MAORI SCHOOLS DEFENDED.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 61, 14 October 1907, Page 2

MAORI SCHOOLS DEFENDED.

MINISTER'S REPLY" TO CRITICISM. Per Press Association. Wellington, Lust Night. Tlu> attention of the Minister for Edu- V cation (the lion. George FowkU) has 3i been directed to an attack recently made d< on the Native school system by a mem- u her of the Hawkes Bay Education Board, a The Minister, in answer to inquiries, r< stated that it seemed desirable that he t should say something on the subject, p "The referred to has, I be- t lieve, no personal knowledge of Native r j schools/' he said, "and certainly he has made statements in regard to them \ which have 110 justification whatever. cl In fact, lie has made a computation of } the relative cost per hea # d of Native and ( European education, and states it to he > jLfi 5s Gd in the one case and £3 2s 4d ' in the other. With regard to this, I need ( j only remark that anyone who commits f himself to the statement that the cost t of public school education is £3 2s 4d f per head has obviously so little know- I ledge of the subject as to be quite un- j entitled to speak about it. < "He saya tbat the teachers are not ' paid according to average attendance ] (the Department li.ive not hampered ] their pet offspring, the Native schools, « with such he says iiv three Native scinols in this district the Department have provided £3O worth of biscuit for lunch for the Native children.''' There is no truth whatever iu either of these statements. "He states that not one per cent, (only three-quarter per cent.) reached the seventh standard, only two per cent, reached the sixth standard, and only four per cent, reached the fifth. "This," said the .Minister, "looks serious until one turn* to the standard classification of the pupils of the public schools and finds the percentages there to be 3.59, 8.24, and 10.51) respectively—not anvijlely different result when the circumstances are only considered, it must be remembered that the Maoris learn in practically a foreign tongue. "Then there is the following statement:—The. standard was far from what they would expect from a public school; the teaoh'-is were for the most part uncertificated, and there was no supervision of school committee or education board, only an occasional visit from an inspector. The chief complaint of European parents who were compelled to send their children to a Native school was.against the sanitary arrangements —that was, where they existed at all. Tn most eases they were conspicuous bj, their absence. Europeans complained tlia't no attempt was made to keep the children clean except on the annual visit of the inspector.' "I have not yet had the opportunity of acquiring any great personal knowledge of the Native schools," said Mr. Fowlds, "but during my administration of the Department T have found ?n----stances of splendid work being done in them, and have learned enough to make me confident that there is no need for any disparagement of this kind. I find that in the House those members who know' the Native schools host are the most kindly disposed towards them. 1 remember that at the recent outbreak of skin disease at the Rotnrua public school every child attending the Native school was "found to be absolutely clean and free from disease, and T know tint in another education district the result of an agitation against a Native school was that the chairman of the Board, after visiting and thoroughly inspecting it, reported that if he lived in the place he would certainly send his own children to it, I therefore ask the public not to to influenced by statements such as I have criticised." j