THE EDUCATION VOTE

Taranaki Daily News, 24 September 1919, Page 5

THE EDUCATION VOTE

TEACHERS' SALABIES TO oH INCREASED. LOANS FOR RE-BUILDIN<J AKjfl EXTENDING SCHOOLS. ;■ Wellington, Last In liis Budget, the Finance *WbjL^| la the year 1914 the Education j|H was consolidated and the New University Act amended. Acts hud been prepared before toe break of.war in August, 1914; Government in its present Parliament has been forced to takSvjflH consideration the changes in caused by the war, especially gard to the purchasing power of, The provisions of the Education grades of salaries of teachers 1914 cannot fairly be continued altered circumstances. Similar ttMt9| ations apply to the measure of grants from tho Consolidated Vte&flH secondary schools and technical and it is also felt that the the New Zealand University four University colleges to ImnmH grants must be recogaiied. ..«B During the second session of list jnH the Hon. J. A. Hanan, then Education, obtained from PfedtMMJH under section 37 of the Act, authority to exiynd an MuMjLH sum of £IIB,OOO for the purpose of; j|H creasing the salaries and public-school teachers, TTilln II MM teachers, pupil-teachers, |iiiihlli<iHß and training-college student* amounts authorised by the table* In '3H Education Act. Only one-fourth rf additional amount of £ 118,001 'SMsW'fIH account during the financial year 81st March, 1919, and the expendfttW for that year was therefore not increased. But the whole of the »UuH necessarily comes into the exptHdodH for the present year, and the ment has found it n.eceesary to. VMS provision on this year's estimate* for jfl further sum of £200,000, thus reDdWtoH available during the present year for wl creases of salaries and allowance* WM teachers employed and others 4*s*{*d ill primary education a total of kMBjOwH This addition, together with the innnissfß due to the natural growth of Poonlatkwß and the greater cost of serriets •MB commodities, results in the "TPWJffIB charge on the Consolidated Fond iftifl primary education showing an increase jnfl the present estimates, of £331,000 jfl9 excess of the estimates of last ystnfl Special increments of the rates of annuaffl p-.-ants to secondary schools and teebriJß cnl schools involve a further turn iHW £33,000 on the present estimate*. j| With respect to the increases oca salaries and allowances to those enftgedj| in primary education, it has been rouadjfl impossible, within the time available, tow amend the provisions of the Educatlojf j Act, 1014, relating to staffing and «*J<9 tiries, and therefore the precedent «r*"jl ated by the late Minister of Bducatiowl in section 37 of the Appropriation Aet o9 last year has been followed, and powcjjS will be sought to make the n*«>*"*r]fcl additions by regulations instead of bjjjj statute. The increase* will all talten effect retrospectively as from April lij 1819. To provide an adequate number of|| troincd teachers inducements to enter anil' continue in the Education service shoukt* not he substantially inferior to those! offered in, the Public Service, and an, effort has been made to bring tho salaries | and allowances of men and women m-j) gaged in the teaching profession up to]: approximately that scale. The number; of trained teachers now engaged in cation is insufficient for the present' needs, and such reforms las reduction jit* size of classes cannot be effected without 1 ! increase in those numbers. Accordingly' this year provision is made not only fof « higher salaries, but also for the trainings of a greater number of 'student* at the*. training colleges and increased allow-1 ances- to such students. A Bill amending the New Zealand Unl' ' versity Act is also proposed, by whiok the annual grant to the University is j increased by £IOOO, the annual grant* I to each of tho Universitv Colleges bf'M £-tm, with a further £2500 to tkt«l Otngo University for its Medical School; 1 and a grant of £ '2ooo for workers' sites- J sion lectures. The increased grants tO'l the Universities and colleges Will not a commence until the Ist April, 1020, and 1 therefore provision in those respects'J does not appear upon the present etti- 1 matcß. '& I have now to turn from the charges for educational purposes upon the 0»«;9 solidated Fund to the subject of grant* S from loan funds for capital expenditure i on land and buildings. The' method* which has been adopted up to the prewrt * time for provision of grants for *UOn • purposes has been to appropriate out <*£' the moneys to be raised in each year by * loan for public work., a certain limiteA'l part for education purposes, with t«e -j*-$ suit thnt annually the demands for g*tt-«j eral public works such as railway*, J road and bridges, and post and telegraph* offices, have been brought into competl- 5tion with the demands for education ;|' lands, buildings, and improvement*, TBsi'V total amounts available for all public $j works during the past five years ntvnja bern necessarily limited, and the supply % of money for educational grants has been I thereby reduced to a far less sum than -3 was necessary for normal expansion. . "a The country has therefore to meet an J | accumulation of unfulfilled past demands "% I for such education piirno-ros as well a* J the normal requirements of the present "J and of the immediate future. New a buildings are required" throughout the I Dominion, and additions to a large pro- | portion of the existing buildiugs an 1 absolutely necessary. To attempt build* I ing operations on such a scale a* would 1 be necessary to meet all the demand* *8 immediately would be to court failure, :4 The Government has decided to a*k Par- | liament to enable specific loans to be I raised, for education "lands and build- j ings only, to the amount of half a mil- "1 lion during the present year, and three- 1 quarters of a million during each of the 1 four following years. I The analogy of the loans for land- 'I settlement has been followed in the Bill .3 which will be submitted to the House,'J so that the moneys will be raised a* rt> j quired and as operations proceed. By 1 this means, and without conflict with 1 other Departments of State in respect of 3 public works, the Government hopes that j full provision can he made for the ae- "i quisition of lands and the erection of i buildings to be commenced immediately ; j and to be proceeded with as rapidly as "'J the conditions of supply of labor and of i material will permit. j Out of the Consolidated Fund pro- i vision will continue to be made for main- .j tenanee and upkeep, but it is not pro- ,1 posed to continue the present system ■"J of grants to the Education Boards to be' | held a* reserves for restoration of build- i] ings, t