THE ACCREDITING SYSTEM.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 119, 21 May 1924, Page 4

THE ACCREDITING SYSTEM.

Last week the Secondary Schools Association, at its annual conference, passed a resolution in favour of introducing the Accrediting System as an alternative to matriculation. During the discussion, if we may judge by the language of tho speakers, a certain amount of strong feeling was displayed; the secretary expressed indignation and surprise at the "hostility" that had been manifested to the proposal at the conferenco recently convened by the University Senate; and the resolution appealed not only to the Senate, but to tho Minister and tho Department of Education, to take whatever steps may bo necessary to carry the wishes of the secondary school teachers into effect. We may thus conclude that a majority of those responsible for the practical working of our secondary schools prefer the Accrediting System to the matriculation tost; and it therefore becomes a public duty (o point out how much can be said against the Accrediting System and how little there really is in its favour. To begin with, it must be remembered tliat the matriculation test as now arranged by tlic University provides two important requisites for'nn entrance examination—it supplies for all candidates a uniform standard of intelligence and knowledge, and it enables tho University to insist that this standard shall be high enough for its purposes in regard to tho tests imposed upon its students later on when they proceed to the degree examinations. Without these two eharaeterhitics of adequacy and uniformity, no entrance examination into the University would be worthy of the name.; for without them the University could not even pretend that the decrees which jt confers represent something like a definite standard of intellectual md educational attainment; If a miscellaneous mass of students at different levels of ability and knowledge are jllowed to sit for sections of the Ti.A. degree, as the regulations permit, within one year nfter entrance, the effect must ho to influence the judgment of the degree examiners and thus to lower the status of the degrees themselves. No one imagines that the matriculation examination provides an ideal standard. But it is at least a uniform one, •nd its stringency can be reflated by the University itself. Now what difference would the Accrediting System make? Every institution allowed this privilege would be able to pass any of its pupils as fit for entrance into" the University according to the discretion of the principal and his staff. Obviously tn place of one standard as now fixed by the matriculation test, there would be many; and thus the prime requisite of uniformity would be lost. As to the standard attained by candidates, the supporters of the Accrediting Rvstera maintain that if the University" were dissatisfied wit], the level reached by the pupils of any given school, that school could be disqualified till its standard was raised. But conceive the immense difficulties involved, the pressure that would be brought to bear upon the University authorities to prevent such a disgraceful humiliation, "and the injury that would be inflicted upon hundreds of pupils who might be unable to enter the University because their school could no longer "accredit" them! We understand that in such cases it is nroposed that , the matriculation should be retained as an alternative; and then wo would have an additional fixed standard operating alongside a number of fluctuating standards—confusion still worse confounded. It if not for us to explain nil the aberrations by which so mnnv educational experts seem to be afflicted inst now. But. it certainly seems as iF in their revulsion from convention and tradition many of our teachers are pronareil to r'sk any experiment so lon<? as it is novel; and we know of nothing more likely to react disastrously upon secondary' schools and the University than the Accrediting System.

"I wonder if I could get three months' board and lodging oil credit," remarked Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court this morning when a. debtor was stated to owe £52 13/ for board and lodgings. In another case where the debt was also for board and lodging it was stated that the debtor was a single man, went to races, and had bottles of beer in his bedroom. "Empty or full?" was the query of Mr. Hunt as he made an order for payment forthwith.

The present position with regard to the Dunedin War Memorial is that as boring to a depth of 80ft failed to find solid bottom, a floating foundation is therefore necessary, and Mr. Gummer, of Auckland, whose design was accepted is now working out plans for such a foundation. The column is to be of octagonal shape, about B(ift high, built hollow of reinforced concrete, with a facing of grey Kokonga stone, that was largely used in the building of the Dunedin railway station.

No licach in the vicinity of Auckland suffered from the recent gale more than VauxhalL Several boatsheds were totally demolished, the supports of the municipal bathing sheds were swept away, the concrete steps giving access to the beach were broken, while retaining walls to private property were crumpled under the pounding of the waves. More serious than all, the Narrow Neck causeway was badly eroded, and the protecting railing was left very much "in the air." The site was yesterday inspected liy the works committee of the local municipality with a view to bringing definite recommendations of road repair before the next meeting of the council.

Tlie Auckland Hospital Board has re- I coived a circular letter from the Depart- I ment urging them, when purchasing' motor ambulances, to give preference to those of British manufacture. It gives colour to this request by stating that, apart from the matter of sentiment, careful inquiry had shown that though the purchase price might be higher the ultimate cost was less than cars of other than British manufacture. The chair- > man of the board mentioned on receipt of the letter last night that the board's policy was to patronise the local article lirst and the British next. |

Mr. W. J. Napier, president of the Victoria League, received from Admiral Sir Frederick Field yesterday the following letter:—"Dear Mr. Napier, may T, on behalf of the Special Service Squadron, ask you to convey to all i members of the Victoria League my i warmest thanks for the kindness and ! generosity extended to us on the oeca«ion of this visit, and especially express our gratitude for the magnificent ball which you. in conjunction with the Navy League, gave in honour of the visit of the Squadron. The ball was delightful in every respect and was greatly enjoyed by all the officers who attended.

A communication read at the meeting of the Xorthcotc Borough Council last j night from the Birkenhead Council ■ stated that on the automatic telephone service at Devonport and Takapuna being inaugurated, the ordinary toll fees for ringing-up Auckland would be discontinued. It was pointed out that the ordinary maintenance costs on j cable lines \va3 much less than on j ground lines, and the council considered that Xorthcotc and Birkenhead should receive equal consideration with Takapuna and Devonport. • The council j requested the co-operation of the North- I cote Council in approaching the Depart-' raent on the lines indicated, and this j was readily acceded to, the present, system being referred to as most unsatis- j factory. I It is always dangerous to push a; I medical witness too fur. as many a law-' yer has learned (remarks the Marlborough "Express"'). In course of the hearing at the Blenheim Magistrate's Court of a claim for damages arising j out of an accident, Mr. C. T. Smith, who j appeared for the defendant, who denied responsibility for the accident, put a : series of questions to Dr. Bennett with j the object of showing that a child in- j jured in the smash had been suffering ( from some incapacity prior to the mis-! hap. "Would you say that th? child had | Buffered from a malformation of the le!" , prior to the accident? he asked Dr. Bennett (carefully): No. "Would you say that the child had a slight weakness in one leg? The witness (more carefnlly): Xo. "Well, Doctor, would you go so far as to say that prior to the accident the child was knock-kneed?" The Doctor (pleasantly): "Possibly that' is quite correct, but that is not a weak-1 ness. I. for instance, am bendy-logged j —and so are you, Mr. Smith!" The Court | rocked with laughter, in which the doc- ' tor's victim joined heartily. I Building in and about Dunedin, our correspondent reports, continues to be as brisk as ever in the sense that all competent workmen are fully employed.. There is plenty doing in cottage buildings without fancy work, such as wardrobes, tiled hearths, etc. Working men seem to prefer just a comfortable home of outline type, leaving improvements to be made later. Many dwellings of a superior character arc I also beins: gone on with. I An American traveller, when passing through Palmerston North (says the "Manawiitu Times"'), remarked upon the fine quality of the local milk supply. ' and said he hoped it was not a municipal ] venture such as in Wellington, where he ' found the service, though good, was about the dearest milk in the world, j more costly even than in London or New York. Addressing the annual meeting of the I New Zealand Education Institute in j Wellington (says a Press Association : telegram), Mr. Aschman spoke of what Ihe termed the criminal neglect in the ! Dominion of feeble-minded girls. This neglect, he said, was a national disgrace. I He considered the only solution a census j of those of feeble mind, and their segrej gation into farm colonies. Fire caused considerable damage yes- i terday to a garage and repair shop occu- I i pied by Messrs. Butler and Company, 1 I motor-bus owners, Devonport, and owned '. .by the Devonport Ferry Company. When the outbreak occurred there were some buses, in the building, but these were re- j moved to safety before any serious ] damage was done. The back portion of I the garage, however, suffered to a considerable extent. A five-seater motor car. owned and driven by Mr. A. Pretty, of Matangi, j caught lire while being driven along the j Canibridge-Matangi Road on Monday j evening. Mr. Pretty was unable to sup- ; press the fire, which seriously damaged ! j the body of the car. The engine was ! not injured. The car was insured. | In a statement made at Grevmouth last night Mr. C. E. Colliivs, president of i the Post and Telegraph Officers' Association, declared that the executive had fully considered the present situation in the service, and had definitely decided to press for a tribunal to investigate the whole question. ' Fracture of the right forearm yesterday i , necessitated the removal to the hospital i jof Mr. George J. Stokes (50), aj single man. who lives at Stokes Road, I J Mount Eden. j