Teachers' Bonus Was A

Departmental "Boner"

From Our Own Correspondent

Mangaia, July.

THERE was great rejoicing here re cently among the school staffs when the Education Department of Cl announced that a bonus, amounting to as much as £4O, would be paid to senior teachers. The reasons for this sudden burst of official generosity were not made clear; but the disbursement duly took place, and an orgy of spending followed.

It is now discovered that the bonus was paid in error; and the money paid to the senior teachers has to the very great dissatisfaction of their “union ” the Cl Teachers’ Guild been debited to their salary accounts. As a result, the nedagogues who got the largest bonus now face the longest term in re funding it, at £1 per month!

There is. however, a brighter side to this tragedy of error. Certain members of the staff, whose services have been dispensed with, may now chuckle because they, before leaving, drew the “bonus”; and now, being out of the Department’s employ, are exempt from the loss of one pound a month to pay it back!

The writer felt, and expressed, at the time, a suspicion that someone had blundered it is not customary for the NZ Government to throw largesse around in the Cooks, where no one can vote in the NZ elections, in spite of the Group being allegedly a part of New Zealand.

To the writer’s mind, the Administra tion would have been better advised to let the bonus stand, and charge it to overhead expenses, rather than “lose face” In the manner described.

The price of petrol in Fiji was increased by 2d. to 2/7 a gallon on August 22.