EDUCATION REFORMS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1584, 30 October 1912, Page 13

EDUCATION REFORMS.

BILL PROMISED THIS SESSION. The Education Committee reported to the House' of Representatives yesterday recommending that the report of the recent Royal Commission on Education should be held over until next session. It was intimated that some of the evidence taken by the commission had not ■yet been laid before the committee. Several Opposition members urged the Minuter for Education (the Hon. Jas. Allen) to go through tho report of the commission with the officers of his Department, and to adopt such of tho recommendations embodied in it' as he thought proper. Mr. H. G. Ell said that, in proposing to rely upon a committee of tho . House, the Minister was apparently seeking to avoid his responsibility as an administrator and looking for a 'lead. Tho Hon. James Allen said he entirely agreed with what tho committee had done, for he recognised that tho committee could not, without the complete evidence, have come to a conclusion upon some of the very important proposals in the report. But did honourable members suppose that tho Government had given effect to none of the proposals in tho report? Did they not know that an Education Bill was coming down this session? Mr: Russell An Education Bill at this stage of the session!

Mr. Allen: Yes; an Education Bill is coming down. He explained that several of the proposals in the Education Commission s Teport had been carried into effect. The junior cadets had been demilitarised. _ Mr. -Eussoll: Did you get that idea from tho commission? Mr. Allen: No, I had it long before the commission was thought of. He added thnt the now scheme of physical training would go on'so soon as appointment,? of instructors could Ih> made. A conference of inspectors had been arranged for at tho beginning of the year. This was nnother proposal of the commission. A scheme of medical inspection had been perfected. It was hoped that there would shortly bo employed five lady inspectors and five medical men to overlook the health of school children. It was hoped that their observations irould supply useful data so that provision might ba made in order that tho growth of our boys and girls should bo better ordered than it would otherwise be. Tho question of free school books had been dealt 'with, and the superannuation Echome had been revised. These wero among tho important it-ems in the report that had been dealt with by tho Government this session. ; Mr. G. Laurenson objected strongly to the proposal to include university professors, who earned as much as "CIOOO a year, in a superannuation scheme intended to benefit teachers, many of whom never earned more than .£2OO a vear.

Mr. Ci. M. Thomson, who hod presented tho recommendations of tho Education Committee, said that the latter body had not failed in its duty. The report was revolutionary in its character. As far as he had seen the evidence, tho findings .wero not based upon it, but upon the ideas of'thoso who drew up the reporf. The members of the committee wore desirous of studying at leisure, during tho recess, tho subjects dealt with in the commission's findings. Personally, he would oppose many of tho findings. Tli report was allowed to lie on tho table.