EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Taranaki Daily News, 28 May 1920, Page 4

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

NEEDS OP TARANAKI. BOARD AND MINISTER. CONFER, % After a somewhat busy day in Visiting schools in and around New Plymouth yesterday, the Minister of Education (the Hon. C- J. Parr) spent three hours in conference with the Board of Education last night, when a number of matters relating to the need of various schools and residences within the board's district were discussed with the Minister, who gave close attention to cveryth'iis placed before him, and met the requests for assistance in a sympathetic manner. Prior to proceeding to this business, the chairman of the board (Mr. H. Masters, M.P.) officially welcomed the Minister to the district, and took the opportunity of congratulating him on his .election to office in the Cabinet, Other members of the board endorsed Mr. Masters' remarks, to which the Hon. Mr. Parr suitably replied.

TEACHERS' RESIDENCES. "' The first matters deAlt with concerned applications for grants for residences. Many of these have been before the board for a considerable time, and some had been declined, or had been undecided,' by the Education Department. In the case of the Ngaere residence the Minister said that in spite of the department's report and recom- ' mendation he was prepared to accept the word of the chairman of the board and the architect that as a business proposition it would be unwise to repair the house, and he was . therefore arepared to recommend Cabinet to approve a vote for a new residence. The board's * proposal to remove a residence from Jatu to Tokorimo woe also approved. In the matter of the application for a residence at Ohura the 1 Minister sua--2 , tot the distripr might he a suitable one for ft trlal t0 thf} movThl •'! a<l VTapom for building movable residences of, sav, two rooms wWh could he established wellmg of some settler in a district,

W»,r 8 J! omted out t0 Mr - *»» that lf% th r e ., were no « fl iden« 8 at, when teachers were wanted for the,. &rV W o{ten h «d appoint Zu t ? Phers - heon, ' ,e "">rried men would not «o where there was no house fi.ll R jr" fll ""'" the Minister said that while he appreciated the difficulty SL t e f , '\fttUn» teachers, tha department also hn,l difßc..Hi«s to eontend w , tl K(1 oui Tn 1 ,™ t ° : rMf,nt tilr, ° in Ne * «*• w • ' A m % m ' "*«"»* which were "nocmimed. He was keei, on the idea of movable houses, and thought the hoard, nil Ul* if^ 11 ™* w ° r l«*°P. would be njle to hmld five, or six of these for the price of one Rood residence. JTe could not sanction the erection of rest. dences at schools where the attendance was about .17 or 39. the Minister sanctioned pnntß for actions and alterations to dwellings, chieflr in the direction of providing wnr-hhouse accommodation, amounting in all to about £llOO. SCHOOL fiUILOIi'GS. """': School buildings were next considered and a deputation from Pnniho Waited on the Minister to ask for a reconRidcratwn of the application for tho enlargement of the school' After hearing the request, which was supported by the chairman of the board. Mr. 1 arr promised to reconsider the nuttter, in view of the special tlrcuwstanqea placed before him.

In regard to the Conrtenav Street school, Mr. Parr said that of at!'tin matters that hnd he«i brought tinder his notion during the visits to the different schools, he could not help feeling tlmt the infant department of the Contral School was the most urgent of all, and ho undertook to have the department's refusal to rc-build reeoiwidottxl. The Runic decision was given hv the Minister with regard to the" Central School building, though he did not hold out wish hops as warranted the' expectation of a complete re-bulldlng scheme being approved. When the position at Waitara eame «p for decision the Minister said 'he would favorably consider a p.-oposfcl for tho building of some' new room* en to the latest portion of the pwwnt building, which would then form «te nucleus of a new school. That Wnulil enable the old portion of the building to he done away; with.

The matter of the eoniolldhtloh of the schools in the Upper Mid lower Mangorci and Carrington district* wan then considered, the board believing that while consolidation was desirable, it was not practicable-in that particular district, and in spite of departmental recommendation he was prepared to have the hoard's application for a n»W Rite and school at Upper Mangor-el->». considered.

The Minister was asked to give dtle consideration to any proposals the board might be able to mako in regard to an exchange or pnrenas'* of site for a new school for the West End Mr. Parr approved tho plans and n grant for the Manaia school for sufficient accommodation for present need* subject to the approval of Cabinet, and a straierht-oiit grant was offered for the re-modelling of the Toko school. The matter of hostel accommodation was brought under the notice of the Minister, whose reply was on the same lines as that given in other centres when such applications were Aade. Mr. Parr also promised to consider the question of* the boarding ' allowance" made for children who had to live away from home in order to attepd school, and also the question of the withdrawal of that grant when a parent taken a house in the vicinity of a school for no other purpose than'ihe necessity of giving the children an education. Throughout the whole pWxfeedlries the discussions were carried on jn a most amicable and friendlv manner, and at the conclusion the chairman expressed the board's pleasure at being able to confer with the Minister, and satisfaction at' the progress made, which would go a long way towards making the relations between the board and the department of a most cordial character.

Mr. Purr, in hts reptr, said he did not want any board to feel that the department was in nnr wav anfttoim. istic toward* it. He wanted'the boarda to feci that thev wow the bodies to make recommendations to him «g well as the department's officers. H# agate eiilo<n"ficd the work being done by the local hoard, which, he eaid. would' compare with that being done by any boftrf in New Zealand.