ORGANISING TEACHERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 October 1921, Page 2

ORGANISING TEACHERS.

THE PROPOSED REDUCTION. CONDEMNED BY MR. R. MASTERS. (From Our Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, Oct. 20. The proposal of the Education Department to reduce the number of organising teachers in the Taranaki district was warmly condemned in the House of Representatives by Mr. R. Masters (Stratford) to-night. The children of the backblocks districts would suffer if these teachers were withdrawn, he said. One organising -teacher, to quote an example, had made a journey into the back country and found, two families, with seven children who had never been to school at all. Arrangements had been made for the instruction of these children. Without the work of teachers who could move beyond the established schools, tinue to get no education at -all. Mr. many backblocks children would conMasters contended that the Dominion could not possibly need to economise at the expense of children who were as much entitled to the advantages of education as the children of the towns.

The Minister for Education, in a brief reply, said that if he thought for a moment any injury would be done to backblocks children by the withdrawal of a few organising teachers he would not take the step that was contemplated. He realised that these children were entitled to special consideration. The system had been made very much more liberal in recent years. The capitation rate had been largely increased for the very small schools and a system of instruction by mail was being developed for the benefit of isolated families in the backblocks. Then arrangements were being made to use skilled itinerant teachers in the backblocks. Half-time instruction under a good teacher gave better results than full-time instruction at the hands of a poorly-equipped teacher. The Minister insisted that the Taranaki district had possessed too many organising teachers. He would guarantee that the changes now proposed would not prejudice the interests of the backblocks children.