school Broadcasts for Cook Islands

Cook Islands

WAS grateful for the space given to publicising School Broadcasts in Western Samoa (PIM, April), he editorial note is quite apt, but should like to point out that one mid deduce from your last para •aph that the Cook Islands were

apathetic in putting into operation their programme for School Broad casts.

In actual fact there is no organ ised machinery for School Broad casts there. Experiments have been conducted but so far the plant is not sufficiently powerful to be able to give the service that we have developed in Samoa. The cost of setting up a station similar to Samoa would be well beyond the means of Cook Islanders to-day and the present makeshift station is unable to reach schools in the outer Islands during the daytime.

A considerable amount of thought is still going into the project, but it would be quite wrong to blame the present hiatus on the need for

“the Divine spark.” What is really needed is a much greater sum of money.

Samoa is in a much better posi tion insofar as broadcasts do not have to go beyond Upolu and Savaii.

To reach Penrhyn, one of the Northern Cook Islands, from Raro tonga, during school hours, would require more expensive equipment than that of Samoa. We should welcome suggestions.

I am, etc.,

F. R. J. Davies,

Officer for Islands Education.

Wellington, Cl, New Zealand, June 14, 1956.