MANUAL TRAINING.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4594, 6 August 1923, Page 2

MANUAL TRAINING.

SCHOOL NOT A NECESSITY. REPLY TO COUNTY COUNCIL. At the meeting of the Ohinemuri County Council on Thursday last a reply letter was read from the Minister of Education stating that the necessity for the establishment of a Manual and Technical School for Paeroa had been carefully considered by the Department and he expressed regret that the matter would have to stand over for the present. The Dement stated that it recognised the difficulties under which children at Paeroa attending classes at. Thames were subjected to, and regarded the case of Paeroa as one demanding action as soon as possible. The letter further stated that, the children at Paeroa were relatively well provided for compared with children in other important centres, and that it had shown no favour to surrounding communities. Manual training centres had been placed, not by favour, but by consideration of their probable usefulness and efficiency,, and that; the centres at Waihi, Thames, and Te Aroha had been so placed :n order to serve the largest total numbers with the greatest efficiency. The Department stated that the establishment of a manual school in Paeroa would make little difference to the total numbers served, and would add co the capital involved without diminishing the running expenses, and for those reasons it was not considered that a manual training school at Paeroa was so urgent as to warrant taking precedence over the lists of other primary school works.. The chairman said that if the Department was only considering centres then Paeroa should have its school at once, because it, was a natural centre and a very important one. He was very disappointed at the attitude the Department had adopted, and he considered the reply from the Minister was very unsatisfactory. Apparently nothing further could be done meantime.