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Salient. Victoria University Newspaper. Volume 38, Number 14. June 20, 1975

Of Black Friday and Teacher Trainees

page 3

Of Black Friday and Teacher Trainees

Teachers' college students protesting

The Budget announcement of the STB brought a storm of criticism from Teachers College Students. It obviously had some effect:

— during the transition period a students preference for the STB or the present system will not influence his chances of selection for Teachers College. (Originally preference for the STB was to be taken into account as a favouring factor for selection.)

— the STB as it relates to teachers college students now includes a bonded supplement (apparently dollar for dollar) which wasn't the case when the budget was announced.

Originally student teachers were to have taken a variety of industrial action across the country. The concessions stopped this but the student teachers still have many gripes. Not the least of these gripes is that a dollar for dollar bond could leave people with up to $6,000 to pay to get out—a risk that very few people could afford to take. Without the supplement the $13 a week basic rate is not a living wage. Teachers in training have shorter holidays (to earn money) and greater overheads (eg. travel when on section) than university students.

Approximately 600 people marched from Flagstaff Hill to Parliament. It is estimated that about two-thirds of Wellington's student teachers participated and two delegates with large banners from most of the other teachers' colleges in New Zealand added support, along with four and a half university students.

The students up the front carried the coffin of our dearly beloved and departed 'Future Education' while the wake followed in a remarkably long trail. Many people carried banners proclaiming that the STB would mean the downfall of education and that the STB should be killed and similar slogans. While I agree that the present STB is pretty helpless not only for trainee teachers but for other students as well, I feel that to say that the STB is a retrograde step is undermining our past efforts to try to obtain it. These banners were selfish because it is generally agreed that a fleshed-out STB with extra allowances for student teachers would be a good thing. But apart from that the marchers put on a good show.

Once at Parliament there were half a dozen speeches and then the delegation disappeared into the building supposedly in the direction of Mr. Amos' office.

While they were in there about a quarter of the crowd deserted. But for the majority who stayed the Wellington Teachers' College Maori Club gave two short performances of Maori songs on the steps.

Police at parliament looking at protestors

The general feeling is that the march was well worth while. The meeting with Amos was much more congenial than previous meetings and although the student negotiators weren't entirely happy, they felt they had accomplished something.

Amos assured them that the matter would be cleaned up within six months to the satisfaction of those involved.

Another important result of the march was a speech given by Bob White, an executive member of NZEI. He strongly criticised the institutes handling of matters relating to student teachers and wished the students luck in their struggle for a better education system. It is also thought that Stanz could well get granted full negotiating rights for its own affairs in place of the PPTA and NZEI, who have been very poor negotiators on behalf of the students in the past.