AWARD OF BURSARY

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 271, 11 August 1943, Page 4

AWARD OF BURSARY

Military Defaulter Who Repented The granting of a dental bursary to a student who had been in a detention camp as a defaulter, had undergone a sentence in jail and had repented, was criticized by Mr. Polson (Opposition, Stratford) during discussion on the estimates of the National Service Department in the House of Representatives last night. The Prime Minister, Mr. Fraser, replied that he was not familiar with the circumstances, but he would have them investigated and if the situation required to be rectified he would have that done. Mr. Polson pointed out that the question had been raised on a previous vote, when the Minister of Health, Mr.. Nordmeyer, had stated that the student concerned had slipped in and been allowed to remain. Since then, added Mr. Polson, he had .made further inquiries and there were some deplorable features of the case. It seemed that the bursary was an instrument by which the student had escaped his Army obligations. Apparently special consideration was shown this student, who had nothing like the high academic qualifications one was led to believe he had. It was not right that a man with such a record should be favoured with a dental bursary. In university circles the whole question of the method of awarding dental bursaries was considered unsatisfactory.