VALUE OF TECHNICAL TRAINING.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19770, 7 November 1929, Page 15

VALUE OF TECHNICAL TRAINING.

*> DR. D. E. HANSEN'S CHARGE TO PARENTS. In the eourse of his address to the visitors at the annual inspection of classes by parents of pupils attending the Chrjalehurch Technical College, the Principal, Dr. D. E. Hansen, deprecated the tendency on the part of some parents to withdraw their children from the school before the completion of a satisfactory course, or nt least, one year's tuition. "I am sorry to have to report that this has happened several times this year," said Dr. Hansen. '"Boys and gtrla have been taken away, in many cases quite unwarrantably, in their first year at the College, and enquiry intt) their subsequent progress in employment has often shown the folly of this course. Only when grave family circumstances make this a necessity should pupil* be removed before they have been at the College for at least a year. It leads inevitably to blind-alley occupations, and the prevention of this is one of the objects of the College. Dr. Hansen urged parents to u.<rc their influence with their children to keep them at school for as long as possible. The more education that, a boy or girl had the advantage of the better position he or she would be able to obtain, and the more easily. Boys or girls who made themselves useful in their various apbere* of work were sought after by employers. When complaints were received that such-and-such a boy employed from the Technical College had not proved satisfactory, it was almost invariably found that he had spent only a few months at the College. Some of the largest building firms would not engage any boy unless he had spent at least two years at the day school, while the value of the Technical training was shown by the fact that one Government Department would not take boys from anywhere but the Coflege. He had no hesitation in saying that after leaving the day school boys and girls should continue their studies at the evening elaese* up to the matriculation standard, when they might go even further by studying at Canterbury College.