UNIVERSITY FINANCE

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 10712, 9 October 1928, Page 5

UNIVERSITY FINANCE

ADDED POWER PROPOSED BY , '■ , . STATE..; _ Y PROPOSED RIGHT OF VETO ON NEW CHAIRS. L ; , ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS INSTEAD OF’FIXED SUMS. - (Press Association.) WELLINGTON, Oct. 8.. (Press Association.WELLNGTON, Oct, S. In the House of Representatives to-day, further amendments to the New Zealand University Amendment Bill were introduced. The Minister of Education explained., that the - amendments provided for increased finance to universities. The finance of universities had been examined by experts and there was no doubt they needed assistance. Students had greatly increased m numbers, but the staffs had not been increased, and this must be done as well as assistance given to special schools. The addition to grants amounted to between £9OOO and £IO,OOO. This might not appear to be very much, but lie felt sure it "would be greatly appreciated by the various college councils. , Later the Minister moved the committal of the New Zealand University Amendment Bill. He explained that the Bill placed the) first subsidy to be paid on voluntary contributions to the university or to constituent colleges at £25,U00. Clause 3 was contentious, it gave to the Minister the right of veto on new chairs proposed to be established. This veto was asked lor because chairs might be established which were duplications, or of very little use in other respects, and it was to check this waste that this power of veto was asked for by the Minister. He, however,. was; prepared to include a provision in the Bill that where the State was not called on to pay any part, of the salary, etc., then the right of veto would not lie witn the Minister. It is proposed m future not to fix the sum payable by the State annually for the general purposes of the New Zealand University, the object of the new- provision being to leave open the amount to be appropriated each year. At present' the sum is nxed at £4090. The- value of the University National Scholarship is to be increased. Instead of £2OO a year holders will receive £25 m addition to the amount allowed by the Minister for tuition fees, and £35 ihstead of £ou when a student is obliged to pursue his studies; away from, his home town. The qualification of candidates for bursaries is widened to persons who have been resident in New Zealand for three years immediately preceding the award of the bursary. Tlie Bill further provides that the professors at Canterbury Agricultural College shall be professors' of the University. Vice-chan-cellors are to be eligible for membership of the University Council, and power is to be given to the Council to appoint a piro-Chanceilor. The power of the Council to grant the degree of Bachelor or Master of Agricultural Science is to be done away with, and the degree of Architecture is substituted- On the recommendation of the Academic Board, on which representation is to be given the professorial stuffs of the Massey and Canterbury Agricultural Colleges, the Council is to have authority to grant honorary degrees of Doctor of Laws, Doctor of Science, Doctor of Literature and Doctor of Music.

AT THE MERCY OF THE MINISTER.

Mr Savage said the tendency of the Bill wa s to bring the University under the control of tlie Minister. This was not altogether new, but in this measure' it was most pronounced. He was seeking to control chairs, and instead of giving the University a statutory grant of money they were now to have annual appropriation, which meant that the University would be at the mercy of the Minister. Mr Fraser said the principle ol placing the University under the direct, control of Parliament was a distinctly bad one, and might open the way to serious abuses. It was nios/t important that men -in high educational stations sliobtci'. have perfect' freedom and independence. Mr Forsyth approved of the Bill as reported! back frojn the Education Committee. It seemed to him to remove most of the objecticms raised by the University authorities.

ANNUAL APPROPRIATION WRONG IN PRINGrBui^.

thought that even with the - proviso suggested by the Miiiisv ter the proposal to veto new chairs should be dropped. It was a new principle and should not be pressed at this time, but lie should trust to the discretion of the University Council not to do the wrong thing. The Minister had mentioned The duplication of the Chairs of 1 orestry, but that duplication was due entirely to the Government, and: ,he (Mr Sidey) had protested against it as a waste of public money. The proposal to finance the University on an annual appropriation was absolutely wron«- in principle. He agreed that proposals brought down to improve the finance of the University colleges were acceptable , but the feared it was being done at the expense of the University itself. Undoubted t.he wisdom of giving the University power to grant, honorary degrees, but as amended by the Education Committee he thought the Bill had been improved, for now no honorary degree could be granted if not recommended by the Academic Board. . Mr Lysnar hoped the Minister would stick to his Bill, which was sound in all its proposals. Mr Howard objected to the RiU, because it tended to centralise things educational in "Wellington. -Psychologically till© Bill was* cn. wiong lines.

MINISTER EXPLAINS REASONS FOR NEW BILL. The Minister, in reply, said it was not proposed to interfere with tlie teaching of the University. Under clause 3 all he. said was that if the University wanted, to establish a new chair and asked the Government to pay for it, the Government should at least have a voice in the matter. That was all there was in it. There were two Chairs of Forestry m New Zealand, and the country could not afford to keep them going, because the country could not absorb more thaq one forestry expert per year. •What then was the good of two such chairs P Otago had established a chair of Ethnology, '.lie, use of which he .very much doubted because he did not think there would be many students for the study ot Maori heads. The subsidy of local bodies' to. .the /Workers Educational Association was' not affected by the Bin: but the W.E.A.- movement would, a,s a resulty get an additional subsidy of about £3OOO per year. There were many clauses in the Bill useful to the/ University, and he hoped it would he passed ; without opposition. /. •. . ± The House then went into committee on the Bill. Oh clause 4, Mr Eraser called.tor a division, but as a result the clause was retained in the Bill by 33 votes to 16. (Continued ab foot of next column).

NEW PROVISIONS. Other clauses were then passed without opposition and the following new provisions were added, on the motion of the Minister : Clause 6a (1) The Minister of Finance shall in each year Without further appropriation than this section, pay out of the ordinary revenue account of the Consolidated Fund to the four constituent colleges of the University, the sums named below: (a) to Auckland. University College, in addition to the sum of £4OOO payable pursuant to the Auckland University College Act, 1882, the sum of £0750, of which the sum of £1260 shall be applied for the purposes or the School of Architecture of the College; (b) to the Victoria University College in addition to the sum of £4OOO payable pursuant to t.he Victoria College Act, 1905, the s of £7750; <c) to Canterbury College, the sum of £6OOO, of which the sum of £4sdo shall be applied for the purposes of the School of Engineering of the College; (d) to the University of Otago, the sum of £15,350, of which the slum of £6OOO snali be applied for the purposes of the Medical School of the University, the sum of £ISOO for' tne purposes of the Dental School, the sum of £3OOO for the purposes of ' tho ~. Home Science School, and the. sum of £350 for the purposes of the Mining School; (3) This section is-in substitution for section 31. of the New Zealand University Amendment ' _ Act, 1914, and that section and section 3 of the New Zealand University Amendment Act. 1919, and section 43 of tho -Finance Act,.. 1920, - are hereby repealed accordingly; (3) this section shall be deemed to 1 have come into force on tho-first day of April 1928. The Bill was then read a/ third tipie and passed,, .f