The Dominion. FRIDAY, JULY 21, 1908. THE TEACHERS' BILL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 258, 24 July 1908, Page 6

The Dominion. FRIDAY, JULY 21, 1908. THE TEACHERS' BILL.

On a first examination, tho new Education Bill, which was introduced by the Government ipto Parliament yesterday, impresses us favourably. In some important, respects it is a measure pf unquestionable merit, and in their appreciation the teachers will be inclined almost to forget the tardiness of ( tho Government in responding to their appeals for relief. Tho two great burdens that havo weighed down the profession in the past have been low pay on the one hand, and on tho other the perpetual menace of a reduced salary following on a de-grading due to accidents beyond' the teachers' control. At present tho _ head-teachers of tho smaller ' schools are paid. a fixed salary according to grade, together with a capitation'on the number of pupils above tho average attendance determining the grade. Their salaries, therefore, have varied with the average, attendance, and many hardships have resulted from fall-ings-off in attendance owing to epidemics, stormy seasons, and movements of population. Severe enough in tho case of the poorly-paid teachers of small country schools, this arrangement can press still moro hardly on the assistants in what we may call the middle-sized schools, those at which the attendance is from 150 to \3OO. The new Bill proposes to eliminate the' dependence of the' teachers, on capitation. Instead of a multiplicity of grades; coupled with a scale'of capitation, the Government proposes to classify schools •in;ton grades, to -each of which is assigned- a minimum salary, rising' by' yearly increments of A! 5 to a lixed maximum. ;

The first result of the now arrangement will be an immediate increase in tho salaries of teachers; in .the smaller schools. For example,, tho toachor at a school tho average attendance at which is 16 receives at prosont £84 per annum, with no prospect of an increase in salary. Under the. now Bill! ho will find himself in tho second grade, and will reccivo £120, with the certainty of a regular annual increment until ho receives £100 provided that tho attendance'does riot fall. .If it should fall to, say, 14, lio will reccivo, not tho £7G that : would be paid under the present system, but a. fixed £120, tho maximum of the'new Grade 1 into which his school. .would .liavo sunk. . Wo havo taken an extreme case, perhaps, but there cart bo 'no question of tho merits of a

schcrae that works on such a principle so far as the smaller schools are concerned. Tho benefits are not-so noticeable in the large schools, ■ where, however, the need for reform is less urgent. In any system of grading the troubles arising from tha dividing line between grades must remain. But whereas the teacher of a school just abovo a dividing lino may under the present law suddenly fall into a lower grade, and lose in proportion to the oxtent of the fall, he will, under the now system, merely fall back to the minimum of his present grade, and draw his pay as a maximum salary. He will, in short, merely lose the increments on his improved pay. This new grading, with fixed annual increments from a minimum to a maximum, is a very material advance on the present grievous method of penalising the lower-paid teachers for faults not their own. The merits of the fixed minimum and tho annual increment are twofold. The teachers will work with better heart. They will also be less inclined to rush after new posts for a £10 betterment when, by remaining in their places, they will in ordinary circumstances obtain that betterment, and more. Stability will thus be given to the teaching machinery. A useful reform proposed in. the Bill is the gradual elimination of the pupil-teacher system. No doubt the substitution of " assistants" for pupil teachers will cost a good deal of money, but it is worth while spending something to secure greater efficiency by abolishing a very out-of-date system. Wc have discussed only some obvious points in the Bill, and it is very satisfactory that the obvious things are all merits! i The various branches of the Institute will, of course, give close attention to the details of tho new . proposals, and it is to be hoped that Parliament will realise that the relief of the teachers is one of the objects upon which money can rightly be spont. • ■