Wider school courses?

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32633, 15 June 1971, Page 3

Wider school courses?

Senior pupils from State secondary schools might, in the future, spend part of their school day attending courses offered by technical institutes, the Minister of Education (Mr Taiboys) said in Christchurch last evening.

This would extend the large field of options already being offered to senior pupils and would also take cognisance of the fact that a very large proportion of sixth-form and seventh-form pupils had no intention of going to university.

It was necessary whenever possible to encourage the development of closer links between secondary schools and technical institutes.

“Secondary schoolteachers, like so many other New Zealanders, have a built-in orientation towards universities,” he said.

It was important for them to realise that there needed to be a strengthening of secondary school ties with the technical institute system. “We have liaison officers for the universities, but, after all, aren’t ail secondary school teachers in the position of liaison officers? “I don’t mean this unkindly but the teachers will have to

take more note of technical institutes,” he said. Mr Taiboys agreed that problems were being created by the large numbers of pupils who now remain at

Approval for new breeds (N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 14. The introduction of four exotic breeds of cattle through Somes Island had the support of the Maximum Security Quarantine Advisory Committee, said the Minister of Agriculture (Mr Carter) today. Thirty-five young bulls of the Blond d’Aquitaine, Maine Anjou, Simmental and Limousin breeds will be bought in France for admission to the station in Jimuary and February, 1972. The committee, whose chairman is the DirectorGeneral of Agriculture (Dr A. T. Johns) includes representatives of the United Breed societies, Federated Farmers, the Meat, Wool, and Dairy boards, and the Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs. The National Research Advisory Council had also given its support to the proposal, Mr Carter said.

secondary school until they reach senior forms. At one time, he said, there had been concern that too many young people left school too soon. “I would not like to see this swing too much the other way.” There was a great deal of merit in young people’s being exposed to the outside world before they made a definite career choice, Mr Taiboys said. This opportunity was already being provided by some schools in work-experi-ence schemes. “It occurs to me that people might make infinitely better use of their time at teachers’ college or university if they spent a couple of years or a period away from a straight educational institution. After that, people would know what they wanted to do.”