THE EDUCATION YEAR.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20024, 4 September 1930, Page 15

THE EDUCATION YEAR.

- v « MINISTER'S REPORT. CHANGES IN SYLLABUS. [TBS PBEBB Special Sorttee.J WELLINGTON, September 3. The year's activities in the realm of education are reviewed in the annual report of tho Minister for Education which was presented in the House today. Interesting extracts from the report are as follows:' — In the sphere of primary education a new syllabus came into operation at the beginning of the year and was intended by my Department to bring the instruction given in the schools into I closer relation with the actualities of life. In form the syllabus does not differ greatly from its predecessors of IDO4 and 1919. In spirit, however, there is a marked difference inasmuch as the present syllabus allows teachers as much freedom as they are ready and competent to take to organise their teaching in any way that most appeals to them. Such freedom must of course be subordinated to the true progress of the pupils and it must always be the duty of headmasters and inspectors to make sure that the teacher uses his freedom wisely. Instructions have, however, been issued to the inspectors to allow a full measure of freedom to all teachers who are competent enough to use it wisely. I am well aware of the criticism not infrequently made of the New Zealand school system that it tends to be too rigid and I have repeatedly expressed a desire that where a departure from the well-beaten track laid down by tradition appears likely to bo advantageous every encouragement should be given to the teacher who is capable of introducing new methods, either of teaching or of school organisation.

The new syllabus stresses the importance) of character training, and this phase of the teacher's work is receiving ever-increasing attention. Teachers are now realising how readily all the subjects of instruction can be made to serve the major object of development of character in its broadest sense.

Linking Up. In the new syllabus a beginning has been made to link up more closely the primary and the post-primary schools. While it must always be recognised that the first duty of the primary schools is to lay the foundations of education firmly and surely, it is also important that the instruction should not be divorced from the secondary or the technical school curricula. For many years there existed a marked cleavage between the secondary schools and the technical schools, but the distinction was never so slightly marked as at the present time, when we find an ever-increasing desire on the part of the secondary school teachers to provide a much broader curriculum than formerly. The conviction has grown that for many children it is waste of time to engage on purely academic studies, and consequently there is an ever-increasing demand in secondary schools for manual training equipment. In several of the secondary schools, too, an excellent course in agricultural science is provided. It is evident, then, that in New Zealand post-primary schools will soon be of one main type, namely, schools providing purely academic courses for the few and broadly cultural courses with a leaven of manual training for the majority. One or more of such schools will necessarily be set apart for advanced technical instruction, but this is likely to be the only distinction in the future. During the year a Select Parliamentary Committee was appointed by the House to enquire into the education system, and to bring down a report and recommendation for improvement. It is confidently anticipated that as a result of the searching investigations that have been made important changes be made bearing particularly on the inter-relation of primary, secondary, and technical schools.

Accrediting System. Considerable attention was given during the year both by the University and by the Department to the question of accrediting pupils for University entrance. The majority of members of the Senate appeared to favour tho system as being less liable t6 error than the present selection of candidates by a written examination outside the schools. The University considered that certain safeguards were necessary, and finally decided to postpone the adoption of the system until further investigation had been made to ascertain how accrediting for matriculation was viewed by other Universities and by other examining bodies concerned. The Department is definitely of the opinion that the external examination for University entrance has had an unhealthy influence on the secondary schools, inasmuch as it has dominated not only the curriculum, bnt the .very methods of teaching. The removal of such an influence cannot but be for good both to pupils and teachers.

Leaving Certificates. In the meantime the Department is about to introduce the practice of awarding leaving certificates on the basis of partial accrediting by principals, as has been done for some years in connexion with the award of intermediate certificates. The proposal is to abandon the lower leaving certificate, which is little used, and to substitute a leaving certificate which will connote a standard of post-primary attainment at least equivalent to the standard required for University entrance. When the award of this certificate is placed on a thoroughly satisfactory basis, the Department hopes that it will be freely used not only by tho University aB an entrance qualification, but also by business firms who desire to single out from applicants for employment those who have had the kind of training and possess tho special qualifications the type of business demands.

[ Expenditure. The total expenditure on education, including endowment revenue, amounted to £4,138,577, as against £3,962,279 in the previous year, an increase of £175,598. If from the total sum of £4,138,577 expended on education in 1929-30 is deducted the sum of £443,885 spent on buildings, the net amount remaining is "£3,694,692, which is equivalent to £2 10s 2d per head of the mean population of New Zealand (1,472,925) for the year 1929. The cost per head in the previous year, excluding cost of buildings, was £2 9s 3d. The expenditure per head of mean population on the main branches of education in 1929 was exclusive of expenditure on new buildings as follows:—Primary £1 lis 9d, secondary 6s 2d, technical 3s, higher education 2s. Instructive Figures.

The following shows the destination of pupils who left high schools, distnct high schools, and day technical schools at the end of last year. , The

figures are exclusive of pupils who left one school to enter another post-primary school. The total number of boys who left school was 6218, and girls 5098. University .. .. 123 102 Teaching or training college • 148 351 Clerical, Government or local body .. >421 56 Banks and insurance 190 4 Legal • ■ • • 54 18 Commercial • • 637 839 Engineering, surveying, and architecture .. 348 0 Trades and industries ... 1083 164 Shops and warehouses .. 850 532 Farming .. .. 1295 4 Home .. .. 330 2532 Other occupations -. 209 257 Unknown 530 239