THE HOUSE

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2281, 15 October 1914, Page 7

THE HOUSE

: After The Dominion "went to press yesterday morning the'debate on the motion to introduce tho, 'Railways Improvement Bill was continued. In the end '--tho Bill was introduced and tho first reading carried oil the voices. The .House rose at 3.2S a.m. Tho House met at 2.30 p.m. Mr. ,B. NEWMAN (Rangitikei) gave notice to ask tlie Prime Minister whether ho would consider the advisability of extending the operations of the Government Insurance Department to include tljo;-insurance of farmers' produce at sea, including war risks. Mr. J. B. .HIKE (Stratford) gave notice that when 'the Railways Improvement Bill was in Committee ho would move certain amendments.

EDUCATION BILL CLASSIFICATION OF TEACHERS LARGER EDUCATION DISTRICTS The Hon; J. ALLEN moved that tho TCducation Amendment Bill, which had been read a second time pro forma, be committed. Ha referred to the main features of'the Bill, embodying the changes in the Government's policy in tho control of education. He would ask honourable members and teachers and others throughout the country to rdaliso the rniportanco of Clause 157, making 1 compulsory the publication of a classification list every year in tho "Gazette.'!' The obstacle' in tho way of a •uniform-system of salaries, and a Dominion schemo of promotion, was the variation in tho method and standard of grading' ;; of ' teachers in different districts. ' 'iTliis obstaclo would now bo got over by the centralisation of the inspectorate. The grading, when completed throughout tho Dominion under this scheme, which ho hoped would be in about June next, would be of a great deal more benefit to the profession than teachers realised from a cursory", reading of the Bill. Tlie classification and grading would presently becoino so comploto that teachers would not any longer bo virtually confined to particular Education Board districts, out Would be available for transfor or promotion all over the Dominion. Ho had not the slightest idea of taking away from boards tho power of making appointments, hut he hoped that the ■classification schemo, with a r-Mitrnlised inspectorate, would free teachers from the - narrowing influences inseparable from the present system of control. This , new scheme would open to teachers a ! wider field, and those capable- of rising would get an opportunity of rising. The committee had decided to strike out the schedule fixing the proposed boundaries for the enlarged education districts, and this work would now hv done by a commission to ,bo appointed for the purpose. Mr. Craigie: "Will they report to tho House ? >'j. Allen said that the commission

.would not report to tho House. If the findings of the commission were to be reviewed by the House, there would bo no finality at all. He hoped honourable members would assist him in his endeavour to reduce the number of Education Board districts, a reform which would do an immense amount of good. He believed that tho time would yet come when it would be deemed wise to divide.New.Zealand into four districts only. He did not say the timo was ripe for this change yet. The difficulties lie had already encountered in reducing the number to eight or nino ha<l convinced him that the reduction of the number of districts to four could not now be accomplished. Ho hoped members would disregard parochial considerations, even if this involved th 6 krjfc of Education Boards in their districts*, and allow the very necessary reform proposed in the Bill to become'law. Teachers' salaries. He spoke of the schedules fixing tho salaries for head and assistant teachers in different grades of schools. He would ask the House most especially to agree to his proposals, which would benefit the back-blocks teachers hi small schools. Their lot was not a very cheerful one, and he thought Parliament should do as much as possible to improve, their conditions. One new. amendment which he proposed to introduce would increase the minimum salary for teachers in Grade I from £100 to £110.., Mr. Russell: How does that compare with the salary paid to officers entering the public service? Mr. Allen: You can't compare them. Another new amendment which ho would ask the House to accept was to pay some house allowance, or rather increased pay, to assistant teacliers who wore married. Indeed, this system was ono which he believed would yet have to bo adopted a great deal .more generally. At any rate, he believed that teachers should be encouraged to marry, instead of being hindered, and the denial of something in the naturo/-of a house allowance to these teachers debarred them from marrying. What ho proposed was that all married assistant teachers, male or female, should bo paid an additional £20 per year. The only exception was that in the case of husband and wife, both being assistant teachers, tho extra payment would be given only to one of them. Women , teachers had been exceedingly well treated under the Bill. On behalf of women teachers it was urged that they should be given opportunity to rise to the highest positions in the profession, aud should got "equal pay for equal work." In answer to that contention, he,would point out that tho man was usually the breadwinner, and for this reason was entitled \to special consideration at tho hands of tho State. The Bill would entail certain increases of expenditure on salaries, and thero was a fear that the Bill would not be brought into operation on January 1 as intended: He did not think, however, that the war expenditure should prevent the Government from paying- the teachers the' increased salaries which Parliament declared they should receive. Ho had been given to understand ' that about'9o per cent, of teachers were satisfied with tho Bill as.it came from the Education Committee.

Opposition members: No, Mr.' Allen said he wished he could have pleased-the other 10 per cent., but he did think a great deal' had been done. Startling increases. He would quote some figures showing the increase in tlie averago salaries, including house allowance, of teachers,' 'from 1000 to 1913 and to 1915. In 1900 the average salary of men teachers was £163 12s. Bd. In 1913 tho average had risen to £227, and in 1915 it would bo £251. This represented . a porcentago increase in 15 years of 53 per -cent. He was not quite suro what was generally supposed to bo the increaso in the cost of living in that period, but he believed it was generally set down at about 16 per cent. lii 1900 the average salalry of women teachers was £85 12s. 6d., in 1913 it was £123 10s., and in 1915' it would be £156—a percentage increaso in 15 years of 82 per cent.. The Inspect&r-Ceneral. In conclusion he referred regretfully to the impending retirement of the In-spector-Goneral. Mr. Hogben had put a great deal of work into our education system, and in spite of what some critics said to, the contrary, this work had been on right lines. Into this Bill especially, which represented tho work of a lifetime, Mr. Hogben had put a tremendous amount, of effort. Ho was sorry that his services as InspectorGeneral would shortly be lost to the State, although he did not suppose that his services to education would be entirely lost.

"A Very Gratifying Bill." Mr. T. K: SIDEY (Dunedin South) said that a Dominion scheme of grading presupposed a Dominion sphere of opportunity. Mr. G. M. THOMSON (Dunedin North) congratulated the Minister and the Inspector-General on the Bill. It was a very gratifying-Bill, and had received the commendation of a very large percentage of those competent to judge, including many of the teachers. The Bill had rightly been called a teachers' Bill, because it met many of the requirements of the members of. tlio profession. There were, no doubt, some dissatisfied teachers, .and thcro always would be. Sut even 6ome of those who had not benefited to the extent they desired would be disarmed by the statement made by the Minister that night. Tho day when the profession was the refuge of those who. possessing a certain amount of book knowledge, were unable to get on in other walks of life had gone, and tho teacher to-day was more of a highly-trained specialist. Tho best men obtainable should bo procured for the profession, and they should bo adequately remunerated. It might bo thought that teachers were concerned about their salaries and nothing more, but ho was <,onvinced that such was not the case.

Qualified Approval. , Mr. H. POLAND (Ob.inemu.ri) heartily congratulated' the Minister ou the advances the Bill proposed on the Acts of 1908 and 1910. However, the Bill was entirely opposed to the institution of districts, though he approved of a council of education. ' He considered that tho number of education districts should be reduced from fourteen. to four or five, but ho regarded tho proposed reduction to nine as playing with a great reform. The system of paying teachers not on their qualifications, but on the grade of the school in which they happened to be was a blot on our education system. , He preferred tho competitive test for tho allocation of scholarships. He believed the minimum salary for teachers should be at least £150, and that the maximum salary should bo at least as high as was paid to tho heads of other Departments in the Public Service. Opposed to Centralisation. Mr. D. H. GUTHRIE (Oroua) said that ho did not see eye to eye with tho promoters of tho Bill. It was surely a deplorable thing that alter thirty years of trial the system of local administration by boards was declared to bo a failure, and boards wore to bo virtually wiped out. All their important powers were to bo taken away from them and centralised under the direct control of the Department. This would have the effect of making the men who had given freely of their services on education boards, and done much good In the education system, lose interest in the subject, and relax their efforts. Ho did not agree with the' proposal in the Bill. Ho did agree in some measuro with tho proposal to reduce tlie number of boards,, but ho did not think districts should bo so largo as to prccludo tho possibility of members having local knowledge of their , wards. Ho approved of, the, .Cougcjl^

of Education, but not of district councils, which would prove to be a "fifth wheel" to the coach. Everyone would realise that much had been dono in the Bill to •improve salaries and staffing, and he thought that even the teachers, when they realised the extent of tho proposed expenditure in these directions, would be satisfied that an effort had been made to benefit them considerably. Although a great deal had been done in New Zealand to further .agricultural education, much more ishould be done. And agricultural education should be made available to the of the peoplo where they could get it—in the primary schools. Sufficient, inducement was not given for men and women to enter the teaching profession in satisfactory numbers. Greater encouragement should bo given to .infant school mistresses. He recognised in the Bill an earnest effort to improve educational matters within the Dominion. Plea for a Small District. _ Mr. R. M'CALLUM (Wairau) speaking of tho proposal to reduce the number of education districts, protested on behalf of Marlborough, which would lose tho last portion of the self-gov-ernment granted it under the New Provinces Act of 1553. Tho difficulty about amalgamating Marlborough in any other district was that it was an isolated district, surrounded by mountain and sea. He did not admit that thero waa muoh in the contention that small districts did not afford teachers reasonable chance of promotion, because in small districts, thero wore just as many plums in proportion to tho number of .■teachers as in large. : districts. He would not be opposed, however, to some Dominion scheme of promotion. He would throw out the suggestion that in those districts which were to lose their education boards, the Minister should leave local offices in charge of, say, a chief clerk, through which local affairs could bo administered. This would be some small solatium for the injured feelings of the people on the loss of their local self-government. Mr. Okcy': That don't do for mo. Mr. M'Callum said that ho did not protend that the arrangement ho suggested would be entirely satisfactory to him, but he would prefer it to total' obliteration. If Marlborough was to bo merged in somo other district, he would lather see it attached to Canterbury than to Nelson. He did not think the Minister should go on with his district council idea. It would not bo wise, he thought, to go on with all tho innovations at once.

A Progressive Measure. SIR JOSEPH WARD (Awarua) said that tho Bill had been considerably improved by the Education Committee. Ho was very glad that the Bill was a really comprehensive measure, and on tho whole a progressive measure. New Zealand bad been gradually getting into lino with the older countries in developing a bettor system of education. As tar as ho could' judge, the increases of salaries proposed in the Bill, in all £106,000, wero considerable in the total perhaps, but small to the individual teachers to' receive the increases. The average increase pin- head would be £28 45., but the increases did not come into full operation far seven years. This meant that the increases of salaries would be at the average rato of something oyer £4 Bs. por year. Mr. Allen: The scheme eomes into full operation at ouco. Sir Joseph AVard contended that the teachers would not get the full amount of their increases at onco. Tho full increases should bo given at once, just as they wore given when granted to other Civil Servants. _ Mr. Allen: That is very misleading, and it is very wrong of you to use it. Sir Joseph Ward said he claimed the right to discriminate right and wron« for himself, and to declare bis own opinion. He repeated that.the.Government should bo more generous, and allow the increases to begin at once. Mr. Massey:' If we did, you would howl about increasing expenditure. Sir Joseph Ward: All I can say is that if tho hon. gentleman brings it down I will support it. Mr. Massey; Will you pledge yourself not to go on the platform and find fault with us for increasing expenditure.

Sir Joseph Ward gave no promise, out suggested that he would be pleased rather than otherwise to acknowledge that the Government had acted wisely m granting tho increases. It puzzled him to know how married teachers lived on less salaries than had been fixed as the minimum for married men in other branches of the Public Service—! Mr. Allen: AVhat is tho minimum in tho Public Service. Sir Joseph Ward: In tho Post and Telegraph Department, I think the minimum is £140. _ Mr. Allen: Do yon know any married teachers receiving less than this? Sir Joseph Ward did not answer this question, but suggested that Mr. Allen could not possibly know that there were no married teachers in the service receiving less than this. Ho contended that pupil teachers' salaries were not sufficient to attract into the service capable young people suitablo for the important work required of them. He was sorry the committee had struck out of the Bill the proposal that tho total salaries of the staff of secondary schools should be not less than £12 10s. per capita of the number of pupils in tho school. Mr. J. M'COMBS (Lyttelton) urged that women teachers should not bo paid less salaries on account of their sex. Mr. T. M. WILFORD (Hutt) said the' Bill was disappointing to him. All appeals "for redress en tho part of the teachers were apparently always met by stony-hearted indifference. ' It seemed that a system of payment by merit and not by the attendance of the school was "the only solution of the problem. Mr. H. J. H. OKEY (New Plymouth;) spoke against the proposal to abolish tho boards. He objected to the adjustment of boundaries being left to a commission, and promised to oppose it strongly. Mr. J. ORAIGIE (Timara) and Mr. T. BUXTON (Temuka} opposed the abolition, of tho South. Canterbury Board. (Left Sitting.)