STUDENT TEACHERS

Hokitika Guardian, 7 January 1927, Page 4

STUDENT TEACHERS

WILL NOT RE IDLE LONG

CHRISTCHURCH. January 5. Students from the training colleges

who want positions as probationary assistants in the schools will not have to wait long before they obtain employment this year.” said the secretary of the Cantcrlunv Education Board (Air C. Kirk) yesterday. “The usual trouble of placing teachers at the beginning of the school year is anticipated, and it, probably will be several months before nearly all tbc applicants! are absorbed; but it seems likely that all will obtain some sort of employment before very long.” About fifty students had indicated

that they wanted work in Canterbury, continued .Mr Kirk. These included applicants from the West Coast. It would take several months to absorb them all. but it would not be long tiefore most of the higher-graded ones had positions. Others who were not so well qualified would have to he content with relieving posts until the general position became normal again. The relieving positions were created by, there being a mouth in between a

change of teachers. The tcndlier who was leaving was required to give one month's notice, and the hoard needed two months to fill the post permanently again. There were usually about sixty positions in Canterbury under relieving teachers. Against the fifty applications this year there had been twenty-three resignations in December. About fifteen of these vacancies could he filled by probationers. The position had been relieved in the last two years by the doing away with pupil-teachers, allowing of probationers being appointed in their stead. The pupil-teac-hers had come generally from the high schools, while probationers now had had some experience at the training college. The hoard had not selected the probationers for this year yet. but when the results of the matriculation examination were known it would he able to make a selection from the successful students and from those with higher-leaving certificates.

A good many students had had to wait for employment at the beginning of last year, continued Mr Kirk, and a few had not yet obtained permanent positions. There were, however, veryfew who lincl not had some sort of employment during the year.

The number of pupils in the Dominion who would he leaving training colleges this year was about s>o. The fifty coming from the Normal Training College were exclusive of those students whose homes were in Nelson and Hawke’s Rah, as these applicants would return to their own provinces for employment. North Island students had to be accommodated here because of tbe training college at Wellington being overcrowded.