The Daily News. MONDAY, JULY 20, 1914. THE EDUCATION BILL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 50, 20 July 1914, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, JULY 20, 1914. THE EDUCATION BILL.

I'h,. main proposals in the measure which the Minister of Education lui laid before the House may ho regarded as an honest attempt to accomplish the two great reforms which have been urgently needed for a lon- time pasl in the educational system of the dominion, namely (a) to briny it up to tiie standard of other countries wnoac efforts aro directed to making education a reality that affects the welfare of tht nation, anil is so directed as to besl equip the rising generation for the du* ies in life they will have to perform CO to co-ordinate the. system so thai each step leads directly upwards to tin next, from the youngest scholar to thi T'niversity graduate, or the success!'.! technical student. It must be manifest to every rational citizen that the tasl of the framers of the Bill was bene' with many difficulties and involved aenormous amount of thought, but tin work of the Commission appointed bj the Mackenzie Government should hav, proved of the greatest assistance. Re garded from a national standpoint, tin Minister deserves hearty eongratula tions for tins breadth of v'p.w and single ness of purpose exhibited in the pro visions of the measure, which may fair!} be looked upon as the first instalme 1" of reforms that should place the Nov Zealand system of education on a riglr basis. There are, of course, details ii the Bill that will probably create muc'l opposition, but the general scope, so fa; as can be gathered from press reports is satisfactory. The recognition of t.ii principle of centralisation is only wha might have been expected, and thonjl it, as it were, only modestly intrude; itself in the Bill, there is every reasoi to anticipate that tliis thin end of th. wedge will soon be driven home, and ai enlarged measure of centralisation in stitnted. in this, as in several othe details, it is evident the new proposal are merely tentative. Some may bi either amended or deleted in committee while others will remain to be testei by time and experience. Prom a Tara naki viewpoint, the absorption of th Taranaki Education Board into that o Wanganui will be viewed with disfavot if not with hostility. And with gooi reason. Naturally, the fact that Marl borough, Grey, Wcstland, and Sout' Canterbury Boards are included in th list of abolished. Education Boards wil not afford much consolation to the re sidents of Taranaki for their losa, am it may lie expected a strong endeavou will be made to reinstate Taranaki am alter the proposed districts of Aucklam and Wanganui so as to do away vrit! the proposed i,ew district of AVaikato Manifestly, it seems somewhat incon gruous to include Awakino and Ohun in Waikato while Wanganui takes ii Kaitieke. At the same time it must h moguUcd that the Auckland eduea tion district, as compared with the othe districts, has grown to such vast di mensions as regards school matters tha' in view of the great development b settlement it has become expansive, having regard to the macbin cry of inspection and administration In this as in other matters, then seems to be a design on the pa; of the powers that be to side-track Ta ranaki. The proposal must be resist eil with all the power at our command Tlie whole question of education board! needs serious consideration, and it woiu seem that until a better system hat; been evolved it would have been nior< politic to leave the Boards as they wen; —in the Xortli Island at least. At ffrsl sight it would seem to be logical thai if certain of the boards could be dig. pensed with, then that all of them 'might share the same fate, leaving the Central Council of Education—a greatly needed body—the district council;, and the school committees to administer educational affairs under the supreme control of the Minister. It may be that some such scheme will eventually replace the present cumbersome machinery alter the district councils have justified their existence. The ever increasing cost of education has rendered it imperative that wherever possible the pruning knife should be used to lop oil branches that can be spared without impairing the efficiency of the system, and it is only in the matter of district administration that curtailment seems possible. To have boards as well as district councils seems like having the educational bread buttered on both sides, so that it may be expected that if the proposed measure is passed it will bo, in this matter at all events, merely an experiment that will act as a guide lot n permanent sheme. The proposals t> increase the teachers' salaries, to reduce the number of grades, and to inaugurate a dominion system of grading will greatly improve tjic lot of the teachers, and should have the effect of attracting suitable recruits to the service. Under the Hill, head teachers ill grade o:V> are to receive from £IOO to £l4ll X year, while assistants rise from £IOO to L'l2o by £JO increases. In grado two. the rise i s from 0140 to ClflO for head teachers, and £l2O to £l4O for assistants. In grade three, from £-209 to £230 and £l5O to £IBO respectively, iirade four, £2-00 to £SIO, and £IOO to '.'■2-2D; grade live, £.320 to £360, nn:l £'23o to £250; grade ?ix, £370 to 1100. and C-200 to £2BO, grade seven, '.'llu tu CMO (the maximum) and L2H!| In c.'flo. Another concession is Li-it in connection with transfers, thereby no teacher's salary will be relueeil on the ground of a reduction in ;radc unless he refuses to accept tbo vansfer. This is only just, and the :cacbers should appreciate the advent

of a long deferred betterment of their pay prospects. There are many other features 01 the Jiill that rue worthy o* note, and these will he commented upon as occasion offers.