The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1921. AN INJUSTICE TO WELLINGTON

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 3, 28 September 1921, Page 4

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1921. AN INJUSTICE TO WELLINGTON

It would perhaps be going a little beyond thb facts to say that Wellington. is;being unfairly penalised because it happens to be the seat of government, but there is net doubt that its treatment where the expenditure of public money is concerned compares very badly with that of some other cities and towns sof the Dominion. An outstanding example is the parsimony the Government is exhibiting in regard to the erection; of the new Technical College—a building urgeptly needed to remedy conditions in which technical classes are scattered over the city in utterly unsuitable quarters. For years past Wellington has been at an extreme disadvantage in this matter as compared not only with other cities, but with many large and small provincial centres throughout the Dominion. The Director of the Technical College (Mr. J H. Howell) has stated that rooms are being used for some of the classes which the Labour Department would not allow to be used as workrooms. At the same time, the scattering of classes must make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to foster the corporate spirit which is an admirable and feature in the organisation and activities of a modern secondary school. If the erection of the new college were pushed ahead vigorously, therd would, of course, \ be no need to say ■any more about the unsatisfactory state of the existing accommodation, blit the apparent danger that work on the new building may be delayed, or even interrupted, for lack of funds makes it necessary to remind the Government that it has a duty to thp city and to technical instruction which it is not entitled to ignore. f When Ministers were interviewed ‘ on the subject at the end of July, the chairman of the Technical College Board (Mr. W. H. Bennett) said that the position was that work on the new building could proceed for ten weeks. Apparently, therefore, there is a danger of the work being brought to a standstill unless additional funds are at once provided. Besides postponing the period at which adequate accommodation will ba available for purposes of technical education, the stoppage, no doubt, would entail a serious addition to the ultimate cost of the building. The duty clearly devolves upon the Government of averting any such delay, and its responsibility is not in ajsy way affected by the failure, of the Technical College Board to obtain the funds it requires by an appeal to the public. A Report presented to the board by Mr.' Howell on Monday evening shows that in point of fact Wellington' as a city is making a generous contribution to the cost of the new college, irrespective of the funds that are now being raised. Including grants still to be made over a period by the City Council, the city will be making a net contribution of approximately £19,000 towards the cost of the building. This, according Mr. Howeli/s figures, is roughly! naif as much again as Auckland lias contributed for a similar purpose, and twice as much as either Christchurch or Dunedin have contributed to the cost, of their respective technical colleges. It is not Wellington’s fault if the new' college on Mount Cook is being built, at, greater total cost than thb buildings' which serve a similar purpose in lot her centres. .

On' the. occasion ‘referred to, at the end of July;, Sib Francis Bell declined for the time being to provide any additional funds for, the Technical College, and declared that primary education had a prior claim to what funds were meantime available. The Minister of Education. (Mr. Parr) spoke of a definite arrangement made in 1918 that the Government and City Council should each contribute half the capital cost of the college building. Both Ministers agreed, however, that the Government would have to come to the assistance of the board “later’' to complete the work. The fact seems to be that the building is costing much more than was originally anticipated, and the Government is obviously not entitled to\ unload upon tbri City Council tho additional liability thus created. The position' is covered-by a statement of policy which the Minister of Education made in August last’ year:

I quite recognise that the burden of education) should fall on the Consolidated Fund as a general rule, but where people are keen, ns they are in many centres, to help their technical school, it is well that there should be legislative for voluntary effort, and I do not propose to withdraw the present right to contribute if they think fit. " \

Since Wellington is making a bigger contribution than any other centre in the Dominion to the cost of its Technical College, the Government ought to be more than willing to provide what further funds are required. It is; of course, recognised that hotter primary school buildings are badly needed hero and in some other parts of the Dominion, but no educational ncqcT of the kind coukh.be more urgent than that which the new Technical College, will satisfy. Looking at tho facts detailed by Din. Howell in his report on Monday evening—notably the grant within the last year or two of £25,000 to the Auckland Technical College, and of another substantial amount to Christ' church Technical College, in each case for additional workshops, while th-' Government as yet has contributed only towards the cost of tho college building on Mount Cook —it becomes apparent that in

this matter Wellington is not receiving ordinary fair play. Even in the existing conditions of financial stringency, the city is fairly entitled to-demand that'the erection of this much-needed building should be pushed ahead reasonable expedition.