UNIVERSITY FINANCE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 9 October 1928, Page 6

UNIVERSITY FINANCE.

AMENDMENTS TO BILL ADDITIONS TO GRANTS. (By Telegraph—Press association.) WELLINGTON, Oct. 8. 13y Governor-General’s message further amendments to the New Zealand University Amendment Bill were introduced. The Minister of Education explained that the amendments provided for increased finance to tlie universities. The finance of the universities bad been examined by an expert, and there was no doubt they were in need of assistance. Students had greatly increased in numbers but the staffs had not been increased, and this must be done. Assistance was also tp be given special schools. The addition to • the grants amounted to between £9OOO and £lO,000. This might not be very much, but he felt sure it would be greatly appreciated by the various college councils.

The Minister of Education moved the committal of the New Zealand University Amendment Bill. He explained that the Bill fixed the subsidy to be. paid on voluntary contributions to ai university or to constituent colleges at! 025,000. Clause 3 was contentious. It: gave to the Minister the right of veto on new chairs proposed to be established This veto was asked for because chairs might be established which were; duplications and of very little use . in. other respects, and it was to check this waste that this power of veto was asked for. He, however, was prepared to include provision in the Bill that where the State was not called on to pay any part of the salary, etc., the right of veto would not lie with the Minister. it was proposed in 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 tlie amount to b.e appropriated each year. At present the sum is fixed at £4060. The value of University National Scholarships was to’ be increased. Instead of £2O a year holders would receive t‘2o in addition to the amount allowed by the Minister for tuition fees, and £35 instead of £3O when the student is obliged to pursue his studies away from lus home town.

The qualification of candidates for, bursaries was widened to persons who have been resident in New Zealand lor three years immediately preceding the award of the bursary. Tlie Bill further provided that professors at Canterbury Agricultural College should be professors of the university. Vice-chancellors were to be eligible for membership of the University Council, and power was to be given the council to appoint a pro-chancellor. The power of the council to grant the degree of bachelor or master of argioultural College should be inofessors of the university. Vice-chancellors were to be eligible j for membership of the University Council, and power was to be given the council to appoint a, pro-cliancellor. The liower of the council to grant the degree of bachelor or master of agricultural science is to- be abolished, and the degree of architecture is to be substituted. On the recommendation ol the academic board, on which representation was tq be given the professorial staffs of the Massey and Canterbury Agricultural Colleges, tlie council was to have authority to grant the honorary degree of doctor of laws, doctor of science, doctor of literature and doctor of music. , , Mr AI. J. Savage said the tendency of the Bill was to bring the university under the control of the Minister. Inis was not altogether new. but in this measure it was most pronounced. He I was seeking to control the chairs, and 'instead of giving the university a statutory grant of money they were now t 0 have an annual appropriation, which meant that- the university would be at the mercy of the Minister. ... ~ Mr P. Fraser said the principle ol placing the university under the dine; control of Parliament was distinctly a bad one and might open the way to serious abuses. It was most important that men in high educational stations should have perfect freedom and independence. , , , The Minister, in reply to tlie debate, said it was not proposed to interfere with tlie teaching. All be said was that if the university wanted to estabJisli a new chair and asked the Government bo pay for it the Government- should at least have a voice in the matter. There were two. chairs of forestry in New Zealand and the country could not afford to keep them going, because tlie country could not absorb more than one forestry expert per year. What, then, was the good of two such chairs. Otago had established a etiair of ethnol-oo-yf the use of which he very much doubted, because lie did not tlnnk vheie would be many students for the study of “Maori heads.” , The subsidy of local bodies to the W E A. was not affected by the Bill, but the W.E.A. movement would as a result get an additional subsidy; of .-bout £6O per year. There were many l clauses in the Bill useful to the university, and he hoped it would he passed without opposition.

NEW PROVISIONS ADDED. The House then went into committee on the Bill. On clause 4 Air b rasei called for a division, but as a result the clause was retained by 33 to 16. ihe other clauses were then passed without opposition, and the following new provisions were added oil Hie motion of the Alinis ter : . ~ 6a (1) The Minister of 1< inance shall, in each year, without further appropriation than this section, pay out of the ordinary revenue account of tlio Consolidated Fund to the four constituent colleges of the university, the sums named below : . (a) To tire Auckland University College in addition to the sum of £4600 payable pursuant to tlie Auckland Univelsity College Act, 1882, the sum o £9750, of which a sum o.t £I2oU shall be applied lor the purpose of the school of architecture of the college. . (b) To Victoria University College, in addition' to tlie sum of £4OOO payable pursuant to the Victoria College Act, .1905, the sum of £7750. (c) To Canterbury College, the sum of £6OOO, of which £4500 shall be applied for the purposes of the school ol engineering of the college. (d) To the University of Otago the sum of £15,350, of which £6OOO shall be applied for the purposes of the medical school of the university, £ISOO for tlie purposes of the dental school, £IOOO for the purposes- of the home science school, and £350 for the purposes ot the mining school. (2) This section is in substitution tor section 31 of the New Zealand Univeisity Amendment Act, 1914, and that section and section 3 of the New Zealand University Amendment Act, 1920, are hereby repealed accordingly. (3) ’ This section shall he deemed to have come into force on April 1, 1023. The Bill was then read a third time and passed.