ON LEAVING SCHOOL

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 38, 14 August 1923, Page 4

ON LEAVING SCHOOL

iWHAT; BECOMES OF THE

CHILDREN

INTERESTING FIGURES

? EDUCATION DEPARTMENT'S IN-

VESTIGATIONS.

C; Attention is devoted.by the Minister "ol Education, ((the Hon V: C. J. Parr), in "his annual report, to the question. of ?iwhat becomes of children who pass -through the Sixth Standard in the prini- .' schools, . •' . v The number of pupils returned as Mhaving left the primary schools in 1921 'was 16,362,-of which number 12,274 had passed; .Standard. VI., and 4088, or 25 "per: cent.; had nbt dpne so 1 (eaye the Minister}.""* That -so-high a -percentage of. -■pupils should ■ leave .school. without obtaining what must be -regarded as the .minimum educational equipment necessary for their life's work, is a matter of "grave concern. About 60 per cent, of the boys leaving school at this stage take up farming pursuits, and 30 per cent, . 33earn. trades,;'"the .remainder .following. snistellaneous;calji.ngs.., y^ §' COMPARISON WITH. SCOTLAND. . ~ The provision of-free-places at tech3rical schools for specially,recommended tupils'over fourteen years-of age-who aye riot -passed Standard VI. has Been Sof some little-.assistance/-to these pupils, ISome 150 free places of this kind having ••been taken up in 1922. Of the pupils T\vho pass-.Staridara Vl'."the" high pro-; Iportion of 63 per cent, enter upon some course't>f" secondary-educationyalthough^ approximately one-quarter of the number JeaVe''"after'''one'"'vear 1e l~tuitionl.-'--How^--s'ever, the figures lor this Dominion ap- " pear to comparefavo urably with, those '.of Scotland. „-; ".- :. The total number of children receiving ; secondary education in 1922 was 20,252, - being 2118 more than.in-1921... Of the. .'; 12,274 children who. : :leftithe,;primary i schools in 1921,,' having pasjsed 1 Standard £ VI., 4087 entered secondary scnools in '»■ 1922,_ 1709 the secondary,., departments ;: of distinct high slihools, 'and;, 1941 tech- • nical high; schools;, hence a total'of 7737; or 63 per cent.', of the children mentioned „* entered, upon, 4 a course; of secondary edu-.-cation. ', The number represent 47 per j cent.' of the total number of pupils leav- ' ing the primary schools in' 1921, of whom nearly one-quarter had'not-passed-Stan-fl dard VI. In addition to the -pupils men- ? tioned as having.proceeded to-p.,second-, ; ary course of education, 2116" entered •: technical schools or classes, of 'which '.number 1371 ha,d passed;StandardsVl; J and 365 had not. ; * 1 REGRETTABLE INCREASE. -', "lii the case of secondary schools," pro. ;; ceeds the report, "the proportion of ;; pupils leaving/at the end of the first year ; ,v shows ai regrettable increase, which can '■' he accounted for only by the financial ,; depression-of 1922. -The proportion leav- • ing at the end of the second' year was ' smaller than the previous year, so/that :, taking the two years together the results ■ are approximately 'the same. , As has ■-. been frequently pointed out, however, • one year. spent at' a . secondary . school, ■where a new course of work is being ■- entered jiipon i's^ practically useless,'and' „' represents little more than a waste of 'time; and money. A still higher pro- •. portion, 37.7 per cent., remain only one ; year in the secondary departments of district high schools, but as the course i of work taken there is often more in the :. nature of a coping-stone to the primary '■ coui'se, ihe matter is not quite so serif ous. The case of technical high schools ;. whore 29.5 per cent, of the pupils leave • at the end of the first -year calls for ;* serious consideration. The whole mati ter is dominated by the age at which • pujjils begin their secondary course, .'■ which in New Zealand averages fourteen ■ years, and is considered to be two years .< too old. ,| "An'• experiment is at present being carried out with a view to finding a '. remedy for the unsatisfactory condition : mentioned in the previous paragraph. ; A junior high school has been estabhsh- "• ed in Auckland which children enter 5 after passing StandardTV. and at which ythey may remain for four years The - regulations provide for three-fifths'of the , course of work entered upon to be com:mon to all the pupils and to include such -subjects-as English, arithmetic, geogra;.phy, history, and civics, general science ;,and drawing and- practical geometry, • the_ remaining two-fifths 'having an acad- | emic, commercial, industrial (including domestic), agricultural, or art bias, according to the special aptitude of the in ■' dividual. Over six hundred pupils are : attending _ this junior High school, and J; although it is too early to report de j ; finitely upon the success of the schema ; reports;to land go,to,prove that'tKe.es-. jjperiment wiUbe a successful one:.; Whei/ ■ ; the-;isystem is extended;- 'junior,/ hifeh "schoqls'vwillprobably ,in'/;s6me-cases?::be ; _attache's "tq^primary schodls, andrnn » o_tHerß,t<> secondary schools.'ln the?mean-: V-time; "wide inquiries arii.hemg'. ma:de:''as ;.to the success of the various adaptations; of the junior high school in other coiin:.triea."

: DESTINATION OF CHILDREN. '„ In "regard to the destination of pupils iea*mrg"'the'' secb'ndary schools, the Minister's report says that- from returns received concerning pupils leaving the .secondary schools at the end of 1923 it ■appears that 6 per cent, of the numiier:.went:on"tb the tJniversity, ~ls'per 'cent, entered the teaching profession, and 10 per cent, entered other schools or classes for clerical training. Farming was. .t,aken,jap;J>y, 23 perrcßnt.,;.of,: tjje boys, and home duties &y 37 per-cent.' 6i%.the girls.- Other avocations;'entered, upon Vere: Government office^,; \l r per cent, of the boys; clerical work-'m-^n-' Euxance™ofiices r ,.a«encies, etc.," IZZpbr cent, (boys and girls); engineering"aprt. allied trades, 4 per cent, (boys); other trades. 4 per cent, of the.boys; and suoh: professions as surveying, law, agr&ulture. etc., by 6 per cent; of-the boys; warehouses and shops eacn.3:per cent.* ofthe boys. Fi'om similar; tetui'ns supplied by technical high schools rather contrasting figures are obtained^ vliiithia. case only 1 per cent, went on'tc\.,tße. University, 3 per cent, took up teaching, ajid 5 per cent, ivent on to other schools or classes. Qn the other hand, 15 per cent, of the boys, took up engineering and allied trades, 10 per cent, took up other trades, 11 per cent..went into shops,;and 5 per cent, into" factories. Farming was taken up by 13 per cent.of the boys, and home duties,, by 43 per ceni...of.;the. girls. Com&rtf&£%ork wasjfelJp^edvbyjJS per cent;-of the-fcoys and -islrper. cent,-*f the girls,'. Jand professions :such "as'siirVeying, law; :.etc.'.,'.wete entered;'iippn-;_by ■;2 per cent, "of; the boys. ' '• "■'•' '-'