THE GIRLS’ COLLEGE

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 310, 24 September 1921, Page 13

THE GIRLS’ COLLEGE

MINISTERIAL CRITICISM zMR. FORSYTH IN REPLY • > The chairman of the Wellington Education Board Hr. T. Forsyth has made the following statement in reply to the criticism of the Minister of Education (the Hon. C. J. Parr) concerning remarks made at the last meeting of the board. "The Minister ‘carefully avoids the main issue, viz.: that the work of site excavation, for which a grant has been made, is still being hung up, and in consequence the new Girls’ College building is being held back. The Minister endeavours to show by painful repetition 'that tho Wellington College Governors, of which Mr. Forsyth is a member,’ is wholly responsible for the delay.- Tho Minister, however, omits to state, although the fact is well known to him, that I strongly opposed the cessation of work on the new college site. Admitting that the governors did make a mistake temporarily in stopping the work, it is surely the. duty of the Minister to expedite matters; but the fact is that he. is not altogether free from some.-share of the cause of delay. "The Minister gives a brief history of the facts, which I would like here to supplement with a few additional facts. The first application was made to the Department in May, 1920, an’d on October 6, 1920, the Director of Education advised the governors that "Cabinet has now approved of a grant of <£sooo on account of the estimated cost (.£40,000) for that portion of the new. building which it is proposed to erect in the near future.’ On August 2-1, 1920, tho Department advised the board that 'the Public Works Department was prepared to carry out the excavation as an unemployed relief work. Before Ministerial approval epn be obtained tho Public Works Department is to provide a detailed statement of its proposals for consideration and approval by the board and'the Education Department,' and two copies of plans were asked for. The plans hvere sent in on tho 9th inst., and on the 20th inst. I waited upon tho Minister of Public Works, who informed me that nothing had been done, and only that afternoon had he received from the Minister of Education a mcmemorandum for perusal, and that ho (Minister of Public Works) would have to bring tho matter before Cabinet. ' "I quite agree with Mr. Parr when ho states 'this matter is ,ono of great interest to tho parents of intending pupils’ at our colleges, and I sincerely trust tho Minister of Education will lose no time in approving for the second Kime this important work, and thus facilitate the ,work which tho Public Works Department are prepared to execute immediately. "Mr. Parr states that the Department's officers recently visited both colleges, in order to see What anticipatory arrangements were needed for next year’s admissions, and that Mr. Forsyth ought to know this; but this is the first intimation that. I or any member of the board have had that such a visit was made. I can only hops that having recently seen the great "need for extra accommodation, tho new college buildings, now long overdue, will be pushed on with tho greatest possible speed.’’