Bonded Studentships At The Universities

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29389, 16 December 1960, Page 16

Bonded Studentships At The Universities

The bonded studentship system was sharply criticised by Sir David Hughes Parry’s Committee on New Zealand Universities; and the committee urged the Government to abolish the practice as soon as possible. Because of the good reasons for this recommendation, it is unfortunate that in its present recruiting campaign the Public Service Commission should continue to offer the lure of studentships to prospective employees. To incorporate the system permanently in the Dominion’s economic structure would be to distort irreparably the normal balance among the various categories of professional workers. The practice has undeniably bad features. It may attract the wrong type of entrant to a particular profession. It may invest a profession with false economic values and thus divert from their true vocations persons who cannot fail to be restive in unsuitable employment. It is also difficult to enforce contracts of personal service. Often bonds have been treated derisively by those unwilling to honour their obligations. A few weeks ago, the Education Boards’ Association asked for the reintroduction of bonds for teachers because so

many trainees were being lost to the Dominion. The chief merit of the request was that it proposed an attempt to impress upon young teachers their moral duty to give reasonable professional service within New Zealand in return for their State-financed training. Their position, however, is different from- that of university graduates.

The Parry Committee recommended sweeping changes in the university bursaries system. These changes must be discussed by the new University Grants Committee set up as a result of the committee’s report. The committee, said it was “disturbed by the fact that “such a large proportion of the “total money spent [on bur- “ saries and scholarships] . . .

“is devoted to bursaries which “bind those who obtain them “ to the services of the Govern- “ ment for a specified period ”, It regarded the bonding system as being “ more expensive than “ necessary and less ' effective “ than the situation requires ”. Because of the alterations likely in the general bursaries system, is it prudent for the Public Service Commission now to offer bonded studentships even for final-year students?