SCHOOL LEAVING AGE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 103, 18 May 1937, Page 7

SCHOOL LEAVING AGE

-Pra»«

Its Raising a "Desirable Step" EFFECT OF BASIC WAGE

(BT Telsgranh-

WELLINGTON, this nay. An announcement that as soon ^ possible. the schopl age would ko waefl tp 15 was made by the MiMhter m, Education, Hon. P. Fraspr, in an address to the New Zealand Educationai Inetitute conference in Weliing: tos y§sterday. The Miujste?' saifl the rptu?n of better times and the d§manfl for labour had brought te Rght some serious problems, and it would fie futiie for the Government to estenfl the possibilitiee of education en thf one hand and allpw boys and prls te Ipayp, sghpol prematurely on the pthgr, The raffiing Pf thp schopl-leaving age was still under consideration j there ppuld be no question about its desirabiiity. It was just a matter ef accommpflatipn pn the one ha&d anfl staffing on thp other, As soou as possible the age would be raised to 15. Aud that ' would not be the end, because fpr a number . oi reasons—the return of prosperity, thi improvement in economie conditions generally, the demand fpr, boy anfl ^rl labour — the question had brought with it some very serious prpbienxs which were r.eceiving the clpse attention pf the Government. Though he considered the position was being exaggeratefl a little, he thought it was quite possible that certain industrial legislation passed with the intention of improving matiere might be responsible. The basie wage legislation left to the court ihe fiaflfig pf thp age and the court fixed it at 21 years, It was quite possible that in some instan.ees, when boys and girls remained at school fpr a particuiar peripd and then entered some profession or industry, at §1 they could not give a seryjee commensuratp with the basic wage. Diffieulties arising from that fgft would hay® to be adjusted,