EDUCATION REPORT

Hokitika Guardian, 15 August 1930, Page 2

EDUCATION REPORT

COMMENT BY MINISTER

WELLINGTON, August 12

The /Minister for Education (the Hon. H. Atmore), speaking, at the laying of the foundation stone of some new classrooms at the Nelson Girl’s College, referred to the criticism directed by the Governors of the College against the unification proposals contained in the Education Report. The Minister expressed regret that the Governors had made their criticism on advice that was not founded on the foict-s connected with the committee’s real proposals, and declared that, while there was an outstanding necessity for unification of control, which the committee had fairly met in its proposals, the committee was strongly against the abolition of all the existing boards, post-primary as well as primary, and was not in favour of a completely centralised Department in direct contact with the schools as suggesed by one of the principal witnesses who gave evidence before the committee. The committee had set out to explore every possible avenue that might offer a prospect of reducing the admittedly excessive administrative cost of the system without Sacrificing the prihciple of local interest find authority, oil wiinii it set a very high value. The Minister snid it appeared to him that tlie choice of the Nelson College authorities lay between tlie adoption of a composite school curriculum or standing up to very effective competition on the part of the technical school, which had been rather neglected in the past.