SCHOOL GRANTS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 273, 12 August 1920, Page 4

SCHOOL GRANTS

THE SCHEME OF OPERATION. Tne Minister of Education (Hon. C. J. Pant, interviewed yesterday iu regard to '.ho new school buildings programme, said it was impossible to deal with u comprehensive programme immediately, and it would be inadvisable (o do so, as the only result would be to flood lha building market with work, and forco tlio cost still higher against themselves. It hud been decided, he sain, tli.it they must work to a plan or scheme which' would extend over tbiee or four years at least. New schools would l>u built and old ones modelled in their order of necessity and urgency. As far back as March ho'. the Department. asked the nine education boards to furnish it with a scheme of their building requirements extending over three years. The boards were to supply lists of the works required, urgent cases being giveu priority. lie regretted, continued tlio Minister, that up to tlio present some of the boards, though four months had elapsed, had not yet furnished tho Department with these necessary particulars. He was resolved that the building programme should be systematic and businesslike, and not haphazard. Yesterday tho Department was again circularising tho boards, pointing out that now work could only be undertaken in order of urgency, and that it was impossible for the Department, without tlio abo\o information, to deal with applications under a systematic scheme. Indeed. ulitil the necessary schedules of their requirements were received by Uio Department, he did not propose to encourage making further grants to the boards, Tho problem was a difficult one. which must be tackled on a. proper system.