The Daily News. TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 1901. THE TEACHERS SALARIES COMMISSION'S REPORT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 182, 13 August 1901, Page 2

The Daily News. TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 1901. THE TEACHERS SALARIES COMMISSION'S REPORT.

The report; of the Teachers Salaries Commission baa tlie merit of being framed in a businesslike and methodical manner. It appears that 38 sit- 1 tings were held." and 150 witnesses examined. The first point noted is the necessity, of a colonial scale, and on this head the Commissioners state that the evidence taken showed that the salaries of teacHers througlaaut the colony were steadily falling as a result of the frequent changes made by the Boards in their regulations, while in the British Empire the change was in the oppssite direction. The Commissioners therefore were onvinced that) discontent existed amongst the majority of teachers, but whether a colonial scale would remove that feeling remained to be seen. The soak of atafi and salaries submitted with the report shows that small schools cost relatively much more than l*rge ones, thus enabling certain Boards to pay higher salaries than where the average number of pupils in each sehool is small. Wjtb regard to the varying cost of. living in different parts of the oolony the Commissioners consider that at the present time it doeß not require recognition, and the rapid improvement in means of transit will still farther reduce any existing irregularities. The Commission con- [ cede that the existing capitation grant of £3 15s is insufficient and therafore base the colonial scale on a £4 payment for each child in average daily attendance. With regard to the administration of educational fnnds by the Boards the Commission condemns the practice of transferring portions of the general fund to building fund and considers snnh a course should be discontinued. In making provision for the fund for purposes other than the payment of teachers salaries the Commission adopted the suggestion of the Inspector-General to allow each Board £250 with a capitation of lis 3d on the total average attendance of the schools 111 _ «®ch district. By this means it is conzidered the'financial position of the smaller schools will be much strengthened, and the total increase be beneficial* in all cases. It is estimated that the sum required will be .£66,108. This amount, which is practically allowances to Boards, when deducted from the £450,000 which, on the returm for 1900 was the available income, leaves £384,882 for salaries. The commission prepared two schemes having the same general feature?, but differing; in the amount proposed as salaries for teaohera in schools where the average attendance vas over 20. While strongly recommnding scale No. 2, which involves an augmentation in the grant for salaries of £13,425 over scale No. 1, owing to the order of reference necessitating the construction of a scale on a £4 capitation basis were compelled to go reduce salaries as to bring the total expenditure within the £384.882, and with scale No. 1 this is accomplished with £llß to Fpire. They urge, however, that the grant for salaries and Boards' allowances shall be raised to a capitation of £4 2s 6d, so as to provide for [he adoption of fcale No. 2, nnd to increase the Boards' allowances to 12a per capita, with the addition of £250 to each dis'rict with an average attendance not exceeding 8000. Both scales provide for a g ant of £5 up to an average attendance of 20. This, is decidedly a move in the right direc- • tion, and will bo of great benefit in

making proper provision for education in sparsely populated districts where schools are just as much needed as in the large centres. In all schools with «n average not exceeding 30, male and female teachers will receive the same rate of pay, and above that nurnbar the salaries of women teachers have been made to approximate more closely than formerly to these paid to male teachers in similar positions. In this latter grade the salaries will range from £lO3 10: i t0.£135 underscaleNo. 1, acd from "'£lo4 to £l4O under scale No. 2. In tfc« third grade, schools of over 30 and it: <"er 40, a different sea 1 a beginp, the ealaiies for masters ranging from £135 to £155, and for mistresses £135 to £145, scale No. 2 providing an additional £5, These three grades of schools constitute nearly |j-shs of the primary schools, and the salaries provided are considered sufficient to attract teachers of increased capacity and training. In schools between 50 and 90, the cost of staffing varies from £250 to £315, and though somewhat costly, the Commiesienere deems it important that the highest efficiency should be secured for country EchoolF. Out of 1,674 primary schools, in only 263 is there an average attendance of between 91 and 1,020, while only one school reaches 1,000 In relation to large schools, an opinion is expressed adverse to their existence, a mixed school, moderate in size being deemed to represent the highest type of primary school, 700 being the limit. The maximum sjlary under scale No 1 is. £374, and at only two schools will the masters be entitled to this maximum. In only a few cases throughout the colony will scale No. 1 render a reduction of salaries necessary, and even io in these cases the Commissioners recommend that two years shall elapsa before the reduction shall take effect. 1 The salaries above mentioned are irrespective of rental value of residences, or of house allowance. There are 351 schools having an attendance over 20 where no residence is provided, and it is recommended that house allowances be paid to the teachars-afe those schools out of the building fund, and not out of the capitation grant. Those allowances, it is suggested, should be, on a graduate! scale ranging from £2O, when the attendance does not exceed 50. to £SO when it is not over 420, and it is estimated that this provision will absorb «l>ouV £BOOO per annum. In all probability i tome teachers will'find it more to th*ir advantage to receive the aliovar,eel than be provided with a residence. With regard to assistant teicherp, tha! Commission consider it is indi-p&nsibl.i tbat the first) addition to the staff of the school '■hou'd be a s?uty quil fiol afsistan*, therefor'-, as soon as the average attendance excaeds 40, instead of providing a pupil teacher as at prosent, an assistant; mistress should ha appointed at a salary commencing at £BO a year at least. The salaries of 4o not vary with each unit of attendance, b'>t according t3 tha grade of the srhoo's, The iep irt is decidedly adverse to the present pupil teacher system, and in this respect it 'will have the concurrence not only of those who are specially qualified tp express an opinion on educational matters, but also of the large majority of .parents. It has at last bean driven into the: minds, of educationalists that if children are to be thoroughly, educated they must receive the best available teaching in their opening yetrs of school life, and therefore the change advocated ia the report is one that is based on sound lines. The Commissioners recognise, however, the necessity ot training recruits for the service, < and they recommend that the age and qualications for entrance should be raised, that the period of apprenticeship should be shortened, and that a uniform systnm of examination ba instituted. That immediately after the pupil teacher course the training should ba continued at technical schools for teachers, which should be established in each of the chief centres, by removing the pupil teachers from the staff of primary schools and substituting a certain number of qualified ex-pupil teachers. More advanced instruction in theory might well, the Commissioners consider, ba left to lecturers on the soience of education in connection with University colleges. The Commissioners evidently had strong convictions on this matter, but the remedy suggested is one that will probably invoke much criticism, especially on the part of educational experts to whom the subject would have been bettor relegated. The Commission however must be congratulated on the pairs aken in the laudable endeavour to improve the social and inint'llectual status of the teachers in the colony, for as their report truly says, "the nobler the influences, and the greater the intel igenoe brought to bear on ♦rue education, the higher will be the ideals of private life and citizenship of the men and women of the future." The on? important drawback in the scheme propounded is the impossibility of some cf the Boards being able to mike the grants to committers sufficiently large to meet necev-ary expenses. This is exemplified in the case of the Taranaki Board which at present has not sufficient available funds for that purpose, but under the new scale (No. 1) will have £l7O less than heretofore. Wanganui on the other hand secures an augmentation of £1350, Auckland £IOOO and Otago £IOO. How the deficits are to be made up is a difficult problem, the easiest solution of which would be special grants to tho?e Boards whose legitimate expenses need a greater provision than the proposed subsidy will meet. It is just one of tho e points which proves the impossibility of providing for special cases by a general scheme.,. Taken as a whole the report shows tbat an intelligent attempt has been made to deal with the questions referred to the Commission, but there is much in the educational system that is still open to oriticism, j and tbe present report must therefore be taken as a first step only towards 'attaining the desired end.