OVERCROWDED SCHOOL.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 September 1922, Page 4

OVERCROWDED SCHOOL.

FITZROY’S EMPHATIC PROTEST. IMMEDIATE ACTION URGED. THREAT TO CLOSE SCHOOL. Oyer two hundred parents and frienda of children attending the Fitzroy school attended a meeting at the school last night, when two resolutions were unanimously passed entering an emphatic protest at the unreasonable overcrowding at the school, and declaring that unless immediate action were taken by the Department of Education to relieve the congested and unhealthy state of affairs parents would refuse to send their children to school. In the absence through illness of the chairman of the School Committee (Mr. R. L. Parkin), the deputy-chairman (Mr. A. L. Roberts) presided.

“The committee have used their last endeavof& in trying to get better accommodation at. Fitzroy, and have now decided to place the position before you,” said Mr. Roberts. Heads of the Education Department had been interviewed on the matter during visits to New Plymouth, and had promised to go into the matter of relieving the congested state of affairs. “There is no doubt that the school is terribly congested at the present time,” continued the speaker. “The desks are packed as close as possible, and we have had to put as many desks as possible in each room.”

„ Detailing the present accommodation, Mr. Roberts gave the following figures: Standards 5 and 6, 600 square feet of floor space, 55 children, average floor space per child 11 square feet; standards 4 and 2, 700 square feet, 08 children, average of 10 square feet; standard 3, 640 square feet, 48 children, average of 12 square feet; standard 1, 640 square feet, 62 children, average of 10 square feet; primer classes, 960 square feet, 112 children, average of 8| square feet. Mr. Roberts pointed out that the department had laid down that 12 square feet should be allowed for each child, but owing to the war some restrictions had been made, and the average floor space was decreased to 10 square (feet per child.

SERIOUS CONDITIONS. “It is unfortunate that the department has not grasped the urgency of our needs, but the most regrettable incident is in connection with the little ones in the primer classes,” continued Mr. Roberts. The gymnasium had been built out of money voluntarily subscribed and subsidised by the board. It had been erected as a recreational annex to the school, but it had been constantly used as a class-room ever since it was built about ten years ago, until now it had outlived its usefulness. Thirty-five little ones had to be taught in the school corridors, where wet coats had to be hung on rainy days, whilst the children, all the time they were in school, were without warmth of any kind. All those who took any interest at all in education knew that unless the child’s attention was concentrated on his work it was impossible to achieve the best results and to maintain proper discipline, yet hpw, he asked, were these results to be attained under the present conditions?

He read a letter from a prominent Fitzroy resident who could not attend the meeting, but who expressed his sympathy with the movement. Inter alia the letter stated: “Poultry experts tell us that in erecting a fowlhouse at least five feet must be provided for each bird. In one class at Fitzroy nine feet of floor space is provided for each child, 112 being housed in the gymnasium, which, is 24 feet by 40 feet. The total absence of heating appliances seems toindicate that children will keep each other warm, if huddled together A rough count shows that more than 170 houses have been erected within one mile of the school since the class-room was added, and your meeting to-night should urge on the powers that be the necessity for providing adequate and healthy school accommodation for the children of the locality.” Continuing,! Mr. Roberts said Fitzroy was the largest suburb of New Plymouth and was still growing. When application had been made to the headmaster for the admission of pupils he had said the children could be sent if they were prepared to sit on the floor, as there was no other place for them to sit. It was a regrettable state of affairs, as it was the children who suffered. It was “up to” all parents and friends to get for the children what were their rights. ADDITIONS NOT ENOUGH. By means of fetes, social entertainments, etc., the school committee had raised £270 for the purpose of improving the school grounds, but had later realised that more good could bp done with the money by helping to provide better accommodation facilities. Therefore the sum had been offered to the Education Board for the purpose of doubling the gymnasium accommodation, but the departmental architect had re-

commended that this be not done, suggesting instead that two class-rooms should be built as the nucleus of a new school. But the committee maintained that it was no good taking two bites at the one cherry. The department was restricting the size of classrooms, and the two new rooms proposed would only hold 40 children each, thus temporarily taking 80 pupds away from the gymnasium only to have them put back there at the beginning of the next year when a new lot of pupils were enrolled. Thus matters would be no further advanced and the requirements caused by a steadily increasing roll would not be met.

The chairman then moved: “That owing to the unhealthy state of the Fitzroy school, due to its unreasonable overcrowding, and in view of the failure on the part of the Education Department to remove the menace to the health of the children and teachers which has existed for some considerable time, and to which the department’s attention has been directed on several occasions, this meeting of parents and friends of the children of the school emphatically protests against the present conditions being allowed to continue; and realising the extraordinary growth that is taking place and will take place in the district, we are of opinion that the time for temporary expedients has gone by, and therefore urge the Minister of Education to erect a new school without further loss of time.”

Mr. P. Page seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. Mr. G. Goldsworthy then moved a further motion as follows: “That oaring

to the congested state of the school and the unhealthy conditions under which the children are being taught, this meeting of parents are resolved not to send their children to school and will take the consequences, unless immediate action U taken by the Department of Education to relieve the existing state of affairs.” Mr. W. Moore, in seconding, said parents should “put their foot down” and declare they would not send their children to school until the matter was rectified. (Hear, hear). “If the resolution is carried would parents be fined for keeping their children away from school?” was another question asked, to which the chairman replied that he thought the Government would do the same as at Longburn and immediately grant the request. The motion was carried enthusiastically and unanimously. “When does this boycott start?” asked a parent. The chairman said Education Board , representatives were at present in Weilington, and the committee would like to hear the result of their request before taking action. As it happened to be election year the committee hoped to stir the Minister up. If the request were not granted the children would be kept away from school at the Iveginning of the next term.