TEACHERS' RAILWAY PASSES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 625, 30 September 1909, Page 8

TEACHERS' RAILWAY PASSES.

PEOTEST AGAINST DISCONTINUANCE. : Christehurch, September 28. • At to-day's meeting of. the Education Board, ' the Normal School and Technical .Committee reported .as follows on the subject of teachers' free 'railway, passes :— "A circular memorandum was received-from 6tating" that the Minister had decided to discontinue, as from the end of'the ourretit quarter, the concessions hitherto made to teachers to enablo them to travel free by train to attend training; classes'. The communication went on to state'that it .'would still be open for the board to apply .to the Minister . for a coriojssion to meet the temporary purposes of specially arranged short' sessions, such as summer and winter schools. Your commit-' tee very much regret the decision arrivedatby the Department, and., recommend fiiat the board respectfully, but strpngljj' object to the change being made before the 'conclusion of the classes, most of which do hot terminate/until the. end:of November." : Mr.Dalziel referred to the Department's, de-. cision'as a "bombshell," and expressed- the opinion that the board should take further action in the matter, and urge the Department to continue the issue of passes. -The countryteacher's lot was a very hard one, and the discontinuance. of the passes would result in, taking away' from • them opportunities'for improving their• status. The opportunity given' to country teaohers to visit town helped, to, make their lot less unbearable. ~;■ -.'.- i Mr.-Hardy, M.P.I said that, the Department's action, was one of those cases of "backing and • filling" for' which the Department Chad been' so 1 remarkable for a-considerable time. For: the' life', of, him; h« did not know what the'Miiiis>; ter was up to in allowing such action oh the part oflhis'omcers. He did not.think that the Minister had suggested the.Department's-; a<> tion. 'It was one of the most serious mistakes that the Department, had made. The proposal to discontinue-the free passes was one; of, those "penny wise and pound foolish" proposals." They knew that tho Department was spending' .thousands of pounds foolishly, and yet they were applying the-pruning knife to one of the most necessary concessions. He ; hoped the board would stand to its Juns and-force the Department to.; continue. what w.as really a very good thinr>' V ''~ ■•■. "'.•'■' Mr. Opie said that wbercas education fii'NW Zealand was particularly advanced ' for;„ tho, town people, in the country it-was, under greatdisabilities. They had difficulty-, in getting trained teachers to go into the country. In fact, in many of their country'schools, they had untrained teachers, and the only feature about country appointments that made teachers willing to put up with the many. disabilities was'the opportunity afforded'by-free railway passes to spend the week-end in town. He Sointed out how injuriously the Department's ecision would affect tho board's desire to encourage agrionltural instruction. % \ The report was adopted ; 'members expressing the opinion that the objection made in the report' was a sufficient protest. '~.-"