The Dominion. TUESDAY, JULY 29, 1913. TEACHERS' SALARIES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1814, 29 July 1913, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, JULY 29, 1913. TEACHERS' SALARIES.

There can be no doubt that the New Zealand State school tcachers have good grounds for assorting that their salaries are not commensurate with the amount and character of the work they are required to perform. Their sphere of activity and their responsibilities are being continually enlarged, but there has not been a corresponding increase in the remuneration they receive. Yet practically everyone admits the justice of their claim for a higher rate of pay. That the teachers are deeply dissatisfied with the present state of affairs was made manifest at tho meeting of the Wellington District Educational Institute held on Friday night, when it was stated that a- pretty considerable sum was being asked from the Government in the. way of increased salaries, Tho teachers seem to

have cxpected that legislation would havo been introduced during the present session with this object, and the recent announcement by the Hon. James Allen that the Government does not intend to deal with such matters during the present year has naturally caused some disappointment. It should, however, be borne in mind that the .Reform Government cannot right all wrongs at once, and it should not be blamed for the shortcomings of its predecessors in office. ,Mr. Massey and his colleagues are pressing forward as quickly as possible with their progressive programme, in which the removal of the legitimate grievances of tho servants of the State has a very prominent place. The increase in the pay of the Railway employees involved a material increase of expenditure in that Department, and the Government is doing its best to overtake tho accumulation of grievances which it has reoeived as a disagreeable legacy from the party which administered the affairs of the country during the previous twenty odd years. Ministers are pledged against extravagance, and naturally are anxious to keep the public expenditure within reasonable limits. True economy does not, however, mean parsimony, and the people of New Zealand have no desire to see efficiency and equity sacrificed in the great Departments of State for the sake of cheapness. It is quite plain to anyone who has any real knowledge of the matter that the cost of education must steadily increase. This applies not only to New Zealand, but to every civilised country. Tho public expect that the State school teachers should bo men and women of culture and character, for the standard of citizenship depends in a very largo measure upon their personal influence and the standard of education they are, capable of imparting. Moreover, tho scope of their work is steadily expanding. In view of these facts, one cannot help feeling that the present scale of salaries is not liberal enough to attract the best available section of the community to the teaching profession. According to the report of tho Education Department for lDll--12, which gives the latest available figures, the average rates of salary for adult teachers in the primary schools wore as follow:—Excluding house allowances and amounts saved in rents where residences arc provided, £148 16s. 5d.; including house allowances and amounts saved in rents, £159 14s. 9d. Of course, this includes small country schools, where the pupils are few and the responsibilities of the teachers comparatively light; but' in any case, under the present scale, the average teacher cannot expect to do better than rise to a position worth about £300 a year,' though there is the rather remote possibility of getting one of the few "plums" of tho profession, to which salaries of £400 or £500 are attaohed. Tho Royal Commission which recently investigated the state of our education system stated in its report that "in spito of the fact that the remuneration paid to teachers has been materially increased during tho past ten years, there has been a practically unanimous demand throughout' the Dominion for an increase in salaries, and it has been very strongly urged that tho prizes at present offered are not sufficiently numerous to attract _ to the profession the most promising young men of tho community." It means that the Minister must ask Parliament to increase tho education vote.

The position of the schools in sparsely-settled' districts requires special attention. Under any system of grading the salaries attached to some of them must be so small that the addition of a few pounds a year would not make any appreciable difference in raising the standard of the teaching. ( Something, however, might be done to improve matters by a system of consolidation which has produced satisfactory results in the United States and in New South Wales. JThis would, to a large extent, do away with the one-room country school. An Education Commission recently set up by the Legislature of Wisconsin states that from the standpoint of administration, finance, general education, and agricultural training, the enlarged school shows the way out of many of the present difficulties,; and the Now Zealand Eoyal Commission points out the following additional advantages:— • (a) The per capita cost is lessened. (b) The average daily attendance is increased. (c) The pupils remain at school for a much longer time. . (d) The teaching time is increased, and the time devoted to home-work is diminished. (e) Better salaries a.re paid, and henco more highly-qualified teachers are employed. (f) The schools are better supervised.

(g) Better material equipment is provided as regards buildings, libraries, heating, and sanitation. The New Zealand Commission also states that many of the Education Boards have given the_ names of country schools which might be consolidated', and "it is evident that the experiment 'might b'e tried with every prospect of success in a considerable number of cases throughout the Dominion, and it is strongly recommended that an attempt at consolidation should bo made forthwith." The Minister for Education has already stated that he has several important education reforms under consideration. It is to be hoped that his first step will be in the direction of a reasonable increase of the salaries of teachers.