SCHOOL BOOKS

Hokitika Guardian, 7 October 1932, Page 3

SCHOOL BOOKS

the new contract. DEFENCE BY MINISTER, WELLINGTON, October 5. ■ < A derence of the renewal of the school text-books contract and a full explanation of the facts governing the Government’s action were given .by the -.iinister rcvr Education (tne Hon. it. Masters) during -his speech on the A ddr-es-s-i n-Reply motion in the Legislative 'Council to-day. Mr Masters said that the agitation for a reduction in tne price of school books had gone on for years. There were some who believed that the State should not only print the books, but also provide them free for the children. When he took over the portfolio of Education he was faced with two propositions. The first was the extension of the present contract at a substantiajjy reduced .price, and the second was that the Department should provide, a new set- of manuscripts and call tenders for a new set „ of 1 books. He came to the conclusion that a reduction in' the presen contract price was warranted, and at. the same time he was not prepared to order a new set of manuscripts for the purpose of providing . a new set of books, as such a- policy would involve an expenditure of be- . tween £40,000 and £s'. ,000 for the ' parents of the children. After careful consideration of the problem, the Government decided to renew the, existing- contract at a guaranteed- reduced retail price. As a result of the decision' there had been a great deal of agitation from-one end of New Zealand to the other, and it , was clear that the. agitation had been ,of '. propagandist nature. The Master Printers’ Guild was re illy the body behind the fight for new school books. It was not the parents. It had been stated that the --Government should ; Follow the example- of other countries and own the manusorpts of the- textbooks, "but he had iound that the ; countries quoted did not have the copyright, as alleged.- The only country where the Government held- the copyright, so far -as he eould trace, was Italy, and 1 this had been brought about by Mussolini in 1930. <

BENEFIT TO- PUBLIC. Mr Masters said he was- sure- that, the public -would receive the best possible benefit fre \ -me Government’s decision, which ha 1 sen supported by the National Eti-paiiditu/e C ommission. | ihe Commission, which had been eom- | posed of business men had investiJ gated the : position, and had recommended) that the contract should be extended for five ■ years at -a reduction of 25 per cent, ’li had also recommended T/h'at the- Government should buy the- copyrigjit of the books. The actuail contract made' by the Govern-ment-was the extension of the existing contract for four years at ,a re- , ’duc-tion of 22% per cent, in the j.retail j ice to- parents. The reduction was able to ’ apply to the remainder of the existing' contract, which had eighteen months to run. This nneant that during eighteen months there would be- a saving of £7250. The contract pnsured that parents would not he affected by any -change in the exchange rate or Customs tariff. 'Tne quality of the books was also to be maintained. 1 ■ COST OF NEW MANUSCRIPTS. Various estimates of the cost of a new set of manuscripts had been mentioned, but he .-preferred to take the figures of the Auckland School Committee's Association, which had estimated the cost at £5250. The Auckland Master Printers’ Association had stated that it was prepared to undertake to save 25 per cent, on the book® if the Government prepared the manuscript-, but he maintained that the Government had realised a greater saving under the arrangement it had made. The Christchurch Printers’ Guild had estimated 1 the saving at between 30 and 50 per cent., which was a most unbusinesslike estimate. Mr Masters then quoted the prices of ; books in Australia and New Zealand, 1 and said that with one exception the ( Commonwealth prices were higher than > those charged in the Dominion. The * view had also been expressed that the 1 books should be printed by the Gov--1 eminent' Printing Office, but he did not think that that office eould stand up to the competition of the open market in. spite of the fact that it> enjoyed certain privileges, such as exemption from rates and taxes. When tenders wqre called for the ; “School Journal” the Department had made a contract which had saved the Government £2150 a year, and among die tenderers had been the Government Printing Office. Ihe lowest quotation, which had been accepted, was that of the firm which had the contract for the supply of school books. It had obtained the “School Journal” contract in open competition with firms which were at present raising objections to the school books contract. The fact that the books were handed down from child to child indicated that they were of good qualify. It had been ascertained that only 20 per cent, of the new hooks were aur'chased by the children of Well in g'mi last year. INSTITUTE’S APPROVAL. A grfeat deal mud been made of the fact that a majority of the seventy teachers circularised in- Auckland hao. reported adversely on some of the book#, but in view of 'the fact that

there were 1900 teachers under the Auckland Education Board, one wondered why all the teachers had not .been circularised. It- was significant that the books had been approved by the New Zealand Education Institute. The contract had resulted 1 in a saving to the people and a saving to the Gc.yprament. What was more, the saving would continue for a numbe-i of years.- Anyone who realised the needs of the. people of the Dominion and the" fact that over 70,000 were out’ of work would • 'appreciate the action of the Government in -saving them between £40,C00 and £50,000.The contract was based on sound business lines, a-nd had it not been foi the propaganda of those interested there would 1 have been no agitation.