The Manawatu Standard PUBLISHED DAILY.) Suivant la verite. THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 1883. CUMPULSORY EDUCATION.

Manawatu Standard, Volume 4, Issue 94, 29 March 1883, Page 2

Manawatu Standard PUBLISHED DAILY.) Suivant la verite. THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 1883. CUMPULSORY EDUCATION.

■o In Wellington drastic measures are being tried m carrying out the compulsory clauses of tbe Education Act. To our mind such proceedings present several objectionable aspects, chiefly m the manner ot their being carried out. We contend that uniform vigilance should be ex rcised m the effort to obtain the regular attendance of childien of school age. The chief evil lies m allowing the compulsory clauses of the Act to remain for a considerable time a dead letter, and suddenly put them m lorce with abrupt and almost violent stringency. There should be more attention devoted to systematic looking after absentees all the year round, instead of periods of abnormal severity being followed by seasons of exceptional laxity. Then, again, when children absent themselves, immediate inquiry should be made as to the cause, instead of allowing the absence to remain unexplained for perhaps weeks together. Were a better and more equable system introduced and acted~upon, the necessity for the, compulsory clauses would not often reveal itself. A correspondent of the Wellington Post points out that a preferable system is m vogue m one of the Australian colonies, where " school-* visitors " are appointed to certain districts, whose first duty it would be to take a census of his district, ascertaining inmates of each house, names, number ot children (if any), ages, and what school tbey attend. In this way the visitor knows exactly how many children there are m his district. When the census is finished (it is gene«« rally taken twice a year) his next duty 1 is to compile lists ot the children's names, and visit the schools they were said to attend and find ont if such were : tbe case. Should he have been misinformed, which often occurs, a printed notice is sent to the parents by the Education Department informing them what the law is, and stating that proceedings will be taken against them m the Police Court unless the child is Bent to school at once, and the visitor follows the notice up on his rounds and sees that it is complied with. The teachers of Government Schools are also obliged to Bupply the visitors on every Friday evening with lists of each child's attendance during the week, and the visitor's duty is to visit the parents of those children who have not been regular, and learn the reason. If sickness is pleaded, it must be proved by a medical certificate, or m some other equally satisfactory manner ; other ex* cuses sucli a* "no boots," "kept to mind baby," or "at work," are not entertained. The Education Act obliges children between the ages of 7 a,nd 13 to attend school 35 days m each quarter ; at the end of this term, parents whose children have not complied with the Act are summoned before a committee, consisting of the Minister of Education or the Inspector-General of Schools and the " visitors." The excuses given each week to the visitor for the district are then considered, and if extenuating circumstances crop up,parents are let off with a caution, but should the next quarter's attendance prove bad, the parents are then brought before the Police Magistrate, who generally fines them heavily. Bad cases are, however, summoned without any delay whatever. As an instance of the efficacious results attending the system, it is stated that at one of the large Government schools, where there are between 500 and 600 scholars, there were only twelve who I had not complied with the law at the end of the September quarter, 1881. I I In, the country districts, children living

vithin a radius of two miles fom a j mb'ic school art obliged to attend same ' $5 days m each quarter. Visitors from c he capital of the colony are told off at sertain periods to census new districts, nid to hunt up those children who have -, seen irregular. In a populous mining ( listrict the attendance at the public £ school after the compulsory law was i .nforced increased from 250 to nearly 600 children. At present the system I throughout tha sister colony is m per- i feet working order and cannot be im- ' proved upon. With the admittedly ob« jectionable and nnpleasant features which charact rize the present working of the compulsory clauses of our Education Act, any practical reform m the system now m vogue would be welcomed by the whole community, and should be promptly given effect to by the Legislature.