Leaks in the Schools.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 14141, 26 February 1910, Page 4 (Supplement)

Leaks in the Schools.

■ —— ~» —- y .; AN INSPECTOR'S VIEWS. A serious deficiency in our education system which the school inspectors' conference could'not consider for lack of time, is the leakage which goes on from the "primary schools between the fifth and shrth - standards. Mr-H. Hill, the wellrknown Hawke's Bay inspector, tabled a motion on the subject which had to be hurriedly and inadequately daalt with, and as this is an important aspect of the education problem, a " New' Zealand Times " representative requested Mr Hill to, state his case for ' the information of the public. , Mr Hill, for answer, turned to the Education Department's last report, showing the numbers of children in the various standards. "In Standard ,1. there were 17,628 children; last vear," said Mr Hill,. "In Standard 111. there was practically no "change in the number 17,660— : but notice how the decline commences with Standard IV., 16,507: Over a thousand children have gone off. Standard V.'s total is 14,233, and Standard.Vl., 10,128. Over two thousand children wasted ber tween Standards IV. and V., iust at the period when they ought to be effective, and ought to be learning something, and over four thousand were lost from the schools' at Standard VI. Here are all the inspectors talking about the perfecting of our 1 - education system, while' thousands of ' the children are going out; of reach iust when the whole of the effort ought to fructify and be of value to the community. ■ "We can't account for it; it is beyond our and cannot be prevented because ..the departmental regulations are insufficient, to - Bring about a continuance of the attendance until the' children- complete the sixth standard requirements. 7 What is the; '"e,«f our education if out of 10,000 children grounded, in the earlier stages; 6500 leave school inademiateiy equips ped for life, to become "the wastrels the drunkards, the inefficients of the \ social .system P , We inspectors ought' to fight this system, but we cannot i P 80 f««i the machinery is inadeauate. ! x j ? .want to raisethe economio standard, and fight to give all the little ones a chance. We should force them, to. pass the 'proficiency' examination, and,.the moment thev do that I would sayi'You must learn for a year at the technical school, or if you want to work, attend a continuation school for > two velars.' Train tnenr manipulative as well as on/the, literary 'side; u^■ .'k '. vi-