AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1042, 3 February 1911, Page 8

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.

THE'MINISTER'S CONCEPTION. . Just now there is a demand that the Government should, do something more in tho. way of- agricultural education. Certain schemes have been urged, but we do not seem to.be any further forward. At the: beginning of this week a Doirixiox representative sought an interview with the' Minister for-Education , (tho Hon. Georgo Fowlds). on the subject of agricultural education. At the Minister's request qut-tions were written and sent in to. him, and yesterday replies to the . queries, were given. Tho Minister's replies, taken together with his utterances at Lovin on' Wednesday, indicato that his conception of agricultural education is tot extensive. The answers are not of the kind likely to cause satisfaction to the hundreds of farmers deeply interested in-the subject,- but for the present it will bo sufficient to give the.substance of the questions asked. ■ In the' first place, it was remarked that there seemed to be a general demand for agricultural education, and tho Minister was asked if the Department was doing anything in the matter, and, if so, what. He replied at great length. That the Deoartmeht recognised the value of agriculture, was, he said, evident from a perlisal. of; tho regulations for manual and technical -instruction, and from the very exceptional way in which approved agricultural • courses were treated in comiec- , tito with the district high schools. Capitation'and monetary assistance for equipment of classes was given, and the number, of, approved classes for agriculture in operation in 1910 was. about GOO. In secondary dopartments of high schools £o, 10s. per annum was paid on account of every punil who took an approved course of agricultural-instruction,-occupying not less than twenty hours a week ' throughout the year. That was ,in 'addition to capitation. Last year approved ■ courses' were in operation ,in fifteen district high .schools. In most education districts special itinerant inetructors- in agriculture had been appointed, and-they suDervised tho instruction in tho public schools and conducted special courses for teachers.i Conrses- of rural education wero in nrocess of evolution in connection with", several of the secondary schools in both islands. - Regarding technical schools, grants for agricultural instruction wero on the same plane as grants for plumbing, engineering, etc. It was not tho function of the. Department to establish school or technical classes for agriculture. Where such classes v.-ere established by empowered bodies, the Department gave , assistance. Technical instruction in agricultural subjects had up to the present been confined mainly! to jwpol-cla.ssing. Last year woolclassing classes numbering about . seventy were held in forty centres, chiefly in the North>Mand. . A class for veterinary science-wits held, at the , Wellington Technical School.' The extension , of the instruction: .in- agriculture rests mainly with.the farming community. If a controlling authority -was satisfied that theestablishment'.of classes for farmers was likely to .meet .with continued and adequate- support, it was tolerably certain that steps would bo taken to- establish such classes. It was a matter for regret that; with the exception of classes for wool-classing,. the .results of the' efforts of the;controlling authorities to provide instruction for farmers had not generally been encouraging. It was to be hoped ere.long,farmorS generally would discovsr that it was worth while encouraging and attending, classes which had a direct bearing ; on the -stanle products of New Zealand. ' ••■.-■..-

Respecting veterinary education, Mr. Fowlds was asked if there was any prospect of tho Department falling in with the scheme for sending younj men to Melbourne to be educated at the College of, Veterinary Science in that city. The reply was:—"lt would annear to bo unlikely : that tho. Government would be inclined to provide fuuds in aid of tho scheme referred'to,-seeing that it has, in! offering, a substantial'grant in aid of buildings and maintenance" for veterinary instruction at Duriedin, '.recognised the necessity of ■pr6vidirig > . adeouate opportunities: for instruction, in Jfew Zealand." •Neit,-- attention was 1 drawn to the. fact that veterinarians- were coming herb from England every year, and tho Minister was. asked if. ha thought those men supplied our wants,, and that thereforo the need for educating veterinarians locally was not as important as- those who ware agitating, declared it to be -Mr. .Towlds answered:-"A"s tho officers rfcferred to do not.come.within its Cognisance, the pcDa.rtmeht is unable to sav tihethor they do or do not supily local wants. "■-,.- .

i-i T vl A^ 0 ' ,^ xt questions concerned the likelihood.ot-.the establishment of a chair of agriculture, and tho. place considered to be most suitable , for. .the location of the chair. "As'the Lincoln Agricultural College is.recognised by the University ci. .New-Zealand as an institution complying with the conditions for the degree of Bachelor of Science- in Agriculture it does not_ appear, (ran the answer) to bo immediately necessary '• to • consider the desirability or otherwise of. establishing a chair of agriculture' elsewhere." The last point the Minister was questioned; on was tho light of importance m which the authorities of tho ! Department regarded agricultural education. J-le replied that the question, appeared to be answered by what had been "written in reference to the first question