SENIOR FREE PLACE

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 August 1932, Page 5

SENIOR FREE PLACE

NEW TYPE OF EXAM.

[PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.]

WELLINGTON, August 11.

In view of the decision of the Minister of Education to limit the accrediting system for senior free places in secondary technical schools this year, to the minimum, revised regulations have been prepared for an intermediate examination, which must be taken by practically all the pupils. Particulars of the new regulations are published in the “Gazette.” ■ The intention of the Minister is to conduct an examination chiefly for the purpose of checking the accrediting system throughout schools where accrediting for senior free place has been in operation for a considerable time. The Department is stated to be of the opinion that the accrediting system, like any other, requires occasional checking, and there is no desire to make the test more stringent. Arrangement has been made whereby a pupil will be able to make the most of his best subjects, at the end of this year’s school course. A general examination will be carried out at post primary schools for senior free place, and the results will be available early in January.

Under the new arrangement, the Public Service entrance examination has been done away with. This examination has not been used to any great extent by the Public Service Commissioner in recent years, owing to the number of candidates who qualified from the University entrance examination.

The Senior National Scholarship examination has also been abolished. The new intermediate examination will serve as a test for senior free place only, where, in the past, the two examinations mentioned were conducted contemporaneously. Certain alterations have been made in compulsory subjects, and the values in marking attached to them. In order to make the conditions as equal as possible for all candidates, there will, in future, be no subject in which a candidate must pass, although there are subjects which must be taken, and the result in judging a pass will depend upon the average number of marks gained. English maximum marks have been reduced from 500 to 400. There is now alternative handwriting, lettering being admissable in order to suit those entering the prating, engineering and other trades; Practical mathematics is now an alternative to arithmetic. In order t o pass the examination a candidate must gain not less than 40 per cent of the total assignable marks under the new regulatibris.