Mission Schools Take-Over In Geic

Free, compulsory education for children six to 12, is planned in a number of major changes in the education policy of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony. The new policy may also involve island sec ondary schools catering for children over 13, and full-time technical courses at Tarawa.

The new policy will not be put into effect till the Minister of Edu cation, Training and Culture, Mr Roniti Teiwaki, knows the public reaction to a number of reports on education.

A national system of primary education was recommended under which government, island council and mission schools would be directly administered by the Educa

tion Ministry. Mission school build ings would be transferred on com pensation or leased. There would be safeguards for the teaching, and teachers, of denominational doctrine.

Private (unaided and independent) schools would be registered and supervised by the Education Ministry.

Primary education has been largely in the hands of mission or volunteer agency schools, some of which were subsidised by the government. There are more than 200 of these schools.

At the secondary schools, for children over 13, teaching would be centred on island life and local de velopment. The present classes 7, 8 and 9, would be absorbed into the new schools. As a first step, one island secondary school would be

established as a pilot project.

Secondary education has been concentrated at the King George V School and the Elaine Bemacchi Secondary School, two run by the Catholic Mission, and one by the Congregational Church.

The development of a Form VI for the King George V and Elaine Bemacchi Schools will be examined.

Steps will be taken to integrate the mission junior secondary schools in to a national system of secondary education.

Under the new policy the Tarawa Technical Institute will offer full time courses in technical and com mercial education for post-secondary training, as well as continuing in service training on as wide a basis as possible. Evening classes under the umbrella of the institute will be held at Betio, Bairiki and Bikenibeu.