NOTES ON EDUCATION

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 261, 28 July 1908, Page 2

NOTES ON EDUCATION

[By Socrates.] THE EDUCATION ACT AMENDMENT, 1903. ITS FEATURES REVIEWED, Broadly speaking, tho-now Education Bill may be regarded as a proposition for a. more equitable administration of the educational system of New Zealand. There is no doubt that it was drafted with that end in view, and considered from this standpoint, no one will deny that its authors have succeede/1 in their, purpose, for an examination of its provisions makes-clear the fact that not a few of the administrative anomalies at present existing, will bo removed should the Bill bo placed on tho Statute. Book. APPOINTMENTS. OF TEACHERS.' Under Section 10 of the Education Act Amendment, 1905, the powers of school committees in the matter of the appointments of teachers wero considerably extended; but the experience: of tho past two years has, I "link, clearly shown that if any. advantage was to be gained from such a concession—and this could only be in the direction - of modity»ig probable oonflicts of opinion between the Boaftls anil Committees as to the' merits of particular candidates for positions iii" the schools—it was completely overshadowed by the grave - abuses which this privilege not only made possible, but actually created. • Jirom a list of" candidates, containing not less, than four,, nor more' than six names', submitted by the Education Board, a School Committee had the right of selecting any two names; if the' list contained fewer than four names, the right of' selection was limited to ono name. This meant that from a number of applicants for a certain position the Board could determine which 1 was the most suitable candidate, for appointment, but it coul4 not givo effect to"its opinion; it in fact, to select, not, the oho most suitable candidate, but the six most suitable candidates ih order of merit, knowing 'that the Committee could reverse .that order should it so desire. Thus it frequently came about that tho Board's estimate of a candidate: was rejected. So soon as tho strength of tho committees was fully appreciated by teachers, seeking promotion, canvassing of committee-men became lccal influence superseded professional merit, and tho systemwas degraded.' Cases could be quoted where quite the least eligible of the candidates was selected; where desirable positions .wero conferred upon'teachers who: not only were not the best fitted for tho appointment, but had qtfite recently received promotion; a certain committee—these ■ are ' authentic cases—unable to agree either to the Board's nominee (the first name on tho list) being selected, or the nominees suggested by its individual members, ultimately. decided the question bv putting tho names in a hat, and selecting the first drawn; in several instances committees, having 'previously bepn 'canvassed, made their selections without even opening the applications! . The fact of the whole matter was, that nobody really was. responsible—officially responsible—for the appointments. The inevitable outburst. of indignation came-in due course .from those members 6ftho teaching prof ession, who had suffered from. the abuses of tho system. Tho Teachers' Institute took the mattor:_up, and Clause 12 of tho new. Bill may be. said to constitute an' acknowledgment on ..the part of tho'Government that the principle involved in the operation of Clause 10 of tho Act. of 1905 is bad in practice, for the committees' right of selection in tho matter of appointments is proposed to bo abolished by the repeal of paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of Clause 10, Sub-clause 2 of this r Act, and the following paragraphs are to bo substituted:—

(b) "The Committee, if it desires to express any opinion, or make any recommendation with: respect to tlie appointment, shall forward its opinion- or recommendation to tho Board so as'to reach the Board not later than two clear, days before the day on which the appointment is proposed to! bo macle." .■ ■ ; (e) -"If any such recommendation or-opin-ion-is received by the Board : within"the"time aforesaid, tho _ Board, shall take ..'the sanie into consideration before making the appointment;" ; -. These clauses, "crystallised,' •" amount' ■: to this:—. ' ■ ; •• '■ '" '■ ; - ! ■ If the Committee wishes tq express any opinion regarding the Board's selection, it may do so; and such-opinion shall be duly oonsidered by. the Board; but the latter body is not necessarily-bound by the Committee's opinion—it may hold, for example, that certain objections raised by a Committee as to tlie fitness'of an appointee do'not constitute valid reasons why tho original selection should be departed from, and reject them accordingly. : V'. That is all very well so far, but what is not quite so - clear is the status of a committee which has recorded a valid objection . against the ' Board's' nominee, and failed to convince the latter that the' proposed appointment should be amended. - Clause 10 of the Act of 1905 was designed principally to effect a desirable equilibrium between'.the two authorities, because.the Board's bad previously shown a tendency, to ignore the commitee's altogether, and .while it ..will freely be admitted that, on general principles, school committees do not, and cannot - possess the qualifications necessary ior a judicious ,comparison _ of tho respective merits . of candi 7 dates, it nevertheless seems absurd to concede a consultative privilege'with regard to tho same, which, oil examination, means nothing—for there is nothing to show that such/objections, even if valid, can be insisted upon. Avfurther "amendment extends' the .period within which the applications are returnable by the committee, from ten to fourteen days, presumably to afford more time for 'the necessary meeting to be convened. ' (To he Continued.) ' r EDUCATION IN SOUTrt AMERICA. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY .SCHOOLS. . Everywhere on tho South American continent' primary "education is now free, and the law'in •'seven out of the eleven republics makes attendance at the primary • schools compulsory. In rib instance, however, is the law enforced as .it should bo in every section of the country, and often it is hot enforced at all,. Secondary: education has. not been so progressive as the.primary branch. Much has yet to. bo done before the secondary schools of tho South American republics in general can be raised to a level of efficiency approximating that of similar institutions elsewhere. The several grades of instruction, ranging from the normal; college and the- trade school down' to the kindergarten, are to be: seen at their : best in' the larger cities of the Argentine 1 Republic,' Brazil, Chile, Uruguay; and Peru.. • : THE UNIVERSITIES. With two exceptions—namely,' Panama and Brazil,—every country in South America has at least one university or national, college. Br&ril possesses a number of' 'technical and professional schools .that : are of university standing. The- universities are organised by faculties m a manner, quite. l similar .to those of Europe and tho United States. For the most part they are' equipped with a corps of able" professors, many of whom hr.'ve studied _in ' Europe, and they are provided with Boientifie_ apparatus of European or American origin. The Bchemo of instruction is comprehensive but it does not approximate the institution of higher learning itself to the great universities, properly so-caliod. Rather do tho bost of the bouth American institutions of this sort resemble tho better grade of colleges, with tliesuperaddition of ■ a number of professional Bcnools. Examples of such': educational establishments are the University of St. Mark, at.Lima,'Peruj the University of Chile, at Santiago; tho University of Monte Video, in Uruguay; and tho Universities of Buenos Ayrqs and La Plata,.- in tho Argentine liopublic. Stress . is laid, not, so much on the studies that make for general culture, as on law, medicine, and engineering. Being State institutions for the most part, tuition in tho universities is gratuitous. The students are admitted, upon-graduation from tho secondary schools, directly to tho courses offered by the several faculties. ■ Women students aire rare. -Co-education much beyond tha kindergarten ago has practically

no foothold as yet in South America. Tlu ■ only _conspicuous exception to the .rule it round at Mackcnzio College, an institution partly of secondhry- and partly- of' higher education, carried on under American auspices, at Sao Paulo, Brazil. • These universities, though not up to the standard of those elsewhere, are not, liowjver, .venerable ruins perched on the distant isles of medievalism. They are far removed from the quaint customs that prevailed in former days at the University of St ; Mark; for example. Founded ill 1551, tins is one of the few institutions of ; 'liigher learning in South America which enjoys practical immunity from Stato control. . Centuties ago a candidate'for the doctorate had to ..spend about £2000 iiv presenting his colleagues with various sums 'of' money, silken caps and liirettas, as well as with a .specified amount of, food and a number of live hensj and in providing the public of Lima also with a bull-fight, and a banquet.; Now the doctorate costs only £10. From the conditions of colonial times to the recently established University, of La- Plata" in' the Argentine •■.-Republic;, with its - great? astronomical observatory arid museum of. natural history, and its elaborate, plans for-modern buildings to house its separate'faculties, for extensive workshops, and laboratories.' for commodious residence halls," for a stadium, athletic fields, swimming baths, handball courts, i shooting-, galleries, and : the ,like; ia certainly a' tremendous..stop.