The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, JULY 2, 1887. Education v. Economy

Feilding Star, Volume IX, Issue 7, 2 July 1887, Page 2

The Feilding Star. SATURDAY, JULY 2, 1887. Education v. Economy

The Premier, Snt Robert Stout, has declared that in whatever direction economy may be forced on Ministers it shall not, be allowed to affect the expenditure on education. He does not give his opponents in this matter, credit for the slightest disinterestedness, but broadly hints at class distinctions between the typical, poor and rich man, as being the root of their agitation. Those who are advocating retrenchment in expenditure on education, do so on the grounds that the colony cannot afford the luxury; not that they do not admire education and recognise its advantages in the purest and doblest sense. In this* connection our contemporary the Post says :• — " The poor man is now being taxed, indirectly it is true, but none the less taxed, to maintain standards of education^ of which very few of his children can avail themselves, and which we venture tp say would, in the majority •f cases, be of very littlo real benefit or advantage to them if they could. The poor man is paying heavily through the Customs, and in other ways, to provide high standards, of education for the children of classes who, joan well afford, tp, pay for such instruction if they require their children tp receive it. -We venture to say that if a return could be produced it would show that the majority of -the children who remain at schepl after having passed the fourth standard are those of . well-to^do parents,, and- that the children of the.poorer classes, who cannot aspire to future civil service, or, commercial clerkships, but .must earn their living by manual labour, are generally taken away from school, if not before, immediately haying passed the fourth standard. Sir Robert Stout" says if the school age was raised or the standard, reduced, country schools would have to be 3hut up and the already poor pay |of tbe teachers ibe stilt ifurther. reduced. Neither would be necessary. There! is ao need of insisting on absolute uniformity, and the exceptional circumstances of sparsely populated districts sould be exceptionally ; dealt jwiljh, while vthe- diminished number {of teachers required would, enable pettier salaries to b© given to those who were retained, while at the same time % great^ saving of expenditure would be attained. , ; rfuch a induction as we idvocate in the, education system would, we are convinced, be for the benefit;, of the poor rather than the rich, would mako the system more practically useful, and would iv every r<.i-.i:-i(!v.vi

way prove beneficial to the colony. With reduced standards the difficulty of finding money to provide school buildings would m a large measure be solved. The present buildings would suffice for requirements for some time to come. 'Whether Sir Robert Stout likes it or not, we are sure that the colony will demand substantial curtailment in the present expenditure on education, and that demand will be thoroughly in the interests of the democracy." -