NATIVE SCHOOLS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2214, 18 October 1907, Page 1

NATIVE SCHOOLS.

AIR DARTON’S ALLEGATIONS

REPLY TO THE MINISTER

'lnterviewed by a “Times” reporter yesterday Air Darton made the -following reply to tho Minister of Education :

“A letter to the Hawke’s Bay Education Board from tho -Secretary of the Education Department under dato of 6th June, 1906, -reads as follows: —‘At nearly every native school

in the colony there are European children attending .... certainly it would not be practicable to establish separate schools for these alongside Native schools and the Government lias always declined to grant funds

for duplication of this kind ’ In the face of this assurance of the Department tho European children have either ito attend tho Native schools or go without education altogether. The Europeans have, therefore, every right to demand that tho native schools should be conducted on the •same lines as the Board schools. Tho European taxpayer Ins also the right- to object rto a system that causes such a needless waste of pub-

lic money in carrying on two systems of school management when one should bo sufficient. The Board Inspectors have to pass by the native schools which they could easily examine, and -the .native s:?hool inspectors have to travel over the same ground, and their fifteen shillings a day travelling expenses have to be met by the European taxpayer.

“Tho Minister accuses mo of a ■ant of knowledge of the subject, but

ic concludes has own letter with the Following:—‘l have not had the oplortunity of acquiring great personal inyone who knows anything about

■the subject such a sentence was superfluous, but one would have thought that a Minister who has to acknowledge such a state of ignoranco would have deferred rushing into print until he had acquired tho knowledge of flic native schools.’ To necessary information. The Aliiuister challenges my statement regarding the cost of teaching in tho Board schools. He says:—‘With regard to this I -need only remark that anyone who commits himself to a statement that the cost of Public school educa-

tion is £3 2s Id per head h is obviously' so little knowledge of the subject as to be quite unentitled to speak about it.’ In reply I beg to refer to page 7 of the Departmental report which states:—‘Europeans.— Total roll number 138,386;’ and on

pago 9: —‘The total of all the salaries and allowances at the rates paid ■at thp end of the year was £431,089 13s. This includes the salaries and lodging allowances of pupil teachers as well as all salaries, house rent and other allowances paid to adult teachers.’ This small division sum gives £3 2s 4cl per pupil on the roII.Q.E.D.

“Tho Minister objects to my statement that tho Department have not hampered their net offspring, the natives cliools, with such conditions as payment on average attendance, yet in the same report, page 2G, we find this statement, ‘New scale of salaries has -been approved approximating to that set forth in the schedule to the Education Act, 1905. The effect will be to produce a move even distribution of tlie amount paid as salaries.’

“In the last report (to hand this week) we find on page 25 tint, ‘The new scale approximating to the colonial scale was issued to come into operation at the beginning of 1907. The Minister therefore admits that the system was not in operation nn 1906. In Board schools the salary is fixed by average attendance and if that average attendance comes down tlie salary is reduced accordingly. I would ask the Minister is this the case with native schools. If not the native school teachers are not paid on average attendance. “lle the supply of biscuits to native schools: .The Minister statesthat there -is no truth whatever in this statement, hut it has already been proved through the public press that the statement is entirely true. Perhaps the Minister lias been deceived and the expenditure shown as something else—in fact a native school teacher informed me that it liad been shown as “school cleaning. However, T do not wish to deprive the poor little kiddies of their biscuits and other luxuries• suppled by a maternal Department, I only wish mil the cliildrren were served alike. “Begirding the conduct of native schools: I have personally received many com plaints regarding the sanitary arrangements of native schools. The Hawke’s Bay Education Board were informed by the Nuhaka settlers that for five'years the boys and girls only had one place of convenience, and that mas locked up. An inspection of the list- of persons employed as native school teachers shows a very large percentage to bo nncortilioated, and it is impossible to expect tbe same standard of work to be turned out as is done by tlie Board’s certificated teachers. The results speak for themselves.

“I would draw your attention to a few items in the list of expenditure on native schools last year on page 106 of the Estimates:—‘Books, sewing material, and other requisites, £617; special allowances to teachers ill isolated districts, £109; travelling expenses (including tho removal of teachers). £lo2l.’Non,, of these items of expenditure would be allowed to schools under the I3oard s control.