TAKEN TO TASK

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 134, 3 December 1929, Page 13

TAKEN TO TASK

EDUCATION MINISTER

UNANSWERED LETTERS

A complaint that the Minister of Education (the Hon. H. Atmoro) shows au "apparent disinclination" to reply to letters addressed to him is made in "National Education," the official organ of the N ew 2ea]and Educational Institute.

"It is with considerable reluctance," says the paper, "that we have to call attention to a matter concerning the official relationships between the present Minister of Education and the New Zealand Educational Institute. We- refer to Mr. Atmore's apparent disEh? i° n *? reply t0 lettGrs addressed «ri y tUo executive. For many years past the instituto f«t bei| n Privileged to address the Minister of Ldueatioii, in writing, on various matters connected with the professional interests of its members and the general welfare of education. To ttiese communications a reply even if but the briefest of acknowledgments, invariably has been received. The institute s correspondence with the Minister ana his Department is part of the routine of its official business. With each question raised, and answer received, an act is completed which may oo vital to the development of the institute's policy, and, possibly, of the Government's. Such exchanges of views are very valuable, -riot only in maintaining contact with Minister and Department, but in placing on record expressions of opinions, decisions and commitments for the future guidance of tho teachers on the ono hand and their official directors on tho other Hence the institute's concern at the Minister's remissness in replying to its communications.

"CONVERSATION WITH A WALL." "It is obviously impossible to conduct a one-sided correspondence for any length of time. One might as well endeavour to carry on a conversation with a wall. The non-receipt of replies of letters which have been addressed to_ the Minister has compelled' the institute, to tho prejudice of the protession ana of education generally: to mark time on .certain important questions. _ On Ist February, at a personal interview, tho executive drew the Minister s attention to certain anomalies m the regulations. At his own re- ? u?, st! n t, llGro was addressed to him on 16th February a long memorandum explaining these anomalies in detail. To this no reply has been received. In consequence of-this; the injustices complained of tend: to become established and moi-o difficult to remove. Meanwhile, new regulations have been promulgated without that consultation which haa been promised to the institute in the past. Incidentally, one series, dealing with the altered condition for the proficiency examinations, has since had to be postponed by the Minister.as the result of protests. This need not have occurred had the institute been consulted before the regulations in question were gazetted. AN IGNORED HINT. "The Minister not only has been unaccountably remiss in replying to the institute's memorandum on regulations, and to written reminders on tlia subject, but also has ignored the delicate hint passed to him by the- president of the institute at tho August interview when Mr. Poison said:— ' " 'There is one other thing I would like to say: at our January meeting we placed certain things before you in regard to the question of regulations. A letter has been written, at your request placing before you a very complete' statement of the case. In May we again placed before you by deputation the matter of reorganisation and another matter which has been causing us considerable concern—tho matter of half-pay allowances. So far you have not been able to reply to these representations made to you. We recognise that you have been a very busy man since you took office. You- wisely spent a very great deal of time in going through the country inquiring into the needs of education, and since then you have had your time taken up by various unforeseen things. But we hope, Sir, now that you are definitely established in Wellington, that you will as soon as you reasonably can give us your findings on these matters which we havo placed before you to-day, as well as those which have been placed before you on previous occasions.' "On 12th October last a letter addressed to the Minister on the subject of salary schemes appears to have been handed to an official of the Department for.reply, instead of receiving the attention of the Minister. "We would suggest to Mr. Atniore that a stricter attention to routine correspondence between himself and the institute is altogether to his advantage and a contributory factor of some importance to the general efficiency of his Department, He may possibly differ on the point. In any ease, the institute is at least entitled to the courtesy o± a reply to its communications."