Geic's Education Crisis

Worries The Missions

By Ken Mcgregor

Education in the GEIC is facing a crisis, according to the Roman Catholic and Protestant Missions which carry most of the education burden.

Roman Catholic schools, where twice as many primary school children are educated as at gov ernment schools and which turn out almost as many secondary school children as the government, may gradually be closed down.

Roman Catholic administrators at Tarawa, faced with a pathetic $19,000 government subsidy a year for their schools and a “no policy” answer on future education costs from the government and Britain, are currently deciding if it is worthwhile to continue their extensive educa tion system in the GEIC.

The Catholic disillusionment with GEIC education follows the decision taken four years ago by the London Missionary Society to phase out its numerous primary or “village” schools (mostly in the Ellice Group) over a 10-year period.

On Tarawa late last year I talked to Bishop Pierre Guichet, in charge of Catholic operations, and the Reverend Brian Ranford, in charge of the bulk of Protestant operations.

Both expressed regret that the GEIC Government had not taken a big hand in education and had not announced any firm policy to take over schools in the future.

Bishop Guichet, who had just re turned from London where he made an abortive attempt to get Britain to recognise the GEIC’s education dilemma, said he was completely dis heartened by the GEIC Government’s attitude to taking a bigger share of education.

"Talked and talked"

“I have talked and talked to top people here and in Britain,” he said. ‘They all listen and that’s all that is done.”

He said between them the two missions educated about 11,000 primary pupils out of a total of about 13,000 school-going primary popula tion. They educated 300 secondary pupils out of a tiny total of about 500.

“Catholics and government each

have one teacher-training college. We have 49 trainees and the government 56. We each have two secondary schools, we have 180 pupils and the government 198.

“Government has 29 primary schools, we have 94. Here Catholics educate 5,979 children, government educates 2,454.”

Bishop Guichet said his mission had received $19,508 as a govern ment subsidy for its schools and teach ing in 1968, whereas $326,041 had been spent by the government on its own schools during the year.

He said the recent Education Ad visory Committee in the GEIC had no powers—decisions rested still with the Resident Commissioner, Mr. Val Andersen.

A finance scheme for construction of primary schools between his mission and the GEIC Government had been suspended, without prior notification to him, and funds that were previously distributed to the Catholics and Island councils were now going solely to the councils.

Bishop Guichet said Catholic schools cost at least $50,000 annually to maintain. His last request for an increase in his mission subsidy had been refused. Now he has to decide whether to continue shouldering the GEIC’s education or to close Catholic schools and put the money to another use, such as social welfare pro grammes.

Taken over

Rev. Brian Ranford told me the GEIC Government would just “have to” take a bigger hand in education.

“Our network of primary schools is slowly being taken over by Island councils which are financed party by local taxes and, for things like education, by money from Tarawa,” he said.

He said there were no plans to scrap the Protestant High Schools at Bern, Gilberts, or Vaitupu, Ellice, or a theological college on Tarawa.

Mr. Ranford said it was a pity gov

ement had not come in before in a bigger way. If Catholics pulled out of education, it would be nothing short of a tragedy should the gov ernment not come in to take their place, he said.

Tragedy or no tragedy, it seems likely that the GEIC Government will have to face up to spending far more than it does on education. Re commendation of the Mooring socio economic report that the percentage of current expenditure on education of a paltry 11.7 per cent, be in creased to 15 per cent. does not seem nearly enough.

A Catholic pullout would require double this amount—some $600,000.

It’s no secret that since the 1870’s missions have done far more educat ing than the government in the GEIC —and they still do. It follows, surely, that the government should not these days leave the bulk of schooling costs to the missions.

Education is a government re sponsibility. Someone in Tarawa (or is it Britain?) should face that.