Student number drop queried

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33612, 14 August 1974, Page 16

Student number drop queried

f.\eu Zealand Prei* .Association) AUCKLAND. August 13. The decline in tirst-year university enrolments might reflect disenchantment with the kind of courses or the kind of teaching methods, the Minister of Education (Mr Amos) said today.

He cold the New Zealand universities conference in' Auckland that, if the drop continued, the universities should perhaps begin to rethink their attitudes to parttime study. Tertiary education was undergoing its greatest' growth, and there was a problem with the siting of courses at technical institutes and universities. •‘However, 1 am sure most, of the teething problems: were successfully dealt with by discussion and co-opera-tion among all those concerned." he said. “With changing r>:ils, universities may move into offering new types of courses for new types of clientele. In doing so overlapping could occur in fields of equal interest to other tertiary institutes. “I am not referring here to technical institutes only. You will all be aware of the widening role of teachers col-

I leges over recent months to i include other professional i groups. “Any further planning by any of the tertiary institutions will have to take account among many things of the widening functions of teachers’ colleges. "A very valuable aid to co-operative planning and consultation was the standing consultative committee on tertiary education in Wellington,” said Mr Ames. I He was pleased to see that moves were taking place to] set up similar consultative machinery elsewhere. “I hope before long to i announce that all tertiary students will receive a bursary based on a cost of I living allowance.” said Mr Amos. "This should remove many of the problems facing students in trying to decide i what course to take, where to take it, and in transfer- ■ ring from one place to another.”