EDUCATION AMENDMENT BILL.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 29 November 1927, Page 9

EDUCATION AMENDMENT BILL.

CLAUSE 5 RESENTED BY' TEACHERS. The State Primary School teachers of Hawke’s Bay, in common with others in all parts of the Dominion, are in strong opposition to a certain clause in the Education Amendment Act now being considered by Parliament, whereby teachers will be liable to be arbitrarily fined by their Education Boards for minor misdemeanours. At a meeting of the Hawke’s Bay branch of the N.Z. Educational Institute held on Saturday, a strong resolution of protest against this clause, was passed and this been placed before the local members of the House. The Education Department has published through the Press an explanation that this clause is necessary for the punishment of a few deliquents; and instanced a case where a certain teacher who had - overstayed holidayleave was suspended, but, owing to tho efforts of the Educational Institute, tho Department had to reinstate her. They do not state that in this case there were certain extenuating circumstances, and that the teacher concerned provided, and paid for an efficient substitute. Although tho Supreme Court has ruled that the Educational Institute is bound to take up any case brought before it by a member, it is pointed out that in practice the most careful consideration of each case is made, both by the local branches and by the Central Executive of the Institute in Wellington, before any appeal is made. The Primary School teachers (who apparently are alone affected) feel that the obnoxious clause casts an unwarranted slur on the profession, the members of which are generally recognised as a loyal and zealous body, who give ungrudging service both in and out of the schools, far in excess of tho actual hours of duty assigned to them. There seems sufficient machinery at present iij the Education Act and re gulations, and in the grading system carried out by the Department's officers to control the service adequately without the neee.-sity of placing the teachers in the same category as criminals. Certainly no ’headmaster would willingly ex* rcise such a power to control his staff, ami so break the goodwill now existing. Such an addition to The already rather excessive government of the teaching profession, would be bound to create an atmosphere of suspicion and ill-will between the teaching scvice on the one hand, and Ihe Education Boards and Department on the other.