EDUCATION IN NEW ZEALAND.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 14 May 1925, Page 10

EDUCATION IN NEW ZEALAND.

FIFTY YEARS’ PROGRESS

• INTEiRESTINtr REVIEW. \ * 0-r"-' ,<©>»taibuted -by the Director,* Mr. :. y ” ... John Caughley.j i;v. “Fifty- years ago- education in New Zealand was organised and entirely i'•.‘provided fof-by the various provincial '-•v : -councils which exercised «uctt a wide rjriige of functions that, they resembled t .. small ■ pari i ame n ts. \* ‘ /“About half of the pupils attended " '‘pUiblio schools a-iul hall private or de- ■ ’ jiqmi national. school's. Ihe public schools' were largely supported by rates, but school Ices had to be paid jh "'by t'he pupils iu most cases. . „/->•. ‘ln, 1876, the provincial form of gor-' Jii crmnent was abolished anil the lune- . • i .tions previously exercised by the Pro- •* ’v'incial- Councils were in part taken ovpr by county councils, while mat- - ' ters of New Zealand-wide importance •requiring "organised and concerted acT , . lion came under the njore direct control oC the central govern me lit a-s con-' Pi stituted by Parliament. ‘The organisation and control of «, education as a national system was in jg this manner established by the Education Act of 1877. Under this Act Y the Government of New Zealand took sjL over, the whole financial responsibility providing education for the tshildren ' of New Zealand. “The Education Boards, then numbering thirteen, had, however, very v wide powers. For instance, the building grant was distributed in a ' lunip sum to eacli board on a populn- (• -'tiofi basis, and it was left to eadi V* • board to builcl schools of whatever type A and in'whatever localities they deemed fc .. fit. A very large proportion of the • ’ schools now in existence were designed J/'ajld built at the .sole discretion of tli© Education Boards, sjnce this system of distributing the building grant lasted '’. until about twenty-three years ago. r* “Each board had also its own scale p.f staffing and salaries, and this sliow- • .eel very wide divergencies of policy could not be attributable to any differences m the conditions 'the: various districts. The boards* and controlled their own iu- ■" of schools. Though local authorities have* regretted the diminu.tion. /of' powers of Education Boards, I, think it will he admitted that the ♦ • various changes by which matters previously controlled by thirteen -separate boards have been developed on a. 11a ■- tioiial basis have resulted in distinct • improvements in the education system and have- been of great advantage to /; the. children of New Zealand. ; ... ‘The quality and character of the ' • School •■’buildings erected during the-pa st fifteen years as -the result- of iuvesti- • 1 Ration 'and co-ordination by the department have reached a standard not tibissible under the old system, which is for the older buildings concerning which so many criticisms have . often been made.

“The staffing of schools hae been I’’ immensely improved, and the salaries / of teachers have not only been very largely, increased, but have been placed on a much more satisfaqtjjory Dorriinion basis under which teachers in all parts of New Zealand are treated alike. .V “The present method also of appointing teachers according to their ~j. . grading as fixed by. the inspectors who *'■ come most closely in contact with the wp-rk of teachers, has received the eni T dprsement of a conference of Education Boards, inspectors and teachers, is admitted to. be a vast improve-, ii]ent on. the old system. The appp'jjitment is now governed entirely by merit: a teacher in any part of New - Zealand has, according to his merit, full opportunity for obtaining a, posi- . t-iqn in any district of New Zealand. r : : “Among other great advances that have been made must be mentioned the ‘ instituiton in 1906 of the Dominion system of the training of teachers through the training colleges at the four centres. There are at present about 1250. young teachers in training at these institutions which a,re doing v splendid service for the improvement of teaching. \ “Prior to the year 1900 the primary school syllabus was of ;a; 'rigid character, to which every school had to conform. There was no' liberty for leachers to vary the course according d t-lieir special aptitudes and methods. Moreover, every pupil in every stanlard had to pass a. fixed individual ,xainination in each, .subject, with the Jesuit that voiy often failure in one frbject kept a pupil back for a year. Re syllabus introduced in 1902 by the ■to Mr. George Hogben, 0.M.G.. was ■-o only laid down on broad modern lies, but gave a. great amount of Iperty to teachers in drawing up their jwn schemes of work in the various objects, and in promoting the pupils aronr class to class according to the teacher’s knowledge of their abilities. - <*-. “We frequently bear in these days of the alleged overcrowding of syllabus. As one who taught under both the old syllabus and the new, I have no! hesi-. ' tatioii in ; saying that the syllabus of to-day has little more than half tlie content of the syllabus which was in force up to the year 1900. This does not'mean that the present standard of education is only half as high, but it; means that a. great deal that was quite useless or unnecessary, or iu many -cases harmful to children lito fcgeii";on>itied, while greater attention is,..being paid to the proper essentials % y-qf education in. a. manner that is more T'v finitable to. child nature and child de- * tv-elopment. ‘A notable feature of New Zealand f , education is the establishment fifty years ago of a, State system 'of sec-on-g dary - education which made a, remarkable and ialmost. unique advance in the. year 190-1 through the provision o-fj free secondary education for a.ll by the free. place system. Probably in no cppntry in the world,are the provisions for free secondary education, as liberal l ,as they are ill New Zealand. This \ further, stage of, nationalising seeondairy schools lias had far-reaching u Effects in many directions with highly beneficial results. . “One advance of a, distinctly modern character wae made at. the same \ time, namely. the introduction of technical’education, which is now taking such, an important place in the education) of our older pupils. “It is only natural that with such a wide extension of second airy education, there should be a fuller development o-f University education. There are now about 4200 students attending the four university colleges of New Zealand, and . of these nearly 40 per cent are receiving free university education. In both of these respects New Zealand takes a high, if not- the highest, place among tlie countries of the world. “One •.section of the work of .the 1 Education. Department of which tlie public is not generally aware is the special school system for neglected and delinquent . children. This is of a. highly developed character, based on broad human lines, and has received ‘ the. highest commendations fivjm vari- .; ous authorities in other parts of the V world. - i . ■ !, yt

“Speaking generally on education in’ New Zealand, it may be claimed that, with vespect to the broad foundations of education fas. represented by our primary school system and its development through free places! to' post-prim-ary education, we have in New Zealand a general average of intelligence and educational attainment equal to that of any country in the world. This holds good not only with respect to the larger centres, but applies to country and outlying districts to an ex-

tent that is rarely found in other countries. In other words, provisions for the education of country children approximates in New Zealand to the oral average far more closely than is tlie case elsewhere. “Owing to the widespread and generally high standard of education m New Zealand we are in a very favourable position - for introducing those finer and higher features which are so noticeable in "the older countries of the world. It must be remembered, however. that there the population and re-•-ounes are very much greater, but we should as Tar a.s our resources permit, now he adding to the well-founded structure those completing elements which arouse our admiration when seen in other countries. “In a. review of the history of education in New Zealnad we must not .forget to pay tlie highest tribute to those broad-minded, fay-seeiug pioneers of New Zealand who planned so wisely. the system of education introduced iii 1877. Together with the provisions fin- secondary and university education which served as monumencs to the or-thusias.m of our early sett-ie.« the cause of education. High tribute should also be paid to the teachers and inspectors of the early days who worked under far less favourable conditionthan obtain at present, and who by their devotion, high olia,ra.tcer and ability set up a standard of educational service which carries through to -the present- day.’’