LATE MESSAGES

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 October 1931, Page 9

LATE MESSAGES

DUNEDIN, October 29. The new proficiency examination regulations, brought down within a few weeks of that test, without warning, are severely commented upon by the teachers as an unfair attempt to effect economies, at the expense of children well fitted for secondary school careers. There will be no accrediting this year, and many will fail. One headmaster said that a similar attempt to decrease passings were made some three years ago, when the task of stiffening examinations was left to the inspectors. The Otago officers were the only ones to set a new standard, with the result that the percentage of Otago passes fell enormously. This teacher described the provincial inspectorial attitude at l!he time as “damnable.” AUCKLAND, October 29. “While the Associated Chambers of Commerce Conference is designated as the businessmen’s parliament, it is reasonable to expect those attending it should have sufficient business sense to refrain from adopting vexatious practices of distorting and settling by means of lobbying, rather than by a discussion on the merits of the questions brought before it.” These remarks were made by Mr A. G. Lunn, at the Chamber of Commerce meeting, to-day, in expressing, its dissatisfaction with the manner in which Auckland’s remit on wheat duties was treated at the conference. He said that every possible tactic had been adopted to nullify the remit. Auckland’s only satisfaction was that the tactics adopted must indicate a very weak ease, in favour of the retention of the wheat duties, or even of their modifications as proposed next year.