Untitled

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume IX, Issue 1012, 15 December 1881, Page 2

On Tuesday, the 6th instant, some remarks appeared in our columns with reference to the Uawa Public School, being communicated to us by our local correspondent. It has since been represented to us that these remarks are not correct. The school is under the Native School Department, and the teacher, who has been nine years at the work, has never said that he grants a favor by admitting European children. He well knows, as we all know, that all public schools are open to all children, of whatever color or race. It is not likely that the Government would maintain two schools in a small community like that at Tologa, so that were the present school transferred to the Napier Board of Education, the only difference would be a change of Inspectors and local Committees. The School would still be open to Maori children and European children alike, as it is at present, without any favor on the part of the teacher. During the year now drawing to a close there have been 39 Maori and 21 European children at the school with more or less regularity. Some, but not all the European children have been lately withdrawn, from a very natural dislike on the part of the parents to have their children associate with Maoris. That dissociation cannot be attained at any public school. The only way European parents can have such exclusion is to do as our correspondent says they would “ gladly do,” that is, establish a private school, and pay for it out of their own pockets direct.