AGY-89 | Council of Education

Full description

An Act to make better provision for Public Education, 1866 (30 Victoria, Act No. 22) abolished the Board of National Education (1) and the Denominational School Board (2) and created the Council of Education (3) which assumed responsibility for the centralised administration of public education in New South Wales. The Council was a body corporate consisting of five members each appointed for a period of four years. (4) At its inauguration the Council took over the property of the two boards which preceded it. (5)

The major functions of the Council were as follows:
* control of expenditure and government grants for elementary education,
* establishment and maintenance of public schools,
* granting of aid to "certified" denominational schools (that is, schools with thirty children in regular attendance")
* appointment, training and examination of teachers. (6)

The Act authorised the appointment of itinerant teachers in sparsely populated areas (7) and the establishment of privately owned schools in areas where there was no public school provided that there were fewer that 25 students The private schools were eligible for grants and periodic inspection by the Council. (8) The provision of boarding facilities at public schools was permitted on a no-profit basis. (9) Colleges for the training of male and female teachers were to be formed and teachers were certified according to a grading system. (10) The Council of Education was to set a scale of school fees payable in public schools and certified denominational schools. (11) However, inability or neglect of a parent to pay the fees was not grounds for the exclusion of a child from school. (12) Four hours of secular instruction per day was required and at least one hour per day of religious instruction by a clergyman was permitted. (13) Religious instruction in denominational schools was unregulated by the Council. (14)

The Act authorised the appointment of Public School Boards consisting of at least three persons. The function of the Boards was the regular inspection and reporting on the school. (15)

All existing denominational schools were entitled to seek certification by the Council for Education and National Schools became public schools. (16)

The Council of Education was appointed on 1 January 1867 (17) and its regulations were adopted on 27 February 1867. (18)

The following decade saw a substantial increase in the number of public schools, a decline in the number of denominational schools, and the evolution of a system which could provide a basic elementary education for most children in the colony. State aid continued to be a contentious issue, however, and pressure mounted during the 1870s for the removal of denominational schools from the State system. Reform was attempted in 1876, but the relevant bill was ruled out of order as it had been improperly introduced. (19)

The Public Schools Act, 1866 was repealed by the Public Instruction Act, 1880 (43 Vic. no. 23) which dissolved the Council of Education (20) and established a Department of Public Instruction (21) under the control of a Minister of the Crown and provided for the cessation of all aid to Denominational Schools from 31 December 1882.

The Public Instruction Act, 1880 commenced on 1 May 1880 on which date the Council of Education ceased and the Department of Public Instruction was established. (22)

Endnotes
1. Public Schools Act, 1866 s.2.
2. Ibid. s.3.
3. Ibid. ss. 1, 5.
4. Ibid. s.1.
5. Ibid. ss.2 and 4.
6. Ibid. s.6.
7. Ibid. s.12.
8. Ibid. s.13.
9. Ibid. s.14.
10. Ibid. s.15.
11. Ibid. s.16.
12. Ibid. ss.17-1.8
13. Ibid s.19.
14. Ibid. s.11.
15. Ibid. s.22.
16. Ibid. s.28.
17. NSW Government Gazette, 1 January 1867, p.2.
18. NSW Government Gazette, 1 March 1867, p.583.
19. Concise Guide 2nd Edition, "Cor - Cu", "Council of Education", p.1.
20. Public Instruction Act, 1880 s.1.
21. Ibid.
22. ibid s.40.