CO129-596-2 Education Department- annual report 1947-8- comments by Advisory sub-committee on Education in the Colonies 28-6-1949 - 1-2-1950 — Page 17

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The Northcote Training College staff conduct Summer and refresher courses for teachers which have been very well attended. A number of places in the College are reserved for uncertificated teachers of some years' experience. Most of these come from Grant-Aided schools and they receive the same salary whilst training as they would receive in school.

Teachers for Subsidised Schools.

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Many of the certificated teachers at present in subsidised schools received their training in the now defunct Evening Institute Normal Classes and the Vernacular Normal Schools. Their salaries have been extremely low and three years ago a new scale was suggested by Mr. Y.P. Law (then Senior Vernacular Inspector) which represented, at the time, a considerable increase.

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These new salaries came into force recently and while they have caused a certain amount of satisfaction I have several misgivings about them.

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(a) The certificated teachers in subsidised schools have the same

qualifications and training as those in Government and Grant-Aided schools. Yet they only get 2/3 of the salary. We are therefore paying on the 'school' and not on the teacher and the work he does. Teachers will go to subsidised schools as a last resort but this year not one Northcote Training College graduate was so employed since Goverment and Grant-Aided schools absorbed the entire output. This is wrong.

(b) On the new scale I find that teachers of 20 years' experience have

been made to start on the minimum of the scale simply because it was greater than their previous salary. This represents a hardship and an indignity which should be rectified. I was on leave when this was applied.

(c) I feel that there should be different scales for Urban and Rural teachers partly on account of the lower cost of living, and particularly of accommodation, in the rural areas and partly so as to keep the teacher within the village economic level.

The present scales of salaries in all subsidised schools (as from the 1st of April, 1948) are:-

Uncertificated Teachers:

Male Female

Certificated Teachers:

Basic Salary per month.

$100 $80

Basic Salary per month

Year

2 3

Male $ 200 200 215 Female $ 160 160 175

1

4 5

230 245 260 275 190 205 220 235

5 6 7

General: When the school has five or more teachers, the Head Teacher

receives a Headteacher'a allowance of $50 per month.

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