Wellington Catholic Education Board

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LI, Issue 45, 12 November 1924, Page 15

Wellington Catholic Education Board

The following statistics appear in the report and statement of accounts, 1923-24;

CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS, WELLINGTON.

From the above figures it will be seen that the Catholics of 'Wellington are saving the Government the enormous sum of £17,594 per annum, and in addition, are taxed at the rate of £1 17s 3d per head of the population, per an mum, to support the State primary school system. STATISTICS THAT EVERY CATHOLIC SHOULD STUDY. Catholics should know what the State system of Education in New Zealand costs, and the quota they are contributing towards its upkeep. It is true that the payment is not .made direct and, consequently, some people are inclined to overlook 1 the tact that they are supporting the State system. Through taxation on the necessaries of life, each man, woman and child in the Dominion is contributing the sum of £2 10s 5d per annum. In addition to this, Catholics are supporting, at considerable sacrifice and cost, their own system of education, because they cannot conscientiously avail themselves of the godless system which they are unjustly compelled to support financially. The following figures are extracted from the annual report of the Government Education Department (E.-l) presented to Parliament during the present session. As primary education is the present concern of this Board, we will quote the figures referring to State primary education. The cost of educating a child in the State primary school works out at £ll 9s 3d per pupil per annum. This is ascertained by dividing the number of children, 211,624, . attending the State primary schools into the amount expended, £2,426,390. The number of children attending registered Catholic primary schools is recorded in the same report as 20,749. If this number is multiplied by the cost of educating a child in the State primary schools £ll 9s 3d) it will be found that the amount totals £237,835. This sum represents the amount which the State would be required to pay if the number of children attending Catholic schools were taught in State schools; or this amount represents what Catholics are saving the Government through providing their own system of Christian education. The Catholic population is estimated at 164,133, and the cost per head per annum for primary education is £1 17s 3d. If these figures are multiplied, the result, £305,699, gives the amount which Catholics are compelled to contribute through taxation, to the State primary system of education. If the cost per head for both State primary and secondary education, £2 10s sd, is taken into consideration. Catholics are , contributing the enormous sum of

£413,752 to a system from which they receive practically nothing in return. Summarised, the position is as follows; 1. Cost of State primary education, £2,426,390. per annum. 2. Number of children attending State primary schools, 211,624. 3. Cost of educating a child in the State primary schools, £ll 9s 3d. 4. Number of children attending Catholic primary schools, 20,749. 5. The Catholics of New Zealand save the Government, on primary education alone, the sum of £237,835. 6. Tho amount contributed by Catholics through taxation to State primary education, £305,699 — in addition to saving the Government the amount mentioned in (5) £237,835. 7. The Catholic population of New Zealand is, accord ing to the 1921 Census, 164,133. 8. Cost per head of the population per annum for State primary education £1 17s 3d. 9. Cost per head of the population for education in all its branches £2 10s sd. 10. The amount contributed by Catholics to the total cost of State education, including all branches, at £2 10s 5d per head, £413,752. 11. If the Government allowed Catholics the sum of £ll 9s 3d per annum for each child educated in Catholic primary 5ch0015£237,835 would still ho left in the Treasury of the amount contributed by Catholics the sum of £175,917. 12. Number of teachers engaged in Catholic schools■ Nuns 587, Brothers 39 —total 626. 13. Number of Catholic schools, 183. 14. Average salary of State school teachers, £268 per annum. 15. Amount of salaries which the Government would bo required to pay the nuns and Brothers if they were State employees £167,768.

Salaries winch Cost of educating Name of School Parish the State pupils if taught N o. of No. of would pay if in Government Teachers Pupils teachers were schools at public officials ,611/9/3 p. pupil Convent School Thorndon 4 . 160 ,61072 .61834 Marist Brothers Thorndon 5 150 804 1719 St. Vincent's, __ Northlands Thorndon 2 .70 536 802 St. Joseph's C'nv'nt Buckle St. Buckle St.6 6310 3101608 160S3548 3548 Marist Brothers Buckle St. 6 320 1608 3668 St. Anne's Convent Newtown 4 148 1072 1696 St. Patrick's C'nv'nt Kilbirnie : Kilbirnie 4 ■ 4175 1751072 10722005 2005 St. Francis' C'nv'nt Island Bay 5 140 1540 1605 Convent School Seatoun 5 62 804 717 57 1535 .69,916 .617.594