EDUCATIONAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 341, 17 March 1910, Page 5

EDUCATIONAL.

FREE BOOKS OR CAPITATION GRANT.

By Telegraph.—Press Association. Christchurch, Last Night. At a meeting of the North Canterbury Board of —uucation a letter was received from the Department, stating that the request from the Board to £he . Minister for Education to convene a conference of education boards nt an p early date to discus's matters of administration in connection with the primary school system, had been laid before the, Minister as desired, but the Minister regretted that owing to the appropriation being already exhausted, be was i unable at present to make arrangements j to meet the Board's wishes in the mat-. ter. The letter was received. Speaking on the subject of the with-1 drawal by the Government of the capi-1 tation allowances previously granted to . school committees, Mr Jamieson point- ■ ed out that it would be better to a Dan-1 don the free school books system and restore the capitation. The free hook svstem, he contended, had been a failure, and the amount expended on that system exceeded by £267 10s*5d the total capitation payable for incidentals. Free hooks, he added, were not asked for, all that was wanted being uniformity of school books for children moving ' from place to place. i