EDUCATION PROPOSALS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1036, 29 July 1930, Page 14

EDUCATION PROPOSALS

MINISTER ANSWERS AUCKLAND COMMENTS

STATEMENTS BY MR. A. BURNS Press Association WELLINGTON, Today. The attention of the Alinister of Education, the Hon. 11. Atmore, was drawn to a report of the remarks of the chairman of the Auckland Education Board, Air. A. Burns, at a special meeting of the board held last week to consider the education report, in which it was stated that the proposed change in administration “bad been decided solely on the advice of Air. T. B. Strong, Director of Education, who tried to do the same thing three years ago, and that he knew the report had been written by two members of tho staff of the Education Department.”

The Alinister said that he had taken the earliest opportunity of telegraphing to Air. Burns informing him that the report was not written by any members of the Education Department nor had the proposed changes in administration been decided on on the advice of the director. “Voluminous evidence was received by the committee,” said Air. Atmore, “and this and a personal investigation by the committee enabled it to arrive at the unanimous conclusions recorded in the recommendations now before the pub.ic.” Mr. Atmore added that in a hundred speeches he delivered throughout the Dominion months before the Education Committee was set up he personally advocated the unification of control and many other reforms, and the committee had unanimously arrived at its conclusions upon the weight of evidence. The members of the new boards that would be formed would hold more dignified and useful positions as they would control all the three phases of education.