COURSE FOR SURVEYORS

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28671, 22 August 1958, Page 13

COURSE FOR SURVEYORS

Statement By Mr Skinner “The decision of the University Senate to accept the proposals put forward by the New Zealand Survey Board and institute a university course for land surveyors is welcome,” said the Minister of Lands and Survey (Mr Skinner) -in Wellington. “As this year is the centenary of the Lands and Survey Department, it is perhaps fitting that it should be marked by the decision to institute a university surveying course. “The institution of a surveying course will bring us into line with other Commonwealth countries, such as Britain, Canada. South Africa and Australia, where f university courses are already established,” said Mr Skinner. “The course, to be instituted in 1960, will begin as a threeyear diploma course, plus a year’s practical experience, and will later be converted to a four-year degree course. The first year of the course can be taken at any of the universities, and the remaining year’s work will be at Otago University, although later it may be possible to do the complete course at any university. The New Zealand Survey Board will still be the registering body for surveyors, and will require graduates to undergo tests before they are registered. Increased Complexity “The complexity of surveying has increased enormously in the last 20 years, and although our surveyors are among the best in the world, a university diploma or degree should be a necessary qualification for such a highlyspecialised subject,” said Mr Skinner. Besides land title, subdivision, development, mine surveying, and town planning, the duties of today’s surveyor include such specialised functions as topographical mapping from aerial photographs, aeronautical charting, precise levelling, and, recently, the employment of radar distance measuring equipment. “The main defect of the present apprenticeship' system of survey examination is that it does not ensure the pupil has a sound academic training, to enable him fully to appreciate and apply his knowledge to modern survey practice. The student has no continuity in his studies, which have to be carried put in his own time, after his work in the field or in the office, without personal tuition or supervision. “The new university course ' will place the student on the same cultural level as members of other professions,” said Mr Skinner. “This, combined with the practical training during the course and the year after graduation, should result in betterequipped surveyors, for both general and specialised work.”