The Waikato Times. AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men. Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. THURSDAY, DEC. 8, 1892.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 3192, 8 December 1892, Page 2

The Waikato Times. AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men. Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. THURSDAY, DEC. 8, 1892.

It appears to be fast beeotiiing a custom with teachers and committees in the event of unsatisfactory reports of schools by the inspectors to lay counter charges against those officials. It is only the other clay that after investigation one series of charges was declared by the Board to be without foundation At the meeting of the Board on Tuesday another case cropped up in the form of a letter from the chairman of the Howick committee complaining that two paragraphs in die report were not consistent ■> we must confess that taken without the full context of the sentences there appears to be reason for the complaint. It is difficult for a layman to comprehend how both statements can possibly be a fair report of the state of the school. The one is: "The general bohaviour and manners are very good," and the other : " The whole tone, disposition, and order of the school are not satisfactory." In another paragraph of the report it appears the want of alacrity and steadiness is alleged. The committee retort that these failings are fully accounted for " by the blustering and domiueering manner of the Inspector." Some irrelevant allusions to a shower of rain and the inspector's saddle is embodied in the letter of complaint. The report of the meeting before us does not show how this curious conclusion is arrived at. Without any pretention to being an educational expert we are clear that bluster and domineering by inspectors is calculated to do away altogether with the utility of examination as a test of the knowledge of children, by which the ability of teachers is necessarily judged; and we can readily sympathise with a teacher subjected to a trial of his work under such unfair conditions. It is not, however, with the intention of discussing this or any other specific case that we are. writing, but rather to consider the much larger question as to with which body the appointment of inspectors should vest. We are inclined to endorse Mr Cooper's conclusions that the Board is not able to supervise the Inspectors. This can manifestly only be done by skilled educationists capable of checking their work and by followingin their footsteps occasionally testing how far the state of the school coincides with the opinions set forth in the reports. The present system is very much as would be the placing of the responsibility of judging of the capability of a military or naval officer on the shoulders of a body of civilians. The mode of appointment is objectionable. There is no principle on which inspectors arc created ; applications are called to fill a vacancy and the Board, with-

out the possibility of knowing | whether they are doing a foolish or wiso thing, appoint the man who has the most friends on the Board or whose personal appearance and manner impresses them most favourably. It appears to us that these appointments should eitht.-r be made bv the Chief Inspector or a Board of Inspectors, after carefully studying ■in applicant's antecedents and examing him as to the soundness of his views of the duties he aspires to perform. We are not prepared to advocate the abolition of Boards, and believe that they perform good work, better than could be anticipated did all the working out of details, and the application of funds, rest with a Board sitting in Wellington. We do believe, however, that the appointment of inspectors would be much more satisfactory were the duty relegated to the department in Wellington. At the present time there is a waut of uniformity in the interpretation of the standard schedules. So great is this the case that the passing of a given standard in one district is much more easy or difficult than to secure a pass certicate in another. The office of Inspector should be one of the rewards for professional success, and the remuneration higher than is payable to those who remain in the ranks. If Inspectorship were made colonial appointments it would be competent to shift the officers from place to place, which would have the effect of lessening the liability to charges of favouritism or vindictiveness by teachers. The fact is patent that the present system is not satisfactory, and we can see no means of improvement unless it be those we have suggested above.