EDUCATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 November 1920, Page 4

EDUCATION.

MINISTER AND MEMBER. REPLY TO MR. 6. G. SMITH, M.P.' (By Wire.—Own Correspondent.) Wellington, Last Night. The Minister for Education (the Hon, C. .1. Parr) had something to say to your correspondent to-day regarding statements made at a meeting of the New Plymouth High Schools Board by Mr. S. (i. Smith, M.P. '•I regret that Air. Smith, M.P., who should know better, has attempted to mislead the High School Board with which he is connected," said Mr. Parr. 'Mr. Smith is reported to have stated that the Bill was rushed ihrough Parliament. Such was not the ease. It is true that the Bill was brought down towards the end of the session, but thii did not prevent its full discussion; indeed, some weeks before the Bill wae introduced the New Plymouth Board, as was the ease with all educational authorities, received a" full statement o;l the Bill, and were asked for suggestions regarding its provisions. The Bill was most carefully clause by clause, by the Education Committee; consisting of twelve members of tint House. This committee, under; the presidency of Mr. MVP.; held no fewer than five different sitting!, and it examined some twenty-seven-wit-nesses. Mr. Smith himself was one of the witnesses. He read a statement, which', however, was not of much assistance to the committee, as the chairman kept the witnesses to the point and restrained prolixity. There was no opportunity for long-winded witnesses to waste time; hence Mr. Smith's .tears. "I say advisedly that no Bill passed by Parliament during the session received more careful scrutiny than the Education Bill received before it became law. The House had ample time to discuss the Bill after it left the committee, and a full discussion took place. No attempt was made to restrict the House's privilege of full debate. Only Mr. Smith and one or two other members offered any hostile criticism. Mr. Smith, however, did not venture, as h* had the right to do, to divide the House on any single clause. It comes with an ill grace, therefore, for a member of Parliament.j\yho had,full opportunity to test the oflihjbn of Parliament •on any provision regarded by him as wrong, to make a fuss afterwards." i The mcri&fr for Taranaki had complained, add'e.d the. Minister, that salaries and : appointments have been taken out of the hands of the Education Boards by, t.h,e new Act. He ought to be aware, a_s.> member of a Board, that' the Boards had not had any control of salaries since 1901. The clauses of the new Act dealing with appointments simply ensured that the teacher best qualified in the opinion of the inspectors should secure appointment. So many clear cases were known where Boards had not appointed the best teacher, or even observed the conditions of the former Act, that an alteration of the law had been imperative. An overwhelming majority of the teachers of New Zealand had endorsed the change." The new clause gave teachers an opportunity to secure appointment in any district in New Zealand, whereas in the past most of the Boards had practically excluded teachers from other districts, even' when such teachers had better qualifications than the local teachers. Secondary school teachers were welcoming the new Act, which provided for their classification according to efficiency, and gave them better salaries than they had ever possessed before. "I repudiate emphatically the suggestion made by a few critics that everything is to be centralised in Wellington," said tlie Minister, in conclusion. "That is not my policy, but I am equally against allowing local Boards to abuse their powers, or to do grave injustice to the teaching profession."