EDUCATIONAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 118, 26 August 1910, Page 5

EDUCATIONAL.

CONFERENCE OF BOARDS. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. [Lie Education Conference resumed its deliberations to-day. Mr. P. 0. Pryde (Otago) moved that in future legislation the Government be requested to make provision for temporary reservation by private owners ot suitable areas as sites for public schools where required, same to be afterwards vested in the Board when such are absolutely required.— I The motion was amended in order that the suggestion should apply to large areas only, and with the provision added that any land so taken should be paid for in this form.

Mr. T. W. Adams (North Canterbury) moved that where the annual value of any existing residence is manifestly below that of the authorised house allowance, a grant be provided sufficient to bring the residence up to the required standard.—The remit was adopted with the addition of the following words: "The house allowance should be granted."

Mr. F. Pirani (Wanganui) moved that the capitation payable to education boards on the average attendance be increased to 12s, so as to enable boards' to pay school committees the additional ninepence recently discontinued ..by the committee. —The remit was adopted. Mr.. Fraser was given permission to move a further remit, which was also adopted as follows: "That it be recommended to the Department in making further grants to boards for school committee allowances, that allocations be based partly on the number of schools and partly on the capitation basis, with a view to a more equitable allowance to boards with a proportionally larger number of schools.

The followiiig motions moved by Mr. G. L. Stewart (Wellington) were adopted: That the recommendations of the i Education Committee of 1903' form a 'reasonable basis for determining the ' allowances to boards on account of maintenance of buildings, and also as jfrom 1903 on account of rebuilding, provided the discretion recommended by the ■ Education Committee in 1904 is allowed, 'but the boards are satisfied that the 1 building grants prior to 1903 were not j sufficient to enable them to make a n iy provision for rebuilding in the future, as they were only able to meet immediate and pressing requirements The j amount payable on account of mainteni ance and rebuilding should be intimated Ito boards early in each year, and the \ grants should be paid to boards in quarterly instalments for the guidance of boards. The individual capital amounts ;on which the allowances are computed ' should be explicitly stated. That, it is 1 desirable to cultivate more artistic tastes in the management and equipment of our schools; that sick pay shall be granted on the following basis l : 'first month, full pay; subsequent two months, half pay; that.the Government be asked not to use school buildings for election purposes where other buildings are available; that the Government be asked to subsidise the school libraries £ for £; that attendance be compulsory. every time school is open, subject ito the exemptions in the Act; that mul- . tiplication of returns by the Department places unnecessary expense on boards, and that the Government be asked to minimise this; that the capitation grant for relieving teachers be increased from 6d to 9d per head; that boards be recommended to confine school holidays to ' a maximum of fifty school days, includling the Christmas term and statutory j holidays, the term holidays to commence , on the first Friday in May and SeptemI ber ; Christmas holiday on the Thurs- ' day ' before Christmas, except ■. when Christmas falls on Friday, when schools close on the previous Wednesday; that ; the police should be allowed to act as prosecutors in truancy cases where tru- : ant officers cannot attend court, and that police officers should be required to give information to boards in regard to children they find not attending school; that the amount granted for ■free school books would be better spent on copy books, drawing books, exercise books, etc.; that the Minister be asked to consider the advisaibility of increasing tihe amount granted to education boards for general purposes, as while the expenditure of boards is continually on the increase, owing to the new provisions of the Act and new regulations, yet the allowance fixed by the Government in 1902 remains the same; that the conference be asked to protest against the inquisitorial method of the Education Department in Tegard to grants for additions, and that it specially objects to the small amount of faith placed in the representations ■ made 'by 'boards, who are in the best position to judge- the merits of the application; that the Department be asked to take steps to have defined the word "vicinity" in No. 17 . (1) of the Railway Department's Regulations; that maintenance and renewal grants be provided by the Government for all technical schools; that ! where circumstances make it necessary ! for the Education Board to secure land 'for school purposes the whole cost of j the same should be borne by the Departi ment on the principle of granting £ 1 !for £1 in the case of district high j schools; that it is desirable that the Education Department should obtain for the guidance of education boards lithographed plans and specification of models :in schools of various grades; that the j Department make, if necessary,' special grants for installation' of sewerage in i all schools where such is required; that ■ the boards should not allow school hours j to fall ibelow five per day for standard I pupils. "

DEPUTATION TO THE MINISTER. •Wellington, Last Night. A deputation from the Education Conference waited upon the Minister of Education (the Hon. G. Fowlds) to-day. In his reply, the Minister said it would be to the advantage of boards and the Department if there were more conferences. The present conference had considered very fully the matters which had come before it, and thp Department wouldi go very carefully into all the reI commendations which had been made, as far as was considered wise. The Department would be only too glad to adopt the suggestions made. It must be remembered that when suggestions were made to the Department it had to survey the whole field and the good of the whole community, and not of individual places, had to be considered. The views of members of Parliament had also to be borne in mind when any amendment to legislation was proposed. In regard to the statement that the Department showed lack of confidence in boards, he quoted instances where applications had been sent in by boards, the accompanying information being quite wrong. There were frequent discrepancies, and it was absolutely necessary, as long, as the direct grant sysitern was in vogue, for the. Department to satisfy itself that the facts and figures I were correct. In some other countries

which had ibeen mentioned, the largest [portion of the money lor technical education came from the local i;;ic •=. There was more likelihood of getting value when persons who expended the moneyj were responsible for raising it. A good deal had ibeen done during his administration to improve the condition of the rural schools. The status and salaries of the teachers had been greatly improved. As to the question of powers of teachers, it was entirely in the hands of boards. He suggested to the boards to see that there was frequent inspection. He pointed to the good relations existing between teachers, inspectors and pupils in the native schools. Mr. Pirani asked whether t!i" Minister would give an increased vote? for inspectors. The Minister replied that some amendments were coming down this session. He had called for certain returns regarding the building vote and the finance generally of the boards. These would ije referred to the Education Committee of the 'House. The boards were much better off to-day than they were a few years ago. The credit balances had improved considerably, and there should be no difficulty in providing for additional supervision by way of inspection.] IMr. J. Mitchell (Otoago) wanted to; 'know whether the grants withheld from the boards last year would be reinstated.

Mr. Fowlds said it was recognised that when the scale was made it should it should be liable to revision from time to! time. Experience had shown that the, dropping out of the grant for one yeari bad not inconvenienced the boards. The deletion of one year's quota would bej rectified iby prolonging the life of the; buildings for an additional year. The proper policy for boards to pursue was to accumulate their funds for works ahead, 'but as long .as boards had money in hand they could not be considered to be embarrassed by the withholding of one year's grant. Education boards-had at present the administration of larger sums of money they were not responsible for raising. That fact only needed to ibe stated to condemn the system. It was a question whether the time was ripe for a change. He recognised that the boards as a> whole had done exceedingly good work, and any change contemplated would have to be very carefully considered. The Minister continued: "I am not such a radical in these matters that I am likely to rush in and upset existing conditions merely for the sake of the change. Any alteration will only be made alter due consideration, and must carry the approval of the majority of the people."