The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. THURSDAY, DEC. 4, 1890.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXV, Issue 2870, 4 December 1890, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

THURSDAY, DEC. 4, 1890.

t'.qua! and exact lu.stico to all men, ()t'whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political.

V\*k as a people are living beyond ouv iueome, and wo liavo deturmined that no more 1 inmiuy .sluill be borrowed, t.hovo is thoreloio only one course open to ua and to roduce ouv expenditure. Ihose who will bo called upon to cut the garment in accordanco with tho cloth at their disposal will have a difficult and unpleasant task to perforin. « inttcr hol '° boo-in thoy will be met with the cry that the particular saving they propose is not so just or possible, compatible with ofticient administration, as some other which the raisers of the outcry could suggest, who naturally point to a vote which does not directly affect their pockots or their intererts. Mr Bryce has about his ears the indignation of the Teachers' Institute, who in a circular they have published appeal to the sentiments of electoi-s rather than to their common sense. They ignore the fact that retrenchment is an absolute necessity, or at any rate start with tho hypothesis that the present educational system cannot be meddled with without inflicting injuries which they depict iu the most scholastic language.

Let us look at the case fairly. In the first place to raise the minimum school age would effect a saving of about <£85,000 per annum, taking the average cost per head at £4. There were on the rolls of the schools at the end of the past year 21,293 children between the

ages of five and seven, yet we find that the average age at which children pass the first standard is nine years and two manths. .Not- ■ withstanding the rather hysterical language of tho Institute wo are of opinion that with ordinarily efficient teaching and average brain capacity in the children two years should ' bo quite sufficient time for them to qualify for passing the lirst standard. If we are right m so thinking the i!8o,000 per annum is paid in ordor that parents may be relieved of a portion oi their trouble and our schools bear it instead. If tho colony wcro m affluent circumstances some might hesitate before endorsing Mr Bryce's proposal, not because they believe that the early attendance is an appreciable advantage from a purely educational point of view, but becausa the system is a convenience to parents and keeps the children, in some degree, out ot mischief. There were 14,748 children attending schools who were over tho age oi thirteen. If Mr Bryce's suggestion were acted upon, a further saving would be eflected of £55,000 neariy, which, added to the saving by curtailment at the other end, gives a gross saving of £143,000. The average age at which children pass tho fourth standard is twelve years aud five months. Mr Bryce's reply to the Institute s brochure, in which they gush somewhat as to the absolute ineffectiveness of an education which ends at the fourth standard must have been to them rather disconcerting. Mr Bryce pointed out that the greater proportion of the children do not attend after passing the fourth. This being so, if we are to accept tho opinions of the Institute, the large sum we are at present spending must be taken as so much money thrown away. Wc fully recognise the fact that a substantial saving timet be made somewhere, but there is something in the contention that it would be an unwise step to attempt to make the parents pay the cost of educating their children when they have passed thirteen. In the majority of cases, in the country ;; ; t any rate, the fact of sending their children to school after that age is a serious sacrifice on the part of the parents, aud there is fear that the charging of fees _ ivould turn the scale. There is such a thing in relation to almost all matters as " .Spoiling the ship tor

a ha'portli of tar," which is manifestly poor economy. The saving, as regards education, should be made in some other diiristfcioii. Oui universities and secondary schools are excessively costly. It is for instance a rank piece of absurdity that there should be three universities with its stafi of Professots iu a colony with only the present population of Now Zealand. Tin's is a matter with which WQ will deal iu a future article. We quite K'ldorse Mr Bryce's opinion that the school age should be raised to seven, as wu feel uoutklent that, were this the ease, itha children in a vast majority of eases would be as far advanced at the ago of as they are under the present limitation, and £85,000 per annum would be saved to the colony.