BACKBLOCKS EDUCATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 July 1916, Page 6

BACKBLOCKS EDUCATION.

RATHER IIOPKLKS.S OCTLOOK. • At Saturday's meeting- of the Eltham County Council, the Minister of Education replied to the Council's letter asking for itinerant teachers for back block schools, stated that the experiment of providing itinerant teachers for sparsely populated districts had been tried in the Auckland district, but, except perhaps in one case, had been abandoned. The Department granted £G.per head for the tuition of children where the number of children did not exceed eight, and -vhere the average was over eight a school could be established. He asked for information as to the number of children in the Omona district, as every endeavor would be made to provide facilities for the education of settlers' children. Cr. MeWilliams said that when they applied for the school there were nine children in the district, but in despair the parents of four children had taken a small farm near town whilst he himself had sent his boy to Stratford. There were now four or five children in the district who were receiving no tuition whatever., save what their bard-worked parents could give. There was no reason why itinerant teachers should not be a success. The Government should see asking for itinerant teachers for backbrought up without education. A visit twice a week from an itinerant teache" would ensure that they were not hopelesly illiterate. Cr. Campbell suggested that the council should be allowed to subsidise these schools. The matter was left in the hands of Cr. MeWilliams.