EDUCATIONAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 September 1916, Page 6

EDUCATIONAL.

INTERESTING FACTS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) Wellington, September 15. Some interesting facts regarding the education system of New Zealand are brought to light in the report prepared by the Education department concerning the grading of teachers under the Dominion scheme. The certificated teachers, some .'iijOU in number, were graded for the first time early in the present year, and it has been possible since then to ma Ice some comparisons that were difficult, or even impossible, at a time w'iien each education district formed a distinct unit as far as t';e classification of teachers was concerned.

One of the points emphasised in the report is that the comparative lack of opportunities for promotion in a district containing few large schools may produce a partially high standard of teaching in the schools of lower grade. This means simply that good teachers are reaching a certain stage and are then debarred from promotion 'by the lack of large schools, unless they can find an opening in another education district. The tendency of the present system of appointment is to discourage the transfer of teachers, since each Education Board like 3 to provide channels of promotion for its own teachers. The report mentions that of the teachers in Oroup A (the lowest group) in one district, twothirds have C certificates and from Tourteen to twenty years of service. There are not enough higher positions in that district to allow of their promotion, whereas larger districts have a lower grade of teachers doing similar work. The number of men teachers to each 100 women teachers in the various education districts varies as follows: Auckland S3; llawkes Bay 00; Taranaki 04; Wanganui 77; Wellington SO; North Canterbury 57; South Canterbury 39; Otago 01; Southland 53. These figures indicate a great diversity in types of positions, since the difference in the proportions of men is affected chiefly by the proportion of largo schools. Again, of the men teachers, 7!) per cent, are over thirty years of age. as compared with 57 per cent, of the women. This means that the average male teacher has had considerably more experience in liis profession than the average female teacher, and the fact is of importance in connection with the varying proportions menI tioned above.

Another striking fact may 'be mentioned, that tvithin the area served by the Auckland electric tramways there are about ifi.flflO pupils, mostly attending schools of the larger type. This is as many pupils as there are in the Wanganui Education District, or in Ilawke's Bay and Taranaki together, and near];; as many as in iSouth Canterbury and Southland together. These districts have large numbers of small schools, and obviously their conditions, from the point of view of teaching and pupils alike, are very dill'erent from the conditions prevailing in Auckland city and suburbs. An impression appears to prevail in some quarters that the grading list is going to be the 'basis of the »«—'>>•' '" " of teachers for the future. The Education Act. as a matter of fact, does not provide for the use of the list in connection with any scheme of promotion. The list will be revised next year, and if the Minister of Education and the chief officers of his Department are satisfied with the results then Parliament may be asked to amend the Act in order to provide that appointments 'be made in accordance with t : he list. But.no definite step has been taken in that direction yet and probably a third grading will be effected before the list becomes the basis of promotion.