THE TERRACE SCHOOL. A Public Scandal.

Free Lance, Volume II, Issue 88, 8 March 1902, Page 8

THE TERRACE SCHOOL. A Public Scandal.

IT is- now eight months since the Terrace School in Wellington was burnt to the gionnd As vet not the slightest attempt ha& been made to lebuild The Education Depaitment and the Education Boaid seem to wake up every now and again to make a few moves m a game of bluff and then exhausted b} the unwonted exertion, they yawn wearily, stretch themselves out, and go to sleep again There was every reason why the Government should have acted with celerity and behaved with generosity m this mat^ tei

The nit which destroyed the building is believed to have arisen from the combustion of some hay which was left m it when it was iised as a volunteer barracks at the time of the Royal visit It was lent to the Defence Department and it devolved thcrefoie iipon the Government to piomptly provide the means for its re-erect ion After much delay Cabinet voted =£5000 for the re-build-ing of the school m wood But the Education Boaid wanted a brick school which would cost about £-8000

It A\a& a reasonable enough lequest Here was a school, in the very heart of the city, second to none m importance and magnitude and ministering to the wants of a very populous and congested district Situated as it was fire would always be a soiuce of great danger Prudence commonsense, economy itself all suggested the expediency of incurring the 25 per cent additional expense of building m buck to avoid the risk of another total loss by fire Besides. Thomdon had been furnished with a brick school Why then not the Teirace also 9

Useless logic Cabinet had voted A5OOO foi rebuilding in wood and wood it must be Under the cncumstances the duty of the Education Boaid \va^ to thiow the responsibility on the Government, and go ahead with the construction of the school in wood Instead of that, it put. the decision of the Cabinet, under its pillow and went to sleep on it

Meanwhile, who are the sufferers 9 First of all the teachers of the school The pupils have to be divided up between the very inadequate temporary quarters obtainable at St John's Presbyterian Schoolroom, m Uppei Willis-street, and St Andrew's Presbyterian Schoolroom, on the Terrace, the two places being about a mile and a half apart It is makeshift accommodation at the best the head master cannot be m

both places at once, discipline is impaired, the disadvantages are numerous, and the children are rapidly hiving off to other schools. Consequently, the average attendance declines, and the teachers' salaries dwindle m a like ratio.

The children who remain are suffering also They are cribbed, cabined, and confined, penned together like so many sheep, and obliged to submit to all sorts of inconveniences It is a wonder an epidemic has not broken out The cause of education is injured, because many parents keep their youngsters at home rather than send them to school under such conditions And all this results from the apathy and listlessness of Education Department and Education Board Quite recently the Terrace School Committee made another effort to wake up the Board to a sense of its duty The Board shook itself together, and sent across a deputation to the Minister Board wanted to know once more if the new school could not be put up m brick for £8000. Minister gave the old reply that Cabinet had only voted £5000. which, he said, * as enough for a modem building.

But he would once more sound Cabinet on the subject And there the matter rests Meanwhile, the present quarters at St. John's and St. Andrew s will not be available after October next, and, unless great expedition is used m building, Mr. MacMorran and his staff may 'have to try a hedge or roadside school until the Department and the Board can finish their game of bluff. It is really disgraceful that such a state of affairs should be tolerated. And the fault is mainly the Board's, for nothing short of a charge of dyna. mite will move it to prompt action