Education Act 1875 (SA)

ANNO TRICESIMO OCTAVO El' TRICESIMO NON0

No. 11.

A7z Act to amend tlze Law ~eiat iny to Pdlie Edtccation.

[Asscutcd to, 12th October, l87Fi.l

X it Enacted by thc Govcrnor of thc P1wint.c of South

B Australia, by and with thc ronscnt of thc Lgidntivr Co~sncil

and Housc of Asscmbly of thc :,aid P1.o~-incc, in this prcscut Ii'nr-

lian~ent asscnlblecl, as fbl10ws:

l. An Act of the Govelmr and Lcgislativc C'ouncil of the said llepeal of 15 Vict.,

reign, and i n t ~ t u l d "An Act to ~rorn(~t;tr Hrhratiou in 'south Province, being No. 20 of the tiftrmth ?-em of IIrr Majesty's c- 20- of Stipends to Tmihers," is hereby r~pealed: Proridcd tlut' until the appointment of the Council of Echcation, as hereinafter nlcn- tioned, the Board of Xducation, and its officers slmll contiinxe thcir duties as if this Act had riot bccn passed.

every person who is liablc to maintain, or has the actual custody of, any child. 3. A

2. In the construction, and for the purposes of this Act, tllc fol- 1ntel~"tntion-

lowing terns shall, if not incoilsisterit with the context or subjcct matter, have the respective meanings hereby ussigncc1 to thcm, that

is to say-

" Council " shall mean " Thc Council of Ecluattion ":

" Prescribed" shall mean prescribed by any Regulation madv

under the authority of this Act:

" Compulsory Standard " shall mean competency in

writing, and arithmetic to the satisfaction of an Ilnspector

of Schools or othcr person authorized by the Clouncil:

" Parent " shall incan and include fatlm, motllclr, guardian, imrl

Council of Education 3. A Council of ~rhcsttion, to be constituted of not less than

incorporated.	five nor more thala, .mvar;t persons, shall be appointed, as hereinafter provided. The C&oneil shall be a body politic and corporate, and shall, by tbJ' &ple or title of " The Council of Education," ha7-e pci-petual ~auccmion, and be able and capable to sue and be sued in all court^ of Law and Equity, and shall have and usr, as occasion may ~.equire, a common seal: And the Council shall and may accept, purchase, and hold, to thcm and their successors, as members of the mid Corporati&, to and fur the uses thereof, real and pmonal eestate, and property of every kind. Upon the appointment of the Council the Ceiltral Board of Education shall bc and is hereby
dissolved. ,
Councilof Education,
how appointed.	4. The members of the Council shall bc appointed Iny the Gover- nor, and (cxccyt thc Prcsiclent, who shdl be a salaricd officer appointed during pleasnte) sl~all hold OIKC'O for the t e m of two years, subjcct to removal by the Governor., but two of the Mrmbcw first upl~oiutccl shall be appointed for ol7.e year only. In case of the cleath, resignation, or rcrrloval from officcb of ally member of the Council other than the Y ~esiden t, tlw appoint,ment to fill the vacancy so arising shall be for the rest of the term of office for whicit snc+h mc~wlkr was nppintcd. Any three mernbcrs of the Cotulcil
shall form a quorum comp~tmt to transact busincss at any meeting of
thc Com~i l. The l'resident 01. other member presiding shall have
u deliberative arid also a casting vote. The members of the Council, ot1nc.r. than tllc mid Prexicleut, slmll be rernuneratcd by fees, not ex- cecding Onc G i i w t t each, for cvrry meeting of the Chuncil at which t h y shall he lmsent.

Lands to vest 111	5, ,411 land a d	l ) ~ o i ~ ~ r t ~	which may bc acquired for the purposes
Cowxil.

of this ,4ct s h l l bc conveycd or assigned to the Co~ulcil, and all

lniid mcE property vcsted in, or belonging to, the C e n t ~ d Board of

Erlucatim at tlw L. ~ n m ~ n ~ e l n e n t of chis Act, and all land hereto-

fore gmnied or rieclirnid by the Govcrnor, and now vested in

t1vstc.e~ for school lmyosw, shall, from and aftcr tbe passing hereof,

any land held subject to or upon the trusts cxpressed in the &clam-	vrst ill the CIou:~cil. Thc trustees, or a majority of the trustces, of
tioil of trust lm-etofore rcquirtd bv the Central Eoarcl of Education b ~ h c adrancing public money tckards the crection of any school- house upm such land, or the trustees, or a majority of the trustcc~,
of any lmd held 11po11 any trusts for school purposes, not being de- nonzirlntional, and not expressly restraining alienation, may convey such land to the Council. The Council may takc and acquire lands which m a r be reqniretl as sites for school buildings or for school p~rposes, &her compulsorily or by agreement, and for the purpose of cuablmg the Council to take and acquire such land, "The Lands Clanscs Consolidation Act," except sections 10, 11, 16, 17, 20, 136, and 137 thereof, is hereby incorporated with this Act. The Council may sell, or otherwisg dispose of any land or property vested in it. not being cndowed lands hereinafter referred to, and may do ind 'executc all n c c e s q acts, deeds, and assurances for that

purpose,

380 Br; 39" VICTORTB, No. 11. 39

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The Bducatiorl Act.--1875.

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purposc, and the proc~eds of evmysuch d c or disposition shall be paid into the 'l'reasury, and be applied as mentioned i11 section 24;

and the Council may purchase, or lease, or hire such buildings and

premises as may be suitable mr1 necessary for school buildings.

shall bc entrusted with the espenditurc of all snms of money Eduo*tiOnm 6. The Coun cil, subject to the provisions hercinnftcr contained, Powers of Council of

appropriated by Yarliament for elementary education, and shall have authoritj to es t nblish and maintain public schools, to appoint and rcrnow tench~rs and School Inspectors and other officers, to makc and prescribe rrgulations for holding meetings of the Council and the performaace of its duties under this Act, for defining thc course of instruction and ckarwtcr of school hooks, for the establishment of scholarships open to bc competed for by scholars at 11uhlic or other schools, thc training,.cxamination, appointment, and classifi- cation of tewhcrs, for fixing the salarics and fees to bc paid to tcachcrs, for the examination of scholars, the discipline to be enforced and obs~rved in schools, the times and mode of teaching, for defining the duties of Boards of Advice, fo.1. the occasiond use of schoolrooms after school hours for other purposes; and the Council shall also have power to do all other matters and things necessary to bc done for carrying out the yravisions of this Act: Frovided that the Council shall in all mattcrs whatsoevw he subject ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~. G o v c m O r

to the likc control by the Governor as any other dep~t~rncnt of the Public Scrrice, and that no replations nindc and pmscribetl 11s aforesaid shdl lrave any force until approved by the Governor.

7. All reg~ilations made and prescribed by the Cou~wil shall be Iteaulntions to have

laid before both IIouses of Parliament within one month if Padis-	fOwe of law.
mcnt be sitting, and if Parli;xnwnt br not sitting, then within ono month after the eomrncncenient of thc ixxt ensuing Scssion thereof; and if not disallowed by express resolution of either 11 onsc of Parliament within one month from tlwir bein6 so laid hefbre
month, be conchxsively deemed to hc valid, and s l d l have the	Parliament, such regulations shall, aftcr the expmtion of' such	force of law, and shall be judicially noticcd: All regulations, when
so made and prescribed shall be published in the Gover?trnejzt Gnzetle
for general information; and the production of a copy purporting to be a copy of the Govcr~jmer,t Gazette in which such regulations
shall be published, slral!, until the samc slitall have obtaincd t h,
force of law as aforesaid, be pinid fa& cvidcnce that all the pmvi? sions of this Act in respect thereof have been complied with.

8. A public school may be established in any locality where the Public schools to be

Council shall be satisfied that there are at least twenty children who established. will attend such school.

set apart during cach school-day for secular instruction only; and eeoular instructiou. 9. I n every public school four and a-half hours at least shall be our anda-half hoars

such schools may open in the morninf: a quarter of m hour at least before the time fixcd for such secular lrlstruction to commence, ibr the

purpose

40 38" & 39" VICTORTB, No. 11.

purpose of readinw ~ortions of the Holy Gcriptwes in the authorixcd or Douay vcrsion.n 'rhc attendancc of children at such reading shall not be con~pulsory, and no sectarian or denomiix~tional religious tcaching shall be allowed in any school.

Itinerant teachers. 10. In districts, where from the scattcrcd state of the population or other causes i t is not pmcticablo to establish a public school, the Council may appoint itinerant teachers under regulations to be

p s a t e gsah~ls	may	prescribed for that pnrpose, or may grant assistmcc as may be pre-
be assi~ted,	scrihed to other schools, not beiny ilenonlinational or sectarian, established by private persons, no twithstanding that thc children in attendmce at any such school may not number twenty.

Provision for 11. The Council may authorize pro^-ision to be made for the

boarders.	boarding and lodging, either cltdy or wechldy, of such children as,
by reason of the remoteness of their home, may not otherwise be
ablc to attend at any school.

Training schools. 12. The Council wnq establish a training school for the educatioi~

of teachers, and the teachers so eclucutcd, shall be classifiecl according to their attainments and i l l i teaching, and shall rcccive certificates. which shall qualify thorn for corresponding grnclcs in the school service, and the Council 111ay also est&lish infant schools, evening schools, schools for tllc teaching of any branch of science or art, ancl advanced schools for continuing thc education of scholars who shall Bavc obtained prizcs at public schools, or otherwise proved themselws qualified for actmission: Provided that thc course of training ic all such school^ shall be secular.

School fees.

13. Tllc Council shall- authorize a scale of fecs to be paid for pupils, and the amount uf all fccs collected in any s~hool shall be paid to the teacher rhercof for his own use, or if tllerb be more than one trtlchcr, theu in such proportion between the teachers as the Council map determine: Provided that it shall be in thc discretion of the C o u l d to authorize a special or distinct scale

inapplicable, or eo authorize the p a p c n t of a special stipend without	of fecs in any case in which the general scale may appear to them
fees in ~xceptional	cases.

Fee when remitted.

14. Notwithstandiilg any rcgulation for tllc payment of school fees, any child whose parent shall hr unable to pap such fees shaU

not on that account be rcfused admission iruu a y ubl~c school, but

shall, on the inability hcing sho-\~n in the prcsc~ibccl manner, be received ailcl instructed in the Rarne rnannw as the other pupils attculing such school.

Child not to be re-

15. n'o child shall be refimd ailmissiorl into a public school on the fees due for the education of such child; but all fees so due may be recovr.wl from tllc parent in the name of the Council or of any person anthorized by thc? C:ouncil, before any Justice of the i'cace,

fuaededdmissiony	but	aecuunt of the refustl or neglect o f thc parent of s k h child to pay
parent8 to be sum-
moned for fees.

I. ill

38" Sr 39" VICTORIZE, Rio. 11.

The Educatiot~ 14ct.-1875.

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in a summary way, under Act No. 6 of 1850, or any other Act in force for the time being in that behalf. Children residing within a distance of two miles from any school shall, on vacancies happening in the attendance of scholars thereat, have a prior claim to admission to such school over children residing beyond that distance.

16. The Council may dispense with any examination or atten-

dance at the Training School in the case of teachers already licensed nstion.

or cmployed by thc Board of Education, or in the case of teachers

holding certificates of competency from any training or examining

body approved by the Council.

17'. The Gowmor may- constitute and define school districts, by ~ ~ ~ $ ~ $ C ~ a

Proclamation in the Government Gazette, and may appoint a Board of Advicc for any school district, such Board to consist of not fewer than three persons, and who shall hold office f'or three years,

or such less tcrnl as thc Governor may appoint. T ~ c ~io<emor

inay appoint personsto vacancies that may from time to time occur in any such Board from death, resignation, or othcr- wise; and the said Board shall visit, and report upon the schools in the school district for which they are so appointed. Three members, when such Board shall consist of five or more, and two mcmbers when the Board shall consist of three or four nwmbers, shall form a quorum: Providcld that of the first members of evcry such Bowd one shall be appointed for one year and one for two years, and any member of swh Board may be removed by the Governor.

18. No money shall be appropriated under this Act in aid of ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ b e ~ e f " d

building school premises, unless the site of such premises shall be

vested in the Council.

rep0rt8.

19. The C'ouncil shall, on or b&re the thirty-first day of Mtrch

in every year, lay before the Governor a Report of the condition of

thirty-first clay of Dccenlber thcn nest preceding, and copies of such	the public schools, and a general statement of accounts up to the	report and statement of accounts shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament within one month if Parliament be sitting, and if Parlia- ment be not sitting, then within one month after the commencement
of the next ensuing Session thereof.
The parent of every child of not less than seven nor more than to school. 2d. Children of not less than five years of age may attend school. Children to be sent
thirteen years of zlgc shall cause such child to attend school for a pcriod of not less than seventy days in each half-year (unless there is some reaso~lable excuse for non-attendance to be shown by the parent): ('hilclren of more than thirteen years of age may attend schools. Any of the following reasons shall be a reasonable excuse upon being shown as aforesaid-

I. That the child is undcr efficient instruction in some other

mannel':

Ir. That

38" & 39" VICTOI'LIJE, No. 11.

The Educatiou A c t. 1 8 7 5.

11. T h t the child has been prevcntcd from attending school by

sickness, danger of infection, tcrnporary or permanent in-

firmity, or any ~mavoidable cause:

111. That therc is no public school which the child can attend within a distance of two miles, measured according to the

nearest road from the ~wiclencc of such child:

IV. That the child has been educatcd up to the compulsory standard, and holds a certificntc to that effect from an In- spector of Schools or other pri.son authorized h j the Council.

I n the event of any child on the roll of a school being unable to attend for any reason, the parent shall. info~m the master of the school of the same.

Penalties for neglect.	21. The parent of any child, of not less than seven nor more than thirteen years of agc, who neglects to send such child to school, may be summoned in the namc of the Ccnncil, or of any pcrsorl authorized by the Council, before a Justice, and on conviction of such offence shall forfeit and pay a slm nor, exceeding Five Shillinm for a first *. offence, and Twcnty shillings for every succeeding offence; and pyrrlcnt of thc same may bc onforccd under thc provisions of Act No. 6 of 1850, or any othei. Act iir force for the time being in that behalf; and the allegations that thc proceedings arc authorized by the Council, ancl that a child is ~ o t ??ss than scvell nor morc than thirteen years of age, and that the parent thereof neglects to send such child to school, without reasonable excuse, shall he deemed primd $acie evidence of the fact until the contrary is
proved, and in cvcry case the purcnts of a child map bc witnesses:
Provided that this dection shall not come into oyeraticn within any school district untd an order has been made by the Governor, to make which he is hereby authorized, directing that thc provisions hmvof shall extend to such school district, of the due making of which order publication thercof in a printcd copy purporting to be a copy
of the Governnter, t Gazette shall be sufficient evidence.

Penalty for dis- 22. Anj person who shall wilfully disturb any school, or who

turbance. shall upbraid, insult, or abuse any teacher in the presence or hcar- ing of the pupils assembled in school, shall forfeit and pay a pcn:~lty of not less than Ten Shillings nor more than Forty Shillings.

Summary recovery of 23. If any teacher, Inspector, or officcr of or under the said Board

school premisee.	ofbEducation or the Council, shall neglect or refuse to give and deliver up possession of any premises vested in the Council to any person named by the Council, at such time as the Council may direct, the Council may issue a warrant under its seal to any bailiff
of a Local Court commanding him to enter into the premises and
give possession of thc same to the Council, or their officer or agent; and such warrant may and shall bc enforced in likc manner and with the like protection as a warrant under section l 6 5 of the
" Local Court Act. 1861."

3tP & 39" VIC'h'OIEIL;E:, No. 11. -. -. P

The Education Art.--1875.

Grant of school siterr

24. The Governor mctp reserve, dedimte, ~ n d grant to the Council und endowment.

any waste lands of the Crown as sites for school buildings, and may also grant to the Couilcil by way of rndowmcnt for education onc hundred thousand acres of ihc said waste lands, and may also from time to time grant by way of such endowment snch further portions of the said waste l a d s not exceeding in area in any one year twenty thousand acres. Thc Council may demise and let any of the lands so grantcd by way of endowment, cithcbr from year to year or for any term not exceeding twenty-one years at the best rental which can be obtained for the samc, and upon such tcmns and conditions as to the Council shall seem fit; and the annual ilicomc derived therefrom shall be paid into thc Treasury, and applied by the Treasurer in manncr directed by the Council towards the ercction of school-houses, paymcnt of salaries, and other expenditure in carrying out the provisions of this Act.

builclings, any land included in any pastoral, mineral, or other lease 25. The Governor inay grant to the Council, as a site for school F;$:!

of waste lands of the Crown, or in any agreement for the salc of land upon credit, nrldrr Act 14 of 186h-9, or any amendment thereof; or under " 'Thc Waste Lands L41icnation Act, 1872," or any amcrsdment thereof; or lllldcr any Act hercaftcr in force, with respect to the sale upon credit of waste lands of thc Crown, with the coilsent in writing to such grant of the lesace or purchaser of such hnd; ancl :&er such grant the lease or agreement in which such land was so included shall be read and construed as if such land had been expressly excepted from thc operation of such lease

or a p e m e n t.

26, This Act may be cited as " "rhe Nducation Act, 1875." Short Title.

h the wmc and on Isehalf of Her Majesty, I hereby

assent to this Bill.

A. MUSGRAVE, Governor.

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Adelaide: Ey authority, W, G. COX, Goveromcnt Printer, North-terraoc.

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