Asian Students Now Familiar Sight

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30364, 13 February 1964, Page 15

Asian Students Now Familiar Sight

Students from South-east Asian countries, in. New Zealand under the Colombo Plan, have become a familiar sight in university centres in the last 12 years. Living and working with these young Asians has enabled New Zealanders to establish warm friendships with people whose destiny is becoming increasingly bound with their own.

In January, 1950, Commonwealth countries, including New Zealand met in Colombo to see what could be done to alleviate and then improve conditions; This was the beginning of the Colombo Plan.

New Zealand 'was the first country to go into action. Three tutor sisters arrived in New Delhi at midnight on June 30, 1951, the exact time the Colombo Plan went into operation. At that time, five dental nurses from Ceylon were already training in New Zealand. Contributions under, the Colombo Plan are of two kinds—capital aid and technical assistance. New. Zealand has provided more than £lO million in these ways. Her technical assistance has included the training of 1420 students in New Zealand and the dispatch of 215 New Zealand experts to Asia to help direct special projects. In addition to long-term awards for full degree courses in many fields, other students have come to New Zealand for training in specific aspects of agriculture and engineering, for periods of from three months to one year. Considerable assistance has been given in teacher training and administration and a demand is being met for courses in- dental nursing, physiotherapy, post-graduate nursing and medicine.

An English Language Institute established at Victoria

University has done much to enable the number of students to be increased. The institute uses the latest methods of teaching English and runs both a orie-year course and a 12-week intensive course. Results of technical assistance schemes are not always immediately seen, but one of the outstanding characteristics is their “multiplier” effect.

An Asian trainee, returning to his country is able to make a more than proportionate impact on his country’s progress because his skill, knowledge and enthusiasm spread almost imperceptibly through the area to other people;

The Beatles In June

The Beatles will perform in Christchurch on Wednesday, June 24. They will give two performances on that evening in. the Majestic Theatre. The theatre manager (Mr D. S. Hughes) said yesterday the theatre held 1400 persons so only 2800 would be able to listen to the quartet. Postal bookings for country patrons would be able to be sent in well in advance. Booking arrangements and admission charges would be advertised later. Good Fishing . More than 40 salmon were ; caught by fishermen in the ; Rangitata river on Tuesday ■ and eight more yesterday. Mr I I. Reinke, of Christchurch. ; said last evening that he had ;caught one—about average ‘size—of 131b.