SECONDARY ASSISTANT TEACHERS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 235, 28 June 1919, Page 4

SECONDARY ASSISTANT TEACHERS

STATUS AND PAT.

WOMEN. TEACHERS' OPINIONS

On Thursday there was a full attendance of the Wellington Girls' Collego assistants at a meeting held to discuss tlie proposals brought forward in tha pamplnet issued under the Secondary Assistants' Association, in connection with the status and pay of the secondary school teachers. The following resolution was passed . unanimously :-"That the assistants of the Wellington Girls' College heartily approve in the main of the recommendations embodied in the enclosed pamphlet, that the salaries of teachers in secondary schools should be augmented by means of an increased capitation grant." In drawing up this resolution the following reservations were made::—(a) As this movement aims at raising the status of the secondary school teachers to that 'of a profession, in fact as well as in name, it is suggested that; as in other professions, men and women should be paid equal salaries for equal work; and . that tlie salaries of men and women should rise by equal annual increments, (b) The general opinion is that a graded 6cheme will be a very doubtful blessing, as past experience shows that the Department is to classification based on salary (quota). Such a scheme at once condemns lower salaried women to the lower. positions on . the list. From a woman's- jioint of view no scheme at all would be infinitely preferable to such an or.ce. The pamphlet certainly advocates a good scheme based- more on efficiency and service, but will the secondary assistants prevail if the Department, as heretofore, prefers a classification based on salary? Further, it is a -well-nigh impossible .'task to classify teachers, for they cannot in actual practice be set down in order of merit. The methods adopted in classifying must necessarily be mechanical andwooden, and therefore special or unusual qualifications . will generally' be passed by -unnoticed. The following are some of reasons brought forward in support of the claims made for equal salaries for. men and'women. In view of the recent developments in Great 'Britain and America, and in the professions all over the world, the differences between the men's and women's salaries, as set forth in the pamphlet, are too great. In England, a Government Commission, set up to investigate the question of women's pay in the' Government service has declared for equal pay for equal work, plus a bonus for people with deppndants. At the recent annual conference of the National Union of Teachers in England, a motion in favour of equal pay was carried by a large majority. The clause in the' League of Nations also.advocates this principle. Further, the discrepancies between the salaries of single men and single women -should be amended.