THE COST OF PRIMARY EDUCATION,

Mataura Ensign, Volume 7, Issue 401, 17 October 1884, Page 5

THE COST OF PRIMARY EDUCATION,

■ : — l* : — [From the * Press.'] A curious return has been laid on the table of the House of Kepresentatives, on the motion of Mr Montgomery, showing the cost of primary education in New Zealand, the Australian colonies, and England, respectively, together with information as to the statutory school age in public primary schools in various I countries. The return is unnecessarily pumbroiivS, occupying, as it does, no fewer that eleven pages, and containing quantities of detailed tabular matter which has little or nothing to do with the purpose of Mr|Montgoniery's. motion. The value of the return as a medium of popular information is almost entirely destroyed by the clumsy manner in which it is prepared, because very few will take the trouble to wade through so lengthy a paper merely to arrive at re-' suits which might more advantageously have been stated in a tenth of the space. In order apparently to save the Department trouble whole paires of figures have been taken bodily out of the annual report of the Minister of Education which was published some months ago and reprinted in this return under their original, headings, "Fl," "F 2," "A 2," and so forthwith occasional references to "E 1, 1884, p. vii." etc., etc. The effect of all this circumlocution and repetition is to place before the bewildered reader crude masses of involved information, out of which it is difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain the simple facts contemplated in the motion for the return. One important item of the information asked for, namely, the cost of primary education in New Zealand from 1877 to 1883 inclusive, is not shown anywhere in a condensed form, but has to be computed as best it may from " Table F 2, Summary of Boards' Expenditure {(E 1, ! 1884, p. vii.". No , allusion, moreover, is ; made to the cost of the Central Department. It is not very creditable to the ■ officers of the Education Department in : Wellington that they shauld thus have) shown themselves incapable of Jfurnishing: the House with information in a handy; form, which a smart clerk ,i in the Treasury or the Post Office would have.com-; piled in a few hours. ■■'■ They have only : themselves to blame if an impression pre-j vails that they are not particularly anxious to let it, be commonly known ' how 1 milchthe Colony is" paying . and lias paid for! education, j According to. our calculation ,the cost of primary education in New Zealandj has risen from L270,170 "in ' 1877 'to 1 L 370,762 in 1883, and has amounted in round figures during those seven years to an aggregate .-of 1*2,409,017. Of this sum L 676,737 was spent on school buildings, leaving L 1,732,280 ,as the actual cost of management by boards (L68,084)i inspection and examination (L 55,124), and maintenance L of schools (L1,609,060)> Coming next to the annual cost per scholar maintenance of primary education in New Zealand, Australia, Englahd,and America respectively, we find, the comr parison stands thus .: — ,

The figures, given for England, howj ever, do not represent the true state of the case, because thly do not. include, as : explained in another part of , the report, the cost of administration by Boards or Committees; : or that - of training and scholarships, all, of which are included in the- colonial returns. The figures .given, for South Australia and New South Wales, too, are' somewhat puzzling, because in these two colonies school f ee;s are paid. In the memorandum of the Secretary of Education it is stated th4t " in New South Wales there are fees not exceeding 3d a week' -for each child up to four in a family ; all over four are free." The fees are received by the teacher* and paid into the Treasury. A resolution was passed by the Lower House lately that no fees are to be paid in future. In South Australia there are school fees of 6d and 4d a week, with a remission for those unable to pay. Fees go to the teacher, except where he is paid a fixed salary." In the comparison given above it is explained that school fees are included in the expenditure of New South Wales and South Australia. On the whole, the return may be taken to show that the cost of primary education in New Zealand is about the same as in other countries similarly situated. As to the statutory school age in various countries, we find the comparison stated thus, the first column showing the ages between which children . may -attend public schools and count in average attendance for grants, and the second the ages between which, it |s compulsory on their parents to send them to school ; — England ... 3 and 18 5 and 13 Scotland ... 3 „ 18 5 „ 13 New Zealand ... 5 „ 15 7 „ 13 . Victoria 3 „ 16 6 „ 15 Queensland ... 5 „ 14 6 „ 1? hew South Wales 4 '„ U 0 ; , }4 From this it appears that we are rather behind the rest of the educating world, if, indeed, it be a sign of advancement to send children to school before the have fairly emerged from babyhood, which is at least open to question. In America, we learn, the school age yarjeq in tlip different States, as a/ rule,' 'it begins at; five or!" six arid' ends at twenty or twenty-one, Americans evidently regard the later education of children as i ( of far more importance than the earlier ; ) ; and for that reason the compulsory period i \is fixed in the vast majority of instances

at from eight to fourteen, whilst in no fewer than twenty-one States the pupils are allowed to remain at school uni il they are twenty -one. No large proportion, it is true, take full advantage of this op- , portunity; but- great numbers .attend till they are fifteen, and after that the admirable institution of evening schools pnables them to continue their education while gaining their livelihood or learning a trade.

New Zealand ... M 3 6}; I Queensland ;. 4 3 8J • I New South Wales : 4 5 0 ' Victoria 4 8 10 South Australia 4 4 4f \ England 2 3 9£ i New York 3 18 0 i Massachusetts 4 ■■6 J . 2' ' California 5 5 3.