Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, JUNE 17, 1899. The Education Board.

Manawatu Herald, 17 June 1899, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, JUNE 17, 1899. The Education Board.

, 4 The Wanganui Education Board appears to be trying to put its house into order, more by force than choice. The effacement of the Truant Inspectors is to be commended, as from our experience of such an officer he appeared but as the mouth-piece of the school, roll, knowing nothing of his own motion, and thus occupying a place and receiving a salary which could be occupied by the head teacher. The Board has announced its intention to do something in the place of the to be disbanded inspectors, and they had better place their teachers in that position. The idea of having inspectors was to take the unpleasant task of summoning parents from the teacher, but now it is fully understood that the teacher marks the roll, and the roll is the only evidence tendered, so that the teacher who is only doing his duty in marking the absences of his scholars, would be only doing his duty in attending Court— in fact the Truant Inspector has had the headmaster generally at his elbow when in Court. We have always pointed out how unnecessary this appointment has •been, and we are glad the Board ius

now viewed the matter in the same light. The Truant Inspectors have not succeeded, at any rate in this district, in discovering children who never attended school, in fact never gave any time to this duty, and every case heard in the Court has been simply for absences according* to the school roll. The Board has had a revelation as to how reports and certificates are tampered with by teachers in the Greatford scandal case, and at the last meeting arrived at the conclusion that for the future the pupil teachers under their own hands should send in monthly reports as to what they are taught and the times they are taught by the head-master and to be countersigned by him. Possibly this may lead to better progress on the pupil's part. The Board has not made public their reason for arriving at this new order, but the reason seems plain. It is unfortunate that the headteachers should be mulcted in pay, but if a reduction was imperative the Board acted best in attacking their best paid employees. It is only at times that a huge machine like the present Education Board gets moved to action, but now a slight attempt has been made at re-organisation we hope they will proceed further. To the interest of some one, we know that the ages of scholars are very incorrectly given, and at the last Inspector's examination at the local school there was a boy of seventeen years of age present and who only passed the Third Standard. Teachers want to exercise more scrutiny in these matters, as a lad of that age in a low Standard, comprised of mixed sexes, may become a danger to his companions, but in this case we are glad to know he has had intimated to him that he is above school age. It would be a good thing if committees went through the roll at times and assisted the teacher with their local knowledge in this respect.