NEED FOR UNIFICATION

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 December 1940, Page 10

NEED FOR UNIFICATION

PROFESSIONAL EXAMINATIONS During the past half-century there has been a strong tendency for people of the same occupation to form themselves into professional or semi-pro-fesional associations, institutes or societies. One of the main functions of these bodies has been to suggest sources of study, to outline schemes of education and to test and certify by

examinations the competence of members. Universities, technical colleges, and other educational institutions have developed their activities to meet the changing needs of the times, but there has been one great barrier to complete co-operation between the teaching and the examining bodies, states “The Accountants’ Journal.” While there has been co-ordination in some degree each professional body has had its own definite ideas to the best course of study in any particular ' subject, and has considered its own syllabus to be unalterable. To-day there exists a bewildering variety of syllabuses and regulations. It seems a pity that groups of young people studying for examinations in cognate subjects are unable to form classes under a common heading. The various;

professional organisations snouid try to make further unification feasible so that it will now be possible to form classes where they are now impracticable. If this were done candidates will gain a breadth of outlook from different viewpoints by associating in the same classes with entrants for, other professions. | A move along the lines we have; sugested was started some two years ago in Great Britain where the Insti-, tute of Bankers came to a complete agreement with the Chartered Institute of Secretaries in respect to a uniform syllabus in three Of the ele- 1 meritary subjects of their preliminary subjects of their preliminary examinations, namely, English, Bookkeeping, and Economics. In this Dominion we Vrnvp qpvpral nrnfpssiinnal nrp'nnisa-

tions such as Law, Banking, Insurance, and Secretarial, where certain pass subjects in Accountacy or vice versa should suffice as a test of competency. Certainly in the case of our i own profession the examinations are I conducted by the University of New i Zealand to ensure a high standard of 1 proficiency but some of the . other bodies have similar arrangements and no doubt in due course the others will come into line. We proffer the suggestion that a committee consisting of representatives .of all the professional organisations with interests in common might >e set up to investigate the position,