THE UNIVERSITY.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18487, 15 September 1925, Page 9

THE UNIVERSITY.

■ ', • COMMISSION'S PROPOSALS v EXAMINED.

SURVEY.

WMTTE!? JOB "THE PSZ3B.")

/Br tho Eight Hon. Sir Robert Stout, A" 7 P. 0., K.C.M.G, D.C.L., Oxon., LL.D. Manchester and Edinburgh, Chancellor of the New Zealand Uni- " verity 1903-23.)

Since the year 1910 up to the present

tf»e tbe'fo has been an agitation by f> m n f disgruntled professors demanding rtjt the whole control of higher educavVfion jn New Zealand should be vested i j> tie teachers of the higher education. A petition was presented to Parlia- '"" JBBot ia 39 10 asking for the setting up - » and the complaints '' against the present University system > ijgge the external examination system, ' r /B* S" 1 * 11 snare tnat tfl e professorial' t "S&J$ L in framin g th e syllabuses for * etc., and the relationship v-M*een the University and tho Colleges, The matter came before Parlia- /*«**& an< * a Committee made ah exenquiry, but nothing came of the petition t)r the enquiry. j flu present Government appointed a tygaimion consisting of Dr. Eeiehel, I academician, and Mr F. j

Director of Public Education jt Afietoria, and this Commission has fpti* its report. It is a voluminous jMgjaest, for it contains no less than rjpf pages of printed matter, and there least 70,000 words in the Comreport. The Commission is an one, and deals with almost P hMe of University education. i« upon secondary educainical education, and, of thing is to come of the t will need careful ■ seruation, enquirj : , and discan only be obtained bv rious governing bodies of system to consider what l are that the Commission *ill require a considerable report can be expected .rious bodies. ! widing Features, irarious outst Binding feaDmmission's report. First, n is not in favour, of tho the New Zealand Univerral University is to conit is not m favour of i the accrediting system, abolish all entrance exthe University; third, it the full control ofUniion to the professors, as i desire. It points, out ty needs t£at have been Eoro/such as an increase Jie starting of hostels, That are' termed playingalso for more assured » changes that have been far as what are termed our University Colleges , it may be pointed out ommission's report is acind Wjll be made the priity ofXNew Zealand, for it i arts course, a science oeal course, an architec- . a partial engineering ial dental a partial b, the Agricultural College l Island, and the Forestry the Dominion, Those are ng things it is to obtain, that will be that the En©pi of Canterbury will be Victoria College will not leultttral Department, nor olleg* a Forestry DepartJmost—to quote a phrase I in 1C64 about the attiJand to the rest of the Hand first and the rest tago ia tQ lose its School it is to be, given to CanlAnciland—it is not cerWhy it should,be given may tppear peculiar, as it present much developed ury district, unless indeed 1 was to b« started on the b clinical and dental work wrried on at Auckland is nay, bo pointed out that iiea! Faculty had not ohyear's clinical work of performed at the leading e Dominion: they did not Auckland. The hospitals , Wellington, and Auck- * oa a level, add at these was thought possible to year's course in clinical Commission's report, howthat only Auckland is to

■Mra;?fe» KramfnitiflM. HaBSSSk-** the accrediting system is |KBljyis.T»hieh has caused great dis■■Kgy* not accepted. There are, *° °* examinations before I'HHftSttL^ 4 has * cen that therc I'HBKgjur examinations, but the I . Te P° rt recommends that ene matriculation e'x- ■ |H^Tf $ should be two, because • HHBkh&iL 1 " 1 exan, * nat i° n when ini WBff' «Mnination when they are * * eem that only those MMHggjlfrtaed 18 years of age are j ||fllflgf;§fe **d brilliant M.A.'s that JKflrafflf 1 "* left their that these matric- * Cerent class. That examinations are to this, the examinations ** ve two examinations, Examinari<^HH^'t«_r K,l " Leavill S ExaminaMfflK 8,d18t6 Examination is £«WP jjyapils of 16 years of •*«i^Bf?^T Wsit 3 r Education, il^f9H^H^^ | at a secondary |^B^Kte"th« e^ e ° l * e^

the primary schools, especially in the country districts, we would have more of those students who could go direct from the primary school to the University. If this report'is carried out, -.re will have hundreds and perhaps thousands of people deprived of a University education that now might have a chance of obtaining it. What the student has to pass in is stated to be a definite number of subjects in each of the above examinations, including such compulsory subjects as the University may consider necessary. It may be presumed that the compulsory subjects would bo these: English, arithmetic, or mathematics, some grammar of a foreign tongue, and somo elementary science.

AdministrationThen how are these persons to ~90 examined! They are to be examined, it is said, by a Board, and the Board is to consist of 20 per cent, representing the teaching staff of the *******&> the Secondary Schools' Branch of the Education Department, the secondary school including teachers at teehnv cal high schools and teachers, of! seeondary schools not aided by the State. It will be observed that tta PW. wheels are to h'ave no say in Farther, the Secondary School B anch of the Education Department is introduced. The examination is apparently Stto be wholly written Apparent* ?he records of the work of the boys and gills whilst at the secondary school are So be looked at, and that means t bat what the' headmaster or mistress of * secondary £ accepted as equivalent to a written ex "rSftrir is the University to be managed in the future? Senate is abolished, and instead of that there » IcEU appointed. At pre-* the Senate consists of 24 "£ pointed "by the Government, eight oy Se four College Councils fowr bythe professors, and eight by « e ! tion- The new Council is to JjJ * the Principal of.the new University, who is to be a new and, IgJ , paid officer; six members »PP»»*"*£ jhe Government; four f^ e^S y ed by. the Councils of the Universuy Colleges, that is, one from a*h five members not being professoror teach era of the University elooted Jj £«* vote by members of tho staff three members of the P»feß«onal nominated by Academic the Government officer, the r Education ex officio, and one person coopted by the Council.

Giving More Power to Government The Chancellor i. to be cto^S Council. It will be " een ** ; n a eov;rnthi. gives greyer power -tanft« £ Jt ment than it has at present, lowers the position of tnc_P d They are to have three tetter, no one *«£ • *g££ti«n. be elected by members °* £°* hed and The Board of Studies ™ B oa rd is a Board called an Academy Joa substituted. It is to be wb a posed of professors, and it v on what the function of tue w> to be. If, as the repor reads eil is to have nothing to do » after nuance, very g -■.' to be members of snch a „ d however, it is to have any P°\ cr rt it is stated in the Commission Pf» he that it is difficult to s. then function of the Council l.u* ter the Academic Board wiU Uave no fc powers than the Board of St«J now, and therefore, so faj » and fessors arc concerned, tneir j control in the management oi at versity will be far less than present. , _ith some I propose to deal further w« of the recomendations P ro Pr\ owe ver, report. What I have said, will show to those that sity education the main are E roposed by tba. Commissi^