Student grades for parents, not public

At the annual meeting of the South Canterbury Teachers' Institute on Saturday (says the Timaru Post), Mr Fergusson condemned the practice of supplying to the newspapers copies of reports on the results obtained in schools.

For many years New Zealand had had a most pernicious system of passes, which had been condemned throughout the world.

This pernicious system was accentuated through teachers publishing in the local papers their percentage of passes.

For his part he absolutely refused to give any information for publication as to the state of his school.

There were some teachers doing good, honest work, who could not get as good a percentage of passes as some others, and it was unfair to them that they should be made to appear at a disadvantage in print.

In some places teachers acted as correspondents for newspapers, and his opinion was that no teacher should act in that capacity.

A report was made by the inspector; this was supplied to school committees, and that should be sufficient.

School teachers should set their faces against the publication of these reports.

The matter was one which should be brought before teachers throughout New Zealand.

Mr Valentine agreed with the remarks of Mr Fergusson but did not think that teachers were to blame in the matter; he inclined rather to the belief that school committees were responsible and that they caused the reports (when favourable) to be published, with the best of intentions.

It would, however, be better to keep them out of the paper.

• The methods adopted by some parents to avoid prosecution for the non-attendance of their children at school were illustrated at the meeting of the Hawke's Bay Education Board (says the Hawke's Bay Herald).

It was stated that some people had set up a tent at the end of their section, thus placing themselves outside the two miles limit.

Had they remained in their original place of abode, they could have been prosecuted.

• New York: Armed and masked, three desperate ruffians boarded the Oregon express near Salt Lake, and overpowered the crew of the train.

They then bestowed their attention upon the passengers, all of whom were relieved of everything they had in the way of cash and valuables.

A bigger prize, however, was that which the robbers secured in the mail van, from which booty to the amount of 5000 was secured.

The gang made its escape, but an armed posse has gone off in pursuit.

- ODT, 7.7.1910.