THE ATMORE REPORT

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 280, 26 November 1936, Page 9

THE ATMORE REPORT

EDUCATIONAL REFORM TECHNICAL SCHOOL CONTROL SUGGESTIONS CRITICISED WANGANUI BOARD’S VIEW A review of the recommendations contained in the Atmore report, which the Minister of Education (Hon. P. Fraser) announced some time ago would be the basis for educational reform in New Zealand, was submitted at last night’s meeting of the Wanganui Technical College Board of Managers by the principal (Mr I. E. Newton). The report was adopted by the board and emphasised that so far as technical school control was concerned the board system had come into existence gradually by the process of evolution. The opinion was expressed that this system had been found to work exceptionally well and was responsible for a remarkable development of technical education in the last quarter of a century. “Control of technical schools would be affected by the carrying out of the following recommendations of the Atmore report: (1) That existing postprimary school boards be continued as school councils for their respective schools, except that where a single board has controlled more than one school a separate council shall be set. up for each school; (2) that unification of control of the existing primary, secondary, and technical education in New Zealand is desirable," Mr Newton said in his report. “Shorn of its Powers’* “Apparently the proposed District Education Board is to control in so far as it will have control, all the schools in its own area, whether primary, secondary, or technical. The Technical School Councill will thus be under the District Education Board, very much in the same way as the Technical School Committee in Wanganui was subservient to the Wanganui Education Board prior Io 1921. There will be this important difference, however, that the proposed education boards will be shorn of most of the powers they now possess, so that they will have nothing of importance to delegate to the school councils under them.” Mr Newton added that the present powers of managers were considerable and included the full control of administration and finances of the technical school, the appointment of the teachers and payment of their salaries, the arrangement, of all new sites, buildings, and additions, and direct dealing with the Education Department. Under the proposed new system all of these powers would be lost, the most important of them, administration and appointment of teachers, being transferred not even to the District Education Board, but to the Central Department itself. The new scheme of technical school control appeared to be a direct attempt to check the normal course of evolutionary development as shown by the history of the movement. Mr Newton added that the progress of technical education has been greatest, in those districts where boards of managers have been the longest established, and where the education hoards, while still remaining nominally in control, have delegated the greatest authority to the technical school hoards. “The system in vogue in Wanganui up to 1921 was found to be bad; therefore why go back to it. in the name of reform?” the report asked. Unification of Control “Uniformity, unification, consolidation, amalgamation, are words frequently used in the report, and stand for the main ideals which it is proposed should be aimed at,” the principal continued. “As a matter of fact we have unification of control at present, as the central department, presided over by the Minister of Education, is the supreme authority; at the same time there is room for diversity of control, as exemplified by the different kinds of boards, primary, secondary, and technical, and it is diversity and differentiation that are necessary in an educational system. The proposals being brought forward in the name of reform are really retrograde in nature. They mean: (1) The multiplication of boards or councils or committees, of which there are too many at present; (2) the setting up of miniature central departments in a small country where one central department can effectively do all that is necessary under modern methods of communication; (3) the regimentation of our educational system, a consummation devoutly to be avoided,” Mr Newton's report concluded. Chairman’s Views The chairman (Mr L. W. Hogben) agreed with the principal's views and contended that if this board were disbanded after being worked up to such a state of efficiency, a retrograde step would indeed be taken. Boards such as this were, for one thing, constituted to supervise heavy expenditure, but the present Government was changing the policy. Mr F. H. Allen thought the board’s powers should be increased rather than decreased. A strong fight should be made to prevent the hoard's activities being curtailed. The board should have its authority increased, not turned into a glorified school committee. Mr W. Bruce said local management should be encouraged. He felt sure that if the issue were put before the people they would not agree to the proposals. Mr A. E. Ballinger said that one important point should not be over-* looked. Perhaps, because of the amount of capital outlayed, it had prior claim to some of the larger cities. The manner in which the board was constituted, comprising as it does representatives of so many other bodies, was of considerable value to the college. Mr W. J. Rogers suggested that the Minister of Education be approached more in a spirit of co-operation than anything else. He felt that if the board did this and pointed out the work it was doing in Wanganui, some common ground may be reached. Because the Minister said he was taking the Atmore report as a basis for reform did not mean that the entlfe proposals would be adopted.