Education debate

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32661, 17 July 1971, Page 2

Education debate

(N.Z. Press Association)

WELLINGTON, July 16.

The possibility of establishing undergraduate schools at New Zealand universities for seventh-former secondary school pupils was raised by the Minister of Education (Mr Taiboys) today. The suggestion was made during a debate on tertiary education between Mr Taiboys and Mr J. Hunt (LabNew Lynn), at Victoria University. Mr Taiboys suggested undergraduate schools in the event of university authorities favouring entry to universities of secondary pupils who have passed a

seventh form examination.

The debate, organised by the university's National Party and Labour Party clubs, was held in front of hundreds of lively, critical students in the Student Union hall. Mr Hunt said it was in the students’ hands to influence

changes of undesirable elements of university administration. He said the last 20 years had been spent producing stone edifices at universities, with university administrators tied to inflexible administration and politicians tied to financial and other expediencies. University planners had seen their role in a far too narrow and restricted way, and one thing students had failed to do was to concern themselves with how future generations were going to

have a tertiary education. In Auckland, 85 per cent of the students. came from the top socio-economic group comprising 15 per cent of the population. “This is a tragedy,” he said. He said he believed the same was probably true at Victoria University. CROSS-CREDITING Mr Taiboys, commenting earlier on the relationship between universities and technical institutes, said he hoped to see more cross-crediting between the two institutions. Several students expressed Strong disapproval at the role of the Minister of Finance (Mr Muldoon) as a Government spokesman on the subject.

Mr Taiboys said he would not put any restriction on what anyone in the Govern* wanted to say.