COST OF EDUCATION.

Hokitika Guardian, 21 May 1924, Page 1

COST OF EDUCATION.

-MINISTER. ADDRESSES CONFERENCE. WELLINGTON, .May 20. The annual meeting of the New Zealand Educational Institute ojiened today iu the presence of the Minister of Education, Mayor Wright, and Sir J. Lllko. The President briefly welcomed the visitors. In reply, the .Mayor paid a 'high tribute to the services of the teaching profession who, lie said, largely had the destiny of the Dominion in their hands through the training of young life for future citizenship.

-Mr Purr then addressed the Conference, lor the fifth time in his Afiiibtry. lie proceeded to review the past five years. He claimed that in that time progress had been made. There ln'd lieen considerable improvement in the status and conditions of the teaching profession. There had certainly been grc.itlv increased oxjieiiditure. In 101,’i the expenditure was £1 ~'il 1(1,000 while the figures lor the past year were Cd.dl 1,002. an increase of some 250 per cent. Of this aiiiuiint £2.(140.000 went out in sa la lies for primary school teachers or half the total rnioiini •■lent mi education. The Minister held that the country was getting good value on this increased expenditure. Half a million pounds in 11)1!) had been added to the teachers’ salaries, and he wanted to congratulate the teachers on the fact that they had now the beginnings of a truly national system of education. Two or three years ago legislation opened the way of national promotion on a classified scheme, and to-day anomalies had disappeared. The system was being purged every year, by which teachers were promoted on their merits. Hoards might complain of centralisation. hut tlioic was a majority of the Hoards now in favour of the Dominion scheme. The Department had gained nothing by the so-called centralisation. It was all for the good of tlic teachers.

lli‘ was keen to have the grading made as efficient as possible to answer the complaint that uniformity was lacking in valuation or appraisement of a teacher’s i|iialifications. One way of meeting this was the Irmisfer of inspectors from one district to another, for the purpose of getting truer valuation of teachers* work. There 'were not many appeals and fewer still .had succeeded. In the secondary schools there were only two appeals last year. He always mnintaliiictl the principle of promotion and appointment according to grading on efficiency. Regarding .superannuation, Air Purr said that £2.1.C00 had been added last year from the Government fund- to the superannuation fund and fear o! uiisotiudness in the position had been banished. The uncertiticntod teacher was giving way to the trained teacher from training colleges. In some weys ho was sorry lor the unrcrtificatcd teachers, but there was no help for it. In l!)l!) there were .TO7 students in training colleges; to-day there were 12-17; next year he lookeTl for ail output of from 000 to 700 trained certificated teachers from the training colleges. and that he hoped would continue year bv year. The expenditure on training colleges had increased 400 per cent. The next work he believed should be the establishment of training colleges in the country away from cities altogether.