Legislative A numbly million dollars. The schools are there, the people are using them and they are a great asset to the community and you know that this province has been suffering for generations for the lack of foresight in providing proper educational facilities. (Apnlause) We are still suffering economically from the fact that the school system in this province was geared to the capacity of one institution to handle secondary school students, and the number that were allowed through the entrance examination was geared t» the number that could be accommodated in that institution. The rest were f« i 1»d i >nd never received any further secondary school education. Thaw are some of the things that we are suffering from here today in this province. Proper educational facilities were not provided thirty and forty years ago. We were told in 1945. the Committee on Reconstruction told the Government to proceed with a system of high schools in the province. At that time it was advised that there be forty-five Regional High Schools built in the province. I will admit that we proceeded with building fifteen, I believe it was fifteen, new schools in difference parts of the province, and there are those who criticized the work at these schools. I would like to draw to your attention a very interesting fact with respect to this matter. There is talk of consolidation of the High Schools . Many of those High Schools an the centre of a community, I think it has given a new impetus to development in a lot of these communities to have this new school with facilities that can be used by the community for adult education and recreation. I would be very careful about dis¬ turbing the status quo in a lot of those centres as far as their schools are concerned. We are told that many of the bigger schools are more efficient and that could be so, could possibly be so, that they would give a more rounded type of educational bene¬ fit. But I would like to point out an interesting fact that in last year's Grade Twelve Maritime Board Examination that the five leading students, the students that re¬ ceived five provincial scholarships all came from , all came from the small schools in . The leader, I should mention, came from the school in CLeary. Honourable Robert E. Campbell : A relative of mine. T.. George Dewar : Yes. that's rieht: she would be a second cousin of the hon¬ ourable member from First Prince, and she is a credit to any family. Honourable Robert E. Campbell : I am proud of her too. L. George Dewar : A credit to any family. She not only led the Grade Twelve Examinations for the province of but she also tod the Grade Ten examinations for Prince Edward Island and the Eight examinations for Prince Edward Island , and she was a product of the CLeary Regional High School. We certainly wish the young lady, and I should name her, Hiss Elizabeth Platts , Howlan , every scholastic success. (Applause) Walter R. Shaw : That's where she got it L . George Dewar : Miss Platts was awarded a $600 scholarship by the pro¬ vincial government. The $600 scholarship went to Nancy Paynter of French River , from Kensington Regional High School. Ronald Nicholson of Carleton won tile $400 scholarship, from Athena Regional High School. Helen Marie Callaghan , also from the First District, won the $800 scholarship from the Tignish Regional High School. Eileen Matheson of CLeary won the $200 scholarship, again from the CLeary Re¬ gional High School, and Nancey Manderson , Central Lot 16 , from the Athena Re¬ gional High School, and the sixth prize went to Joyce Gaudet , Wellington Station , from the Evangeline Regional High School. Some Member : All Liberals too. L. George Dewar : A very remarkable performance by these schools in ; they shut and Kings County out completely. (Applause). Honourable Gordon L. Bennett : Would you like to give us statistics for the last ten years? L. George Dewar : No, I am sorry I cant do that, I can't do that, but I would think that the honours would be distributed between all the schools on the Island in a fairly even manner. —106—