A-4

Teachers There are four categories into which, teachers fall. (a) Seconded certificated New Zealand teachers. These teachers occupy, in general, the key positions in the Department or in the schools. Some are University graduates, others have done varying amounts of University work, and all have been trained as teachers in the New Zealand system. Their salaries, including marriage, tropical, cost-of-living, and position allowances, vary, according to length of service and nature of appointment, from £435 per annum for the lowest-salaried assistant to £1,045 for the Superintendent of Schools. (b) The second class concerned only two people for the year 1947-48. It comprises certificated New Zealand teachers who are living in Samoa and who are engaged there. Their salaries are paid on the same basis as that of the seconded teachers, but they do not receive tropical allowances. (c) The third class is comprised of uncertificated teachers of European status who are engaged locally, mainly for the two European schools. Their salary scale commences at £55 per annum and rises to £440, exclusive of cost-of-living allowance. (d) The fourth and largest group is composed of the Samoan teachers, who staff the village schools or assist seconded teachers in other schools. Many of these have passed through the Training School in Apia, but prior to the establishment of this school in 1939, and during the war years when staffing was very difficult, many untrained teachers were engaged. The salaries of this group, exclusive of cost-of-living allowance, range from £4l per annum to £l9O per annum. The seven Staff Inspectors for this group commence at £l3O per annum and rise to £240 per annum. They receive, in addition, a travelling-allowance at the rate of £l5 per annum and a cost-of-living allowance of varying proportions. There is no local association of teachers, although the seconded teachers belong to the New Zealand Education Institute, which, through its monthly journal, National Education, keeps them au fait with current trends and methods. Adult and Community Education In the absence of definite figures, it would be fairly safe to say that the incidence of illiteracy is not greater than 5 per cent. It is probably much less than that. This is due mainly to the good work of the various missionary bodies in establishing the pastors' schools in all villages. Little, however, is available in the way of reading-material in the Samoan language. The Churches, here again, have done excellent work in keeping the language alive and in supplying a limited amount of reading-material. The early missionaries systematized the language and various dictionaries and grammers are available, although sometimes difficult to obtain. Most of the Churches publish a regular quarterly or monthly Church paper in Samoan which is circulated amongst their adherents, and from time to time publish text-books or reading-material for their students. The administration also publishes a regular official monthly paper in the vernacular for circulation amongst the people. These publications, however, fill only a small percentage of the general need. Beading of the Bible is general amongst the Samoans, but apart from these factors there is little available for the great percentage of literate Natives. Many of the present generation, through the teaching in the schools, read papers and books brought in by Europeans and seize avidly on these for the wider range of information given.

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