EDUCATION CONFERENCE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 37, 12 February 1910, Page 9

EDUCATION CONFERENCE.

FRQOTKIENCY CdSB^TFLOATE.

(By Telegraph.—Press Association.)

Friday. The Education Conference resumed .today. vlr- Marshall (Dunedin Technical School) moved, "Thai thas Corrierence, | whilst strongly urging the retention ot the proheiency eyagrmaJJon as one of the means of enabling pnjila to qualify for £ree places in the secondary schools, consideis ■hhit before the. pupil is allowed to enter on a free plaice in a secondary school, the parent, or guardian, should be compelled to give an undentaking that such pupil will remain in a secondary school ifox a fixed stated minimum period." Mr. Morton seconded ithe motion.

Mr. W. Gray (principal of the Wellington Training <Jo<llege) moved as an amendment, "That the avenue to secondary education should be quite free and unrestricted, eligibility therefore to be dependent on the primary schools' leaving certificate, awarded on the joint representation of headmasters and the inspector of schools." Mr. J. H- Vernon (Palmerston North), in seconding Mr. Gray's amendment, aaid that 75 per cent, of the pupils attending the primary schools did not know .wha>c their vexations would be. Most of them wanted to 'be electrical engineers.

The Inspector -General: Or dentists! Mr. C. E. Bevan Brown (Chrastohorch) remarked that at the present time they had the children of chairmen of tramways 'boards, and people in good positions, occupying free places.

A Member: And the chHdren of university professors and headmasters. Mr. Bevan Brown: Yes, of course. They had to consider the position of the poor child; but he contended that what he described as '"some sort oi a sorting machine" was required. In New Zealand proportionately they hud a greater nuirrJber of free places than any. other country in the 'world. Germany, which was held up as the educational example of the day, had nothing of the kind.

The Inspector-General: But the fees there are very low—£2 10/ per year.

On a division, Mr. Gray's amendment was carried by 30 votes to 14.

Mt. Gray then moved, "That the kind of secondary instruction ito .be attended by anyone holding a primary school leaving certificate be determined by (1) the aptitudes and capacities discovered during the last three years of the primary school course, (2) by the indication of the parent regarding the time (one, two, three, or four years) during which a child may attend a secondary institution." Mir. Gray said parents should be asked to indicate the time that was proposed to be spent by their children if admitted to free secondary education, and some guarantee should be given that the pupils would remain long enough in the secondary institutions to do themselves and the schools justice.

Mr. J. P. Firth (Wellington Boys' College) seconded. He agreed with the principle, but admitted that he did not quite see how the guarantee was to be obtained. He urged that either 'by referendum as in Switzerland, or by law as in Germany, all persons of a centain age should be compelled to extend tihe period of education for three years after leavinjr school.

Several speakers opposed Mr. Gray's .motion as inexpedient.

The motion was carried (by 23 votes to IS.

Professor Haslam (Ohxisbohurch) moved, "That pupils be not admitted to secondary schools unless the parent guarantees that the child shall 6tay in ■She secondary school for three years, and that a certain sum of money be deposited, to be forfeited in case the guarantee is broken."

This was seconded by Mr. C. E. Bevan Brown (Christchuroh).

An amendment by Mr. Marshall (Dunedin), deleting all the words after "three years," was accepted by Professor Basjam, and the rest of the motion was then defeated by a larger majority.