THE EDUCATION ACT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 498, 24 June 1880, Page 2

THE EDUCATION ACT.

To the Editor of the Wauurapa Daily. >. Sir,-Now that Parliament is sitting, it would not, .perhaps, be out of place if we were to briefly consider one of the chief questions of the day, viz.—How far the present' Education Act requires amendment, There can be no doubt whatever that, take it as a whole, it has proved one of the best, or, indeed," the" best Education Act which has hitherto been framed in this Colony. Its predecessors have been many and varied, and yet that of 1877 has eclipsed them all. Previous to this Act being passed, educational matters were under the immediate control of the different Provincial Governments, but during the session of 1877 the Grey Government framed the present Act, which has inaugurated and provided for a'- somewhat expensive, though on the whole effecttve, system of education. No one, however, I think, will deny that there are faults in the Act in question,' and it is with these faults I now propose to deal. 1 One of the chief difficulties appears in the working of the 45th clause, the latter portion of which reads as follows:-" But no appointment, suspension, Or dismissal shall take place uutil the Oommittehave been first consulted." This will at once be seen to be nothing short of a farce, .as it simply compels the Board to seek the. advice of the local Committee, but it by no means compels them to act on'the advice when given. There is no doubt that a divided authority in Buch matters will not prove beneficial to the causa of education, and the. question is, therefore, to which-of the two bodies should belong •the right of making such appointment's. I must unhesitatingly reply that I believethe Central Board to be the proper persons to exercise the right, and this for more than one reason.' In the first place they have the advice of their Inspector to act upon, and the latter is, or should be, the one who can best judge oi the qualifications, &c, of each individual tsaaher. Again, I would ask if a majority of those elected to sorve on the country School Committees are capable of judging the qualification? of men who, in nine cases out of ten, aro better educated than themselves. I can well imagine the perfect disgust felt by a man who has taken a high certificate as a teacher at. being dictated to by a man who could'hot write one sentence of English correctly,'or even intelligibly, or who had never heard of such a thing as a vulgar faaotion, and who, probably, could not tell you what six times nine were., Yet this is. by no means an exaggerated sketch of the knowledge posseised by more than one Com-mittee-man with iwhomlhave'come in ' contact. The next question which presents itstlf' to my mind is Ihe appointment of Inspeetors. Judging from the report ef their lait ; raeiting, I am; afraid, that the Wanganu Board, as a : .body, have by' no' means 'at exalted idea of the, capabilitiesi of th'eii Inspector. The gentleman, in has/moreover,^been 'impeached; byrthe oldest teaoher, in ohii distriot,;-and:; by agentlemart who ;has till lat«ly,filled;the position of a. presideht of ; • the belioye, ;tp occupyJthe atteVition; 6f Board ; .;..- This statebf i ; lhingg^is^lii^bl^jrylp and the various districts throughouf-'tKij Slbny|sriß:;Mete

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; Another great,dra>bick to the working ": -v.. of the Act is the number required to form' a local Committee. lam strongly of. : opinion that the ;'minimum 'number,'''.'' especially in country districts^should be ' three, -> : ln manycasesit has be«H; found ■- >■;-._/ impossible to, get .more than four or five " householders whpiare willing to apt. ,{ } The last evil with' which Tproposeto deal is cumulative-voting. ;l2*ill "giV»' .4 ... one instance of the. evil of this. There are 30 voters present at the annual meetv ' :1 ing;'22of whora'are violently opposed to '■. . ' Mr,S. the late chairman. However, Mr' ■■ ■■' S.;gives himself seven votes, and receives seven more from his son, who occasionally'\ sleeps in a whare on his father's land,; . and who is endeavoring to obtain- the: mastership of thesohpol, to effect which' purpose his father is trying to oust the .j present teacher. Eventually Mr S. heads '■ the list with 39 votes. Can this gentleman be said to represent the district V.1..' am afraid riot. And yet this is all due to the system of cumulative voting . _ - : ' In spite of all I. have said I believe the present Act to b'e on the'whole an exceedingly beneficial one, and one which will greatly advance the canse > of Education in- this country, and, with a few ~ alterations and modifications such as those I have suggested, will prove a blessing to the rising, generation and to the New - Zealand of the future. lam, 4c, Magibtbr.