THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2606, 26 March 1889, Page 2

THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION

[iJY TliliKCKAPil — OWN' UOTUtES POX DENT. |

Auckland, Monday. Tub lion. Mr Fisher, Minister for Education, was interviwed at the Northern Club tliis morning by a deputation from the Board of Education with reference to the disbursement of the balance of the grant voted for school buildings last session. In reply to their representations he stated that the (iovernment had not yet distributed the whole of the £30,000 voted by Parliament last year for tho erection of educational buildings throughout the colony for the reason that he (Mr Fisher) had a long time, back come to the conclusion that the distribution of the building money upon a population basis was not satisfactory, because many districts at present insufficiently equipped with regard to building requirement, must remain so nr det' such a system. The only reason why the remainder of the money was not distributed was because of the anxious desire of the (iovernment to find out which of the education districts were most deserving in point of building requirements, and he hardly thought they would dissent from the desire of the Government in that particular. Mr Upton referred to the difficulties Auckland had experienced in providing school accommodation in sparsely populated districts, and said they had not deprived country settlements of help for the benefit of more thickly populated districts. Mr Fisher said that the Department endeavoured last year to ascertain by means of information derived from the Boards what were the actual and pressing requirements of each educational district, and they received demands amounting to £93,000, It was altogether out of the question that they could act upon such a plan. It was to do justice to these districts that some improved scheme for the distribution of the grant was required, and on his araival in Wellington ho would give his immediate atten tion to the Board's request.