BOARDS OF EDUCATION.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXVI, Issue 13279, 19 January 1911, Page 2

BOARDS OF EDUCATION.

We take the following from the pages of the West Coast Times (Hokitika) of Friday, (3th hist.: One of the most important reforms advocated by tlic Educational Institute of New Zealand, which brought its sitting to a close at a late hour on Wednesday night is that relating to the election of our Boards of Education. The mover of the motion (Mr J. Aitken, of Wanganui) in the course of a brief but lucid speech marshalled before his colleagues the facts connected with the election of members of school committees, who in their turn arc the constituents of the Education Boards, showing that while they themselves arc in very many eases the representative' of minorities, the persons elected by them arc "laced in a position whose responsibility is out of all proportion to the loose and slipshod method of their election. It, was shown that, while the Boards of Education have the handling of close on a million of money—to he exact, the sum in 1909 was .41949,8s Id—their actual constituents numbered no more than 12,778 in a Dominion whose voting population exceeds 400.000 “Is this,” asked the speaker, "in the line of democratic principles?'’ And we re-echo the question. Another feature emphasised by the mover of the motion was the extreme difficulty that exists of bringing members of Boards of Education to look for actions of which their constituents do n’t approve, and this wo think is a very serious matter indeed. Wc have long thought that our Education Boards are too much independent of control, and although not much harm may have arisen, we are bound to admit that it is a healthy principle to bring members of public bodies face to face with their constituents at brief and regular intervals. Those who spend the people’s money should periodically have to give to the people an account of their stewardship, and the direct votes of the people should be available to show either popular approval or the re verse. That The Government arc giving their attention to this matter is evident from an extract from Hansard read by Mr Ailken, which showed that in answer to a question in the House whether the Go. vernraent intended to place the sole control of education, primary, second, and technical, in the hands of Education Boards, Mr Fowlds replied that before that could be done a radical change would have to be made in the method of electing these bodies. And we agree with him.