PLUMBING PUPILS AT PETONE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 80, 6 April 1910, Page 3

PLUMBING PUPILS AT PETONE.

A STATEMENT CONTRADICTED. At last evening's meeting of Iho Petone Technical School Mr. H. Findlay drew attention to a published statement made by Councillor Piper at a recent meeting, questioning the efficiency of the school, particularly tho plumbing class. The remarks, which he (Mr. Findlay) considered to he wholly inconvcl, were to tho effct-t that the school was turning out pupils who wore itbsolutely incompetent. As a matter of fact,, the councillor iv question had never been inside of the classroom to which he referred. If fto had taken any interest in the matter he. would learn that the plumbing class had obtained better results than probably any other school in tho Dominion. Me instanced how in the London examinations four out of tho local pupils who had sat were successful in obtaining passes, while Wellington Technical School, with a total of 40 entrants, secured only six passes. He had spoken of the matter to two master plumbers, who paid the fees of their apprentices, and they had assured him that they, as employers, got 40 per cent, better vaiue out of their workmen as tho result of the course undertaken at the school. The allegations of the borough councillor, unless strongly contradicted, were going to do a lot of harm, not only to the school itself but to the instructor and his students. According to the chairman the school could stand any amount of that class 01 criticism. He had, however, seen the councillor referred to, who had given him (tho chairman) his assurance that his remarks far from applying to Petone or any one particular school, were intended 'for the benefit of the technical school syfctem as a whole. The opinion of members on this last point differed, but all were agreed that Councillor Piper's strictures were altogether uncalled for and incorrect.