaries question occupied the time of the Institute. 8., a teacher for 30 veais, 20 years ago received £l5O a year; last year £144 and £2O house allowance; this year £l2O and only £lO house allowance—as if his need of house room depended upon the number of his pupils. C., of 28 yeais experience, 26 vsa.is ago received £130; last year £144; this year £l3O, because his average is 22 instead of 26. D., last year received £144, for 25 pupils; this year £l3O, a drop of £l4, because his average last year was only 25|, and not 25J. How many, he asked, would have the moral courage to keep down that " jin the returns, when it cost them £l4 '

E., 20 years ago, had an E3 certificate and got £180; lie came to South Canterbury 19 years ago, and his average salary had been about £145. He now had a D 1 certificate and his salary was £ls less than last year. P..had been in five schools in 30 years, and in four cases his salary went down ;■ this year lie gets £144 and next year he expects £llO. It was 110 wonder, said Mr Valentine, that- with such prospects only two boys otfeivd themselves as pupil teachers. Pupil teachers, by the way, have fixed rates of pay increasing for each year of service for increasing efficiency; but the adult teacher receives no such reward for in-cre-ased efficiency. Mr Valentine Went 011 to make some remarks 011 the current misconceptii.ii that tlie teacher lias short hours and long holiday:;. Tlk-.v had ti( work at- preparation for next, day, and at Gtt]K'rvi>':oii after school hours, and probably moot of them were 011 duty 54 hours a Week. The weekly holiday was only half a day more than other workersgot, and many of them used liit.st of Saturday in preparation. And the long were given for the. children, not for the teachers.

Returning to the subject of salarK-s, Ik- said that the average salary of the. 126 adult teachers of Nmth Canterbury is £135. (Jf the 126, five receive under 50h a week, twenty, from 3CY; to 35is, twenty-three 35s to 455, twelve 45m to 6Cn, and only six over £5 a week. In ail other divisions of the liublie service there was a steady rise of pay with length of service and no dread of a reduction owing to variations in amount of work, rei|uired ti> be done. The cause of complaint was largely due to the multiplication of small schools, and there was a need for some authority to transfer a teacher from school to school according to their efficiency. The most important consequence of the present sytem of payment was a national loss; there were not y;etiiiif the best brains into the most important profession.

Mr Valentine concluded by (moving that the case of the eighteen teachers who have suffered a reduction of salary be brought under the notice of the Minister of Education ; and that the deailsi of the worst eight cases be laid before the local Members of Parliament and they lie asl;e<l to urge the Minister to introduce legislation next. session to remove the injustice to teachers involved in the present system of payment. Mr Dalglish in seconding Ihe motion, referrc.i to a letter, by a "Southland Teacher," in Thursday's "Otago Daily Times" in which the outcry against the "enormous growth" of the education vote was examined, and a distribution of the total among the several classes of expenditure, showed that teachers' salaries at. anvrate were not the cause of the " enormous growth." A table gives the expenditure for each year from 1874, when the total was £449,756, to 1906, when it was £923,574. In 1894 teachers' salaries absorbed £342,072, or over 76 per cent, of the total; in 1906, £478,831, or tinder 51 per cent. The table gives the number of teachers at the two periods ;is 3306 and 3872, and the average salan r works out at £lO3 9s and £123 13s. In 1894, however, there were 176 sewing mistresses and 1046 pupil iea- , chers included in the total of 3306, whilst in 19C6 there were only 671 pupil teachers, consequently the certificated and uncertificated teachers employed in 1906 were 1117 more than in 1894, and the average of increase in salary must be very mucli less than the differencei between the above sums.

The classification of the total education vote for 1906 is as follows:—Teachers' salaries £478,831, education board disbursements £188,481, education board management £35,148, secondary and university education £100,040, technical education £67,554 (only £722 in 1894), head office £8033 (£2430 in 1894), public school cadets £7438 (began with £4O in 1899), industrial schools £35,507, native schools £27,774, deaf mutes and blind £4991, miscellaneous: £4922. The percentage of increase since 1894 in the expenditure on any one of the larger branches had been lowest on that of teachers' salaries. Mr Valentine drew attention to the large increase in the proportion of uncertificated teachers employed, owing to the best' men leaving the service for more secure callings. Mr .McLeod spoke at some length <>n the loss to the future nation through the weakening of the educational army. The country must pay good salaries, not to satisfy the demands of the present teachers, bub in order to secure good teachers for tile future. He could not conscientiously recommend the parent of a bright hoy to make a teacher of him. In view of the importance of the education of 'the young the country could not afford to allow the present system to continue. Mr Valentine said a committee of Otago teachers had been appointed' to draw np a scale of salaries to be submitted to the Minister, and when lie got it he would get a shock.

Mr Valentine's motion was carried unan imouslv.

Mr Yates reminded the meeting of the way W. .T. Steward, ,Mr T. Mackenzie and a few others ,including Mr Massey, had urged the claims of the teachers in the House ("Hansard" No. 32), and lie moved that a letter of thanks be sent to them, with a request that they continue their efforts to abolish the system of payment. on average attendance. This also was carried unanimously.