The Press Thursday, January 20, 1927. The Director of Education.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18904, 20 January 1927, Page 8

The Press Thursday, January 20, 1927. The Director of Education.

An interesting and difficult point has arisen in connexion with the appoint- v ment of a new Director of Education to T succeed Mr Caughjey. Some time ago the N.Z. Educational Institute wrote c to the Minister for Education suggest- } ing that the time for receiving appli- * cations should be extended, in order " that the claims of applicants) from other countries might be considered. The Minister has replied that the appointment is entirely in the hands of the Public Service Commissioner, whose position he thus defines: "He can, if •' he so desires, make 1 the appointment " without consulting either the Minis- " ter or the Government. The adver- " tisement inviting applications for the ] •' position was drawn up and published ' "by the Public Service Commissioner I " without being submitted to me. As a • " matter of fact the Assistant-Director ( "of Education was appointed dining ' "my absence. I was not consulted, ! " and learned from the Press that Mr " Strong had been appointed. Under '< " these circumstances, seeing that I j " have no legal power to interfere, I ■ if do not intend pursuing further the " issue you have raised." Thqse who re- '• member the ill results of the old order, ; when Ministers enjoyed a very wide power of appointment, and the better spirit and atmosphere created by the Act establishing the present system, will always scrutinise very jealously any suggestion that the Commissioner's authority should be abridged in any way. The removal of the Public Service from control by the Government of the day has been one of the wisest of legislative decisions for many years; and its wisdom has grown clearer with the growth of the Service. The Public Service presents problems enough as it is; one hardly cares to think of what the case would be if the power of appointment and promotion had not been handed over to an authority independent of the Government, Yet it is plain enough that if a Director of Education is to be appointed by the Public Service Commissioner in the way in which any professional officer of no great importance is appointed, the country will run the risk of having one of the most important posts in the Public Service rather indifferently filled. The Commissioner is probably as well able as tjig Minister to choose between the applicants for the Directorship, although he cannot, possibly be expected to have studied the education question and come to a decision regarding the type of man and mind required, This jg only anotju?]? way, of course, of saying that the Governmenl; itself has never thought gut the f«Bdamental needs, of our education system. When the appointment of an AssistantDirector became, necessary three or four months ago we urged that the call for applications, slwvdi make it possible for educationists in other countries to offer their services. This is still more necessary in the case of the Directorship. There are many people who are willing to say that there is no public post which cannot be efficiently filled by a New Zealander and that "out"siders" ought not to be encouraged. This is true only of small and-mechani-cal positions. To make this idea, a working policy where very important positions are concerned is to condemn the Dominion |o go without the advantages of the culture °f older and maturer lands. The education sys. tern has for years suffered from nothing so much as the want of a Director with vision and a eleav conception of the education system required by the Dominion at this stage of its? ment. We now require a man of genius, and men o£,geniu§ can be bad if the Government will pay for them, We greatly doubt whether the gemus who will do the work the Director of ! Education should do can be found in i Now Zealand. At any rate, steps should ' be taken to see if he can be found any- ' where else. This can be done without '• any interference with the Public Ser, } vice Commissioner, who can be persuaded that there is no great hurry, J. and that the tems o£ «Pi»totaw m t • ought to be such as will attract men of ' high attainments in other lands, The ' Department will not suffer through ft T delay of six or pvpn twelve months in I the appointment of a Director, and * a year is ft short time to wait if the ? waiting brings us the right man. The ■ Minister, therefore, should not wash his hands of the business, as he seems inclined to do, but should consult the Public Service Commission 61 *! ask tor delay, and induce Cabinet to take a generous view of its duty in this most important matter.