COST OF EDUCATION

Hokitika Guardian, 3 October 1932, Page 7

COST OF EDUCATION

ECONOMY IS POSSIBLE. LORD IRWIN’S OPINION. LONDON, September 23. . Lord Irwin, President of the Board of Education, .speaking at a luncheon in connection, with the City of London vacation course in education, said he believed that the economic storm o> which this country had felt the full force last year jvas beginning to blow itself out. There were openings in the clouds—the agreement at Lausanne, 'the success of the War Loan Con-, version, the “recognition by European countriies, tardy* or incomplete as to many of those preaeht it still might seem, of the essential necessity of readjusting views about disarmament” ; the promise of Ottawa. Those symptoms were encouraging but the depression still held and was likely to continue for some time, In one respect perhaps the present difficulties) might hold something, of a blessing in disgijise foil those concerned with education, if they showed them that money and educational results were not always or necessarily coincident or synonymous terms. They would have to look round for means to make the money go farther and, given co-operation, he did not believe it impossible to do this without allowing short-sighted people to inflict serious or lasting damage on the educational system. It was no matter for surprise that people who had no source of income except fitful dividends or business and commerce that had melted away should look with somewhat jealous eyes upon those whose income though not lavish according 'to the standards of. more prosperous days, was yet regular and not liable to the same uncertainties, He did not forget 'fcliat tlmt income had already udergonp reduction along with that of other public .servants, and was subject to the same income tax as applied to the rest of the community, bu’fc it was only fair to recogni:e that such jealousy, and critic ism existed, and that it would be a bad day for education if jmblic opinion generally ever came to the point of questioning the disinterested pursuit on 'the part of teachers of their professional ideals. In his opinion Hie best answer teachers as a class could make to such criticism was to let the country see 200,000 teachers carrying on with their daily jobs, and leaving no ,room for doubt that although 'they were lnvman like everybody else they were ns ready as any section of the et.-fnnunity to take their fair share in patriotic effort and sacrifice,