EDUCATION POLICY

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 May 1929, Page 3

EDUCATION POLICY

MR ATMORE’S AIM.

(Per Press Association.)

i WELLINGTON, May 13. : An important statement was made to-day by the Minister of Education . before the New Zealand Educational i Institute. He was not, he said, in - favour of an expert being given ad- ; ministrative power. While he had t capable advisers’round him, it did not mean that he would follow their advice on every occasion.' He had not the. j slightest hesitation in indicting the 'education system on the grounds it was too academic. There was no doubt the system was a survival of the times when education was a thing for the sons and daughters of the wealthy. There was the fact today that while 95 per cent of our annual production

> comes from the land, 95 per cent of our educational effort goes in the direction of fitting £he boys and girls for town employment. The unemployment in New Zealand was to-day largely the result of our education system. We were taking the brightest brains from the country into the cities. He had come to the conclusion that an alteration must be made. He con-

sidered the two portfolios of Education and Agriculture should be the two most intimately connected. His hopes, therefore, were that .there would be a strong agricultural bias in the new system of education. The social status of the farmer must be raised. The education system would have to be more practical than in the past. Part of his programme of reorganisation would be a unification of the local administrative bodies in the various districts, and a unification also of the sectional

teaching bodies employed iii the primary, secondary and technical schools. There was not the slightest intentior

of hurting any of the teachers.

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE.

WELLINGTON, May 13.

The New Zealand Educational Institute held its opening session this afternoon. Mr. A. J. C. Hall, of Auckland, in his presidential address, conjured up a vision of the future, based on the ideal of the education of the nation. He said that one of the first and most obvious developments would he found in a victory of real education over mass instruction, with smaller classes. It would be possible for a skilled teacher to show what real teaching could do.

S ECONDA RY SCH OOLS. WELLINGTON, AI ay 14. The fourteenth annual meeting of Hie New Zealand Technical School Teachers’ Association ojiened to-day. Mr Wild (president) was in the chair. Proposals for reorganisation of the educational system in New Zealand were considered, and it. was ilecided to set up a committee to go fully into the

question, to report Jo-morrow. The Secondary Schools’ Assistants’ Association meeting also opened today, a presidential address being given by Mr 11. E. Gilbert Smith, who dealt with the question of training of secondary school teachers to make them litter for the many difficulties with which they were beset. He emphasised that it was necessary to regain parental confidence, without, which success was almost impossible, and also by no means what was less important, to present a united front in attempting to combat the'spirit of materialism and irresponsibility which at present seemed to pervade the whole world.

The following officers were elected':— President, G. V. Morice ; vice-presi-dent, Miss K. V. Edgerley ; executive. J. A. Colquhoun, C. R. Jones, O. J. Begg, V. M. Stewart, F. Martin Smith, G. J. McNa light; secretary ami treasurer, A. S. Farquhar; auditor, W. Alexander. Mr Morice was elected one of the vice-presidents of the Secondary Schools’ Association and Miss Edgerley and Messrs Colquhoun and. J. G Mackay, members of the Council.