AGRICULTURAL BIAS.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19928, 15 May 1930, Page 11

AGRICULTURAL BIAS.

CRITICISED BY TEACHER. LITTLE DEMAND FOR FARM COURSES. [THE PfiESS Special Serrio«.J . I_ WELLINGTON, May 14. Tho desirability of giving the secondary school education more of an agricultural bias as advocated by tho Minister for Education, wo* criticised by Mr G. W. Morice in his presidential address this morning to the secondary Schools' Assistants' Association. He suggested that irt making public his idea, the Minister was inviting criticism. "Tho Minister has stated on frequent occasions his belief that the giving to our system of an agricultural bias will in the long run cure unemployment in this country. With this conclusion I for one do not agree," said Mr Morice. "We all recognise, and many presumably regret, tho present complete dependence of New Zealand on tho primary industries. This dependence gives rise to th© danger that circumstances entirely beyond our own. control may strike a deadly blow at' our prosperity. Where would New Zealand stand if science produces a saisfactory substitute for wool, or if Russia, already producing ten times as much cheese and five times as much butter as New Zealand, floods'our markets with ehoap dairy produce? These are distinct possibilities and Lord Birkenhead ha* recently stated his belief that in the not distant future science will have achieved the synthetic preparation of food. Where then our Canterbury lamb? We recognise too, that if New Zealand J»; to retain her markets for prifflaty 1 . products, agricultural education will become more and more necessary, for tho most scientific and oconoaHoal methods must be widely known and adopted. This type of education is not, however, for the primary school, nor yet for the secondary, except insofar as a firm foundation can be laid .by a general course in science and .some.elementary principles taught in special agricultural classes. . ';•■-.»•:".- '-.- • ■■■',• "Experience lias shown that for reasons wore or less obvious there is little demand for these agricultural courses even where they are available, and, i£ the authorities believe that' mow *o.f our pupils should take ttp'a«letttturat pursuits ft start must be made itf eonte other way than by giving * smattering of agriculture in the existing schools. Frobably the best that the schools can do is to Cultivate amongst the pupils, and thus in. the,communiw generally an intelligent and sympathetic attitude towards -the .. g«at primary industries nooia which onr verv life at present depends. It is safe to predict, however, thjat a properly sympathetic attitude will not come,,till a vigorous policv of land settlement has burst up many of the present huge estates and given to the thousands of our young mOrt who are waiting for it an opportunity to make homer and comfortable livings for themselves. "Another factor tending to produce an unsympathetic attitude, , towards the farming communitv is that some of them seem to believe that because over 90 per cent, of New Zealand, exports consist of farm products the farmers themselves do over 90 pe*'cent, of the production in' New Zealand. it is remembered that the process of production id not complete till the foods reach tho consumer or the toaret it is perfectly clear that ft very large proportion of the population in New Zealand is engaged in wnatr may j truly be called primary production.-The ~* schools are probably largely "to blame in not producing a more intelligent'-ap-preciation of the process of production, -,- j , t ",, • rt, "The Minister,'has stated that our ' educational system Is out ot touch with the life and needs of the community. In this he is undoubtedly ri6ht,bat i%is surely as important to give it * Iflfeh- ' nical bias as an agrjcultwrat Therrip room for only a limited number of farmers in New Zealand* bat there iiroom for an almost unlimited number of. secondary industries, tha promotion of which will build up a,h"oma,market.for our primary products and render ya less dependent upon ovema.conditions*. New Zealand possesses vast . resouroei sof ■- power anil' raw.material and should be f to a very large extent self*it»portjmjr and independent. If the people l»tterally follow the wise advice of oorljtte to buy Now made goods In preferences 6 Imported, much will be done to mifiimiie w«m- -. ployment, and at tha same time produce a better balance between the primary and the secondary ihdomrtef/ It seems to me that in any changes in our educational system this objective should bo j kept In view." ' *