School Inspection.

Manawatu Herald, 8 February 1898, Page 2

School Inspection.

In different ways and different place? the very unsatisfactory plan of school inspection gets criticised. That the present system is an objectionable one is admitted by nearly all teachers and most of the school committees, and appears to be only held in favour by the Education Boards as it retains to them that patronage they so dearly love. A good time is coming, and further agitation towards effecting a change in the direction of severing the connection between Boards and Inspectors is being mad a. This time the movement has origi nated from Eltham, where the committee has issued a circular to other committees. The circular says "It has been decided by the above com mittee to bring under your notice the advisability of agitating to have the staff of School Inspectors in New Zealand brought under the control of the Education Department in Wellington. The present system of having inspectors for an indefinite period in one district is subversive to the beat interests of our Education system. However fair minded and impartial an officer may be, a con rol over the same staff of teachers for I years inevitably leads to bias. This

question has already occupied con gidfrablo attention in tur TYftrhprs 1 Institute, with (he result that the profession is almost unanimously io favour of 1 tha change." The Elthatn Committee then moved "That the various School Committees be com municated with, with a view to having united action taken for the purpose of placing the Inspectorial Staff under the authority of tho Education Department." What stepa they will recommend remains to be seen, and will probably be affected by the teplies received from the committees. At the last meeting of our local committee the letter was considered, ant) the following resolution passed which explains itself — " That in the opinion of this Committee the present system of having the same Insppctors for an indefinite period in a district is subversive cf the best interests of our Educational system and that the Staff of Inspectors should ba brought under the control of the Education Department in, Wellington." If anything further was necessary to convince parents of the necessity of some periodical change in Inspectors we should imagine that the unfortunate occurrences at Hawera need only be instanced.