SCHOOL LEAVING CERTIFICATES

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21087, 12 February 1934, Page 9

SCHOOL LEAVING CERTIFICATES

♦ DESIRE OF THE MINISTER v . RECOGNITION IN BUSINESS WORLD SOUGHT The proposal of the Minister for 1 Education (the Hon. R. Masters) re- . garding the school leaving certifii cateisthat that certificate should be i granted to pupils who do not wish 3 to attend a university and it is the desire of the Minister that the certii ficate will become recognised in the business world as reliable evidence ' of the attainments of a pupil. In conversation with a reporter - of "The Press" yesterday the Min--3 ister said he believed that the awarding of a school leaving certifi--1 cate would prove to be of great value t to the young people who, although f they did not desire to attend a university must sit the university en--t trance examination and secure a , pass in order to obtain an official s recognition of educational achievement. The proposal had been advocated with considerable vigour by the teachers of public and private post-primary schools and had met t with the approval and co-operation r of the university authorities. The 7 first examination under the new I arrangements would be held' at the "_ end of this year. Extra Practical Subjects s The requirements for the univer- , sity entrance examination will re- £ main as at present, the Minister explained, and the papers in that examination will still be set by the ~ university. For the school-leaving certificate, however, there would be j a further range of subjects of a more 1 or less practical nature which would comprise technical drawing, econo- " mics, book-keeping, shorthand and I typing, needlework, housecraft, techl nical electricity, heat engines, ap> ' plied mechanics, plane trigonometry, t physiology and hygiene, and general biology. The papers in those sub- , jects will be set by the department. ' Candidates for the university en» I trance examination are restricted in £ their choice of subjects, which numI ber 19, as at present, although they may, in those subjects, qualify for the certificate as well. The school leaving certificate would be issued by the department, j and would show the school or schools j at which the post-primary course had been taken and the subjects in which the candidate had qualified. -. Provisions of Examination 1 Other provisions in reference to s the certificate were that a candidate ; must pass in English and. at least four other subjects, and that a partial pass may be obtained by passj ing in at least four subjects and that in any subsequent year the qualification may be completed by passing } in one or more additional subjects. a The latter provision would involve £ the payment of an extra fee. Furr ther, an applicant for the certificate j must have completed at least a three years' course at an approved secondary school, a technical high } school, a combined school, a district l high school, or a registered private . secondary school and must have conJ formed to certain minimum require- | ments in English, arithmetic or mathematics, history, and science. The Minister stated that the new departure would involve no increase in the number of examinations. The school leaving certificate examinatior would be held in conjunction wit,., and be of the same standard as, the present university entrance examination. The university fixed the standard of that examination. The department, on the other hand, would control the certificate examination, and it would be a matter for its judgment as to what standard it fixed.