SCHOOL. OF DOMESTIC INSTRUCTION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6499, 31 May 1899, Page 2

SCHOOL. O F DOMESTIC INSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION. UULHE.BOAED OF Mr.W. ChiysiaL, on heiiait. of the School of Domestic instruction,, recently wrote to t>na.Boaxd of . Education,,.asking tlie Board— ll) 'Io take- into cansidesation the propriety or rmiking^cookeiy a..pj__t of. the specified school curriculum,, .tliat is,, to include the subject in tbe syllabus;. (2). to a_W School | Cojjimittees to use their incidental fund for : tlie purpose- of pacing /or the. insSruction in j cookery. giyen to.ciift girls, attending the Board's schools * .(3), to afford in other ways [some. material, assistance to enablte the ob- | jeets oLtlie school .to^be acaomplislied. | The letter .was. Deferred- to the. .appoint- ] ments CoD_mittee,->Fh_c_i.th_is. morning pie- ! sented the. followi_uaj u repoit ":.— (_) Cookery ! is not at .present- a p*cfc.of the. primary school syllabus, nor has the,. Board* any power to make, it so. . But if tie Baud considers tbe alteration necessary>.-,the prnjiosal to include it, either in addition'. 'to 1 ,- or. in. place of, other , subjects, might well be a matter for discussion at the forthcoming conference of Education Boards. (2) Neither theLEducatien •^er, 1877, nor t!7e" Manual: and Technical Elementary Instruotrbir Act r 1895, has any - provision under which- the Board can make grants for technical instruction, (las is tuition • in cookery), unless such instruction is im- - parted to classes established by the Board ' itselif, and under its own. control and supervision. (3) The question, whether School ! Committees should be allowed to. use the ■ inddiental.{ui-_. fobippn^Bseyotfeer than those : for -which it is intended, is an important one, requiring very careful consideration. In view of the many applications from commit- •- tees for additional assistance towards cost -■ of keeping buildings; and premises in • repair, it may be safely asserted that the al-' lowance made by the Board, though in ex- • cess of the amount granted in some Education Districts, is not, generally speaking; -. more than adequate to meet legitimate requirements. But there are some committees; vbo, by careful' and economical management, are able to keep expenditure w<e_lwithin income, and who are therefore able' to show a' credit balance at the end of each financial year. A'sr it has been the Board's practice in such' cases, after satisfying itself that buildings and' premises are in good order, to allow a specified amount of the incidental! fund to be used towards cost of constructing swimming, baths, there does not appear to be any strong reason for objecting to similar concessions in* the matter of -fees forr-cookery-insttuction, always providedthat bare is token to see that the primary objects pf the fund are not lost sight of or neglected. jThere is no doubt that a suitable" course of instruction ih cookery would be of very-great benefit to a large number of the girls "attending the Bdard's schools. In this connection \t mav be pointed out that a Technical Instruction Bill, much more liberall in' its provisions than & the existing Act, -and one under which tfie Board may find impossible to tflk'e un cookery and kindred subjects, is lik-Iy-txr be introduced this comiirg session ; so that ih a few months the Board "will be in a better position than it is at the/present jtfme to consider the questions- raisfed" by Mr pity-stair. i The report was adopted. m~— — - ' ■»________