INVERTEBRATE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 235, 4 October 1937, Page 6

INVERTEBRATE.

Your correspondent "Jellyfish." in his letter headed "Invertebrate." deplores the fact that the university student is not popular with the business man. who seems to prefer the public school boy. I suppose there is a lot of truth in this, and the student has only himself to blame. He often imagines he knows everything and that his mentality is of * higher quality than that of the public school boy. Again. 90 per cent of our lads are not matriculated and there is a certain amount of sympathy giver them on account of this handicap, which competition-scarred craftsmen or professional men have introduced in the hope of keeping others out of this line of business. Generally, the public school boy has the fresher mind, not over-stuffed with a lot of jargon that i<« seldom needed in the crafts, i As it is deemed by our worthy statute makers that an unmatrieulated person is not fit to learn such petty crafts as those of the optician, dentist, accountant, chemist and a growing host of others, how much more so is the head of the State and even the Minister of Education in need, of matriculation? It is indeed difficult to see how M.P.*s who occupy the highest and most responsible positions in the State can preserve their dignity and pass statutes which deprive 90 per cent of our youth from the right of practising skilled trades. Xo wonder "Jellyfish" finds the business man unfavourable to the university student. In his heart he sympathises with the public school hoy who is deprived of the right to learn a skilled trade. By whom? The leaders of the State who are careful to exempt themselves from this restriction that they impose on all persons seckiiiT less responsible occupations. JOHN CITIZEN.