SECONDARY ASSISTANTS' SALARIES

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1458, 5 June 1912, Page 7

SECONDARY ASSISTANTS' SALARIES

.■ . ~.■ ii&THEiGOVERNORS'. P01.N.E.T0.-" , .■ ! £}fc?K : fsl ■ ViEW. : ':f^' .^'^ii , '! '\' •iV'k few days 'ago' the representatives uf .'"secondary, .school assistants assembled in conference at Wellington discussed'. the 'question uf moving for an-increase tatiie i emuhiinent.3 attached to Hiciiv/positioiia. .'■The pcneral merits of the caso ■ wore _ie'viewed in a paper by Jit. G. J.'Limilio, of l'almcj'stoii North,'and hi; the subsc.'qiient brief discussion it was agreed that ; there was I'Ule to add to the ciuo -rs set out by him. Iu his report on secondary education fov the year 1910, llm tlion Minister, for Education (Hon. G. lAwms)" said ■that "at present there wns !io .loubt flint iu many cases (ho salaries paid to n'sistants are far too low.- Efficient n-urk cannot reasonably bo looked for iu a Sfcond"ary, school unless the stalf is suSicidUtly and'we'll paid," and this stateii'Mit was roealled by Mr. Lundie in his a;ulr>t-s. :■" tho salaries paid to tire sti-f!n 'of tho secondary schools arc contvclicd ■by tho. high school boards of govornors, . ■ not the Government. ■' During the course of a convevsntiim wsrh '«,' rupvi'senlative of The Domikiok yesterday, Mv. A. do li. Brandon, chairmiw. 'of the Wellington College and Girls' Iliyh School Board of Governors lint the portion with vesneet to the isaiaries qutition from the board's point of view. Tl.e ; board, he said, had to cut to suit it* clolii. 'I he rovnue from the- ciulowmi'-nts vas .■smull.innd this, added to the amniiiir. received'in fees from the paying i-upiU and from tho Govornment on aocair.it :if tn<> , free place pupils, H>pros°n'»d the- bnnni's iii-oiuc. 'That was the fn>t point. With "ropml to the tcaching stnlf, til-no -Vi-re two points to be considerwl—the qitulily ■of it' Dcrsonncl, and the size of the- classes taught.' Tt was desirable to MCiire the services of th« best.teachers, and H.wis iii.-n desirable that there should be a fiurtciont -number, of these to, render pcjstVle an ■efficient tencWng ■ organisation in Hii> ■ school.■ There were corhiin subjects vhich 'could bo'-rcadily and pfficientlv-'außht to ' largo elates, but Ihore wore ntju-r klI)-. •Ji'C.is, 'nijnin. where a certain aiiiomit nf' ■■■■individual teae-hiiis was iwccf'iiry in ..tin: ■■intornsts of the pupils who wmv weak in those s.; , :'els., ; In other-vonK".in ifn-'.on-nt (Mcliing orßnnisation i.':ipli«;l n ! «iiniraiiiii: sisK! of cln.«-s «•■] ri'iiiiixitrniin ;'s(at)'. Here, this , fundniiienlal iiriin-inm 'was, in practice, actually vovor'cd. To ■cut their coat to suit their cloth they wore carryinir on tho work of secondary education'with <v maximum si* of chiirf, and a 'miuimuni si ■•iff. „■■■ ; * As to the personnel of the staff—ho said this without desiring to cn>t ;>s:y rcflee-. tion upon anyone—they secured' tho services of tlio best men to'be got. for the .money, and. speaking; EL>ne7'all.v, ttiew* "usually left to engage in more liicrativn ■ puraii'ls—law, for fsnniple—-after a , fow vciirs' Service. Ho qvM? ojiitpJ ihat ibn salaries paid to members of tho teaching ■i>rofvssion were too low, but his board' could uot nfford to remedy this so far us. his own mu" was concerned. They rcceivwi from the paying pupils fes nt tho r:vin 'of .£l2 10-., while;thfi fei* paid by the bovornaicnt in ro>pect of <hi« froo place pupil; wpre at the r.itj of -I'll) odd,-so that nccoi-diju: n« the number of }wyinv pupils '■(lei-rcased mid the froo place pupils in- ' created—mid the tendency .--ocniod. to be in .'dint' - 'direction— tho board's income de- ..-■■■ ,i . ~!■■...' ■; : . "Assuming, then," said the interviewer,. "Ihut the assistants press for' incronses lo Dibit salaries, there rail be no Hicf p.v- . rept by way of af-titUineo from the Government?" ■: , J . ■ "Thai; is fC, said Mr. Brandon, tddiiigthnt (lint conliiißeiicy was uot a very .ugiyealile otio to eoulonipliitp.