KARORI SCHOOL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 144, 7 March 1918, Page 3

KARORI SCHOOL

« AN ADDITION—AND A CEREMONY. An addition to the infant school at Karori has just been completed. The ■addition consists of one room only, but a very up-to-date room, and the School Committee held a celebration for the opining of the room yesterday afternoon. The Minister of Education (Hon. J. A. Hanan) performed the opening ceremony. Mr. W. H. Nimmo, chairman of the committee, presided. He said that the committee proposed to ask a favour of the Minister and the Department. They had in hand a scheme for ; the enlargement and improvement of the school grounds, but trey could not complete it • without financial assist- ' auce, and they. intended to ask the Minister to help them with it. Some, of the money necessary had been found by the residents, and they would be asked to provide more, in order that there should be available for the children at the school a sufficient playing area for their school games. The addition of a room to the school would be' a great boonj but it was a pity that the addition had not _ been of two rooms, because the district was a growing ono, and already there were 110 children at the school to be housed in the two infant rooms available. He was afraid that the district would have very soon to ask for other additions. The Minister said lie was very pleased to be present to open the new infant room. The need for additional accommodation showed that Karori was a part of Wellington which was progressing, and be was pleased to know t'.iat there was need for ftill more accommodation for the school. "With regard to the proposed increase of the playground area, lie said that the Department believed in and . encouraged tUG principle of self-help, and it gave subsidies ta those committees who helped themselves in the matter of increasing the sizo of their grounds. Mr. Hanan referred to education expenditure generally. (This portion of the speech is noted elsewhere.) Mr. R. A. Wright, member for the district, said he was glad to hear from tbe Minister that the committee would get help from the Department in regnrd to the increasing of the area of tile school ground. He did not believe that the criticism that bad been levelled against the Minister and tho Department had heen> made with any idea that the Minister or his Department had not done their duty. The truth of the matter was that'the Education Department did not receive a sufficient grant from Parliament to do its work proporh The proper course for tTiose interested in' education to pursue was to stimulate public opinion in New Zealand oil the question. By this' means it. would be'possibleHo bring pressure to bear 011 members of Parliament, who, in turn, would bring pressure to bear 011 the Government to allow Parliament to vote a very much larger sum every year for education than was available now. \ In view of the amount of money that liad been found in the. country for other purposes, it would not be possible any longer to make the reply that the country was too poor to be ablo to afford the extra expenditure. • The chairman at this, stage made the announcement that -Dr. Platts-Millp, who was present, had offered to subscribe tiro sum of £5 .towards the ground fund, 011 condition that five other people subscribed like sums. l)r. Platts-Miljs, who was next called 'upon to speak, advised the people of Karori to agitate for what they wanted. - "You have only to make enough noise about a thing, and you will get it," : she said. The proceedings closed with a vote of thanks to the Minister Afterwards the visitors were entertained at aFtornoon tea, and then they were invited to purchase from a number of stalls that had been set up for the sale of household and garden produce in aid of the school funds. in