A VERY LARGE ORDER

Hokitika Guardian, 24 June 1920, Page 1

A VERY LARGE ORDER

DEMAND DOR SCHOOL HOSTELS CHRISTCHURCH, June 19. Replying to the various deputations to-day, the Hon. C. J. Parr ' (Minister of Education) said that he had received requests for 52 new hostels from Auckland to the Bluff and that the average cost would lie at least £20,000. A million of money could lie spent—and he did not say spent' unprofitably—in hostels in Nejv Zealand, hut he did not think .that at the present time the •ountry could stand that expenditure jfer hostels. All over the country they had not room in the schools for the children who wished to attend. they needed more primary schools—extension of the present buildings, and scrapping of those that were old and worn out. The Department was not turning down the question of hostels, although it could not look at all of the applications just now. He had asked the Director of Education to make out a list of the eight most urgent cases; then he would see what the Government could do with these. After the first, eight had been built, they would look to the second eight, arid if he remained in office they might have all in eight or ten years’ time.- , - The suggestion that there should be easier admittance to high school training for the young farmers of the future merited consideration. He did not wish to make the entrance test harder—indeed, his inclination was altogether the other way. He wanted to keep every boy, however dull, at school up to the age of 15. Then something could be “knocked into” the boy. In that extra year they could do more for the lads than earlier. That was the time for the teaching of history, civics and economics so that the children would not. fall an easy prey—as so many of the half-educated did to-day—to the soap-box orators with their unsound doctrines. Education was not being carried far enough in this country for the safety of the democracy. The worst thing that could happen in any country was to. have an illiterate democracy or a half educated democracy. The thing that was going to keep New Zealand a safe and proper pla'co to live in was the education of the people along safe and sound lines. That could not he adequately done under the education system as it was at present. He would he glad to place before Cabinet the requisition of the Canterbury College Board of Governors for a grant of £35,000 and for an increase in the annual grant to the School of Engineers. He proposed to ask Cabinet to consider favourably reasonable provision for school engineering. The Minister, expressed his appreciation of the agitation by qualified engineers to ensure that engineering in New Zealand should he done by engineers. Unfortunately much of it in the past had been done by “botchers and bunglers” and the public- had bad to pay | the cost.