UNIVERSITY QUESTIONS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 411, 21 January 1909, Page 6

UNIVERSITY QUESTIONS.

The report of the Chancellor to the Senate of _. the University-, of New: Zea-land,-which annual session yesterday at Auckland, is mainly satisfactory,-, but.-.contairis no: remarkablo features'.' Aided 1 by enlarged subsidies from'the Government; the• affiliated : colleges, have* been able to increase their staffs to-cope with an increasing student attendance, and there appears to bo jus 'tification '.for the. Chancellor's, hope', that at'no distant itimo the Dominion will be able to fill; from tho ranks of its owd past students r most of the professional and teaching- appointments for which too ,often now it has to go abroad for men. . Wp are unable to agree, howover, with the Chancellor's suggestion '. that a \ beginning, however small^.,might: be made:-with the pxperimehtJofl-entrusi. ing ! to-New Zealand professors'''thV'-con- 1 duct of the University's decree 'examinations. It may bo true, as ,SiR; Robert Stout believes,-that there aro now in the Dominion a sufficient number of men" able to undertake the examination of at least somo of the ;subjects required for But we regard the University degree as properly a sacred thing, so far, as mere experiment, is concerned.- The dogrces have a standard value the world over by reason.', of their being-vonferred by English'authorities whose awards are world-known and, world-recognised, and though local examiners might bo found of' tile same, or quite sufficient scholarly attainments,, abroad at least their degrees would, hardly havo the same weight and. reputation. The note may be good money, but;a stranger likes to know tho bank. To.alter the.system of examination for 'degrees as is suggested would be to run serious risks of decreasing the efficiency of the new diplomas, and would also. constitute a serious injustice to those who obtained honours under the present quite unquestioned ■; system,but who would riot be able'to maintain a distinction if the value of the new degrees should' be -impaired, tfrom the point of: view of the .local professors, it is desirable that their work should continue to be tested \by the. definite, unchanging standard of lexternal examinations, It,would bo impossible to ensure the constant maintenance of the standard if; the examiners should have to be recruited from the still j meagre ranks. ; of suitable authorities inj New Zealand. Sir Robert Stout believes that there are many advantages in having -local examiners, but we are aware: of none that aro at all'commensurate with the very serious disadvantages that we Have noted.

: The suggestion of the! Chancellor that the matriculation test, might be made to serve the''purpose of the, present test of entrance to the Civil Service, thus diminishing the present overcrowding of examinations, is worthy qf consideration. It is : more important, hc-wever," that the Senate should increase the standard alike of the matriculation andrß.A. examinations. The abolition of compulsory mathematics from the E.AJ' course, which was suggested at the last meeting of the Senate; would be a really enlightened measure. The mathematics required iur this degree aro not sufficiently advanced to bo of any practical value to anyone, and they are quite sufficiently advanced to form the protracted, torment of many very able, students whose minds refuse to bend in this direction. \ Wo believe that the value of ordinary 'mathematics for purposes of mental training is exaggerated in-any 'case, As an, outcome of the recent Maori Congress/! it is proposed to add Maori as an optional subject for the matriculation examination. Suroly it would be following, a wrong principle to add any language to a college oourso which could ■ not reward the i student with its literature.' ' \'.