APPLICATIONS TO ENTER TEACHERS’ COLLEGES

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29907, 22 August 1962, Page 15

APPLICATIONS TO ENTER TEACHERS’ COLLEGES

So far 389 applications to train for the primary teaching service have been received in Christchurch from the Canterbury, West Coast, Nelson, and Marlborough areas to fill 215 to 250 places which will be available for new students in the Christchurch and Dunedin teachers’ colleges. This year 160 were enrolled at Christchurch and 55 at Dunedin from these areas.

Although there is plenty of material from which to choose, a preliminary examination of the applications shows that a larger proportion than usual will be sitting the school certificate examination (the minimum qualification for entry) this year and would therefore have to be accented conditionally. The Christchurch - based selection committees are keen to raise teachers’ college entrance standards, and they will therefore give preference to candidates with university entrance or higher leaving certificates. Another decision of the committees before they start selections is that close attention will be given to candidates' marks in English Teachers’ colleges throughout the country have been disturbed about the standards of literacy in a proportion of their entrants. These educational authorities have agreed that they would ilke to see secondary school pupils thinking earlier about careers in teaching. They find that the decision to seek training is often made in the fifth form, with preparation barely passing muster. They would like to see high-level courses chosen with teaching in view. So far the Canterbury Education Board, as administrative headquarters for the area, has received 266 applications from the Christchurch area (Rakaia to Kaikoura), 96 from the Timaru area (Rakaia to Waitaki), and 27 from the Greymouth area All selected in the southern group will go to the Dunedin college. In addition, the board has received applications from Nelson for a quota of 45 to 50 who will come to Christchurch and a few from

Marlborough who will be diverted from the Wellington college. For the short (“pressurecooker”) course of one year, 34 applications have been received for about 25 places.

In addition the Christchurch college will have entrants in commercial, woodwork, post-primary, university studentship, homecraft, and mathematics and science courses who apply direct to the Director of Education. Numbers are not known. In all, the Christchurch Teachers’ College will have nearly 1000 students next year in different courses at different levels.

Primary teaching selection committees, comprising representatives of the Education Board, teachers’ college and inspectorate, and coopted members will sit from September 10 to September 14 in Christchurch, on September 17 in Greymouth, and from September 24 to September 26 in Timaru.