Great Honour To N.Z., Says Prime Minister

Chronicle (Levin), 23 February 1948, Page 8

Great Honour To N.Z., Says Prime Minister

P?e& Association i)

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WELLIN GrTON, Feb. 21. : JThe Direfetor' of Edttc&iioiL (Dr. C. E. ! Beeby) has .been. afipfbinted assistant Direetor-deneral "of the United JSfationsj Edhc'a'tion.hl, Scieiitiflej ahd Cditural i OrganishtiOn (UNESCO). Cabled ad- j vice of the agpointnaeht has been fe- S eeived from the Difeetof-Geherai of! UNESCO (Dr; duliaii Huxley) by thej PfiniB Ministei* (Mr. Fiaser ) . • j This temporary appointmeht has been! -made by the exeeUtive boai-d in Paris '" fdllo'wihg the "New 2e"alahd drovei'h-, rheii't 's iiidieation' - that it Wdul'd be prepared to'give Dr. Beeby 18 .•months' lea've of. absence-for the phrpose. .. •' Mr. Fraser said the Govefnmeiit had given very eareful eonsideration to the representations which had' been made' to ,release Br. Beeby tempofarily to andertake this work. It yfas -felt, after allowirig fully fof the very importan't claims of Kew Zeaiand's owil edneational system and the needs of an organisation which was important to the world as a whole, and. was now in its crucial formative stages, that Br. Beeby 's serviees • should be made tem'potarily available. " Unle.ss Governments ■ are prepared to make the sacrilice of lending some of their most compen'tent oiiicers . to international organisati'ons, these bodies, whose sneeessful working makes a contributron to world- peace, must iiievi'tably be less efirerent, ' ' savd i\lr.?3fra§er.

Important " ActiVitieS , Dt. Beeby had played a vety important part ih the work of the major conferences of the organisation) both at Paris in 1946 and at Mexico last year. At Paris he wras recognised as most suecessful as chairman of the sub-eommittee on administration and finance, a post which was generally recognised as being one of the ipost difficult of the conference. He had been outspokenly eritical on the question of the inadequacy of the stafO of the secretariat and had pressed fof q emairef budge't and a more 'restricted programme carried out at a higlief standard. At Mexieo City he had beeil appointqd chairman of the Budget Commission, whefe the most iinportant work of the conference had been dohe, and he had earned a ver.y high reptitation for his outstanding skill and judgment. " There had been widespread recognition of the need for someone of t)r. Beeby 's capaeity to assist the DireetorGeneral on the' seqretariat and especially to plai-e the proper emphaais on the educational programme of the organisa: tion.-

As assistant Director-Ge'nefal Dr. Beeby wOuld have . full responsfbility for the programme of education. That would include such questions as a world attack on illiteracy. "Dr. Beeby has aehieved a remarkably high reputation overseas, and I feel sure that he will bring tlie cause of interhational understanding and the Work of the Edueatioirat, Scientiflc, and Cultura'l Organisation of the United Nationa the 0.iitstandihg administrative capaeity which has made liim one of the most suecessful Directors of Education we have had," said Mr. Fraser. "His appointment is a very great honour, not onlv to .himself but also to Aew Zealand. T am confident that,. .in the hands of ^fr. A. F. -McMurtrie','.' the important progressive measurevs which, under the direction of the Government, Dr. Beebv has initiated and which the Educational Department has in hand, vvill be carried on and consolidated. ' '