RECRUITS FOR THE LAND.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXII, Issue 2670, 22 December 1928, Page 5

RECRUITS FOR THE LAND.

ONE-THIRD PRIMARY BOYS. TARANAKI FIGURES. The fact that 33 per cent, of the boys leaving primary schools in Taranaki went in for agricultural pursuits was brought to the notice of the Taranaki Education Board recently by Mr. A. Lees when urging the importance of agriculture as a school subject, says the Taranaki News. That fact, he said, explained the complaints now being made that a very small proportion of the boys from secondary schools went on to the land. Most of the boys intended for fai-ming did not go on to the high schools. The discussion arose out of a rer commendation 'from the- South Taranaki School Committees' Association that agriculture shoukUvbe made a compulsory subject in the proficiency examination, or whatever examination might replace it under the new regulations. After the Board had expressed itself most favourably on the suggestion, it was referred to the manual and technical committee for a report. Dealing with the education statistics for Taranaki at the end of 1927, Mr. Lees pointed out that 314 boys who gained their proficiency and two who did not had gone on to the secondary schools, this representing 45 per cent, of the whole; 129 boys with certificates and 102 without had gone on to farms, a total of 231, or 33 pei cent.; 86 with proficiency and 60 without had gone into other occupations, a total of 146, or 22 per cent. Therefore, out of 693 *boys who had left primary schools in 1927, no less than 231 had gone on the land. That was a -certain answer to statements about the small number of boys taking agricultural courses at secondary schools.

Agriculture should be given as much recognition as possible in the primary schools, he continued, because it seemed to him that the boys for the farms were not going on to the high schools. He had heard complaints from teachers that the inspectors did not give credit in the grading marks for the teachers' work in practical agriculture. CREDIT FOR PR ACTIO AL WORK. ,Some teachers did think the inspectors were guided in awarded grading marks only on the proficiency results, said the Senior Inspector (Mr N. R. McKenzie). He was emphatic that particular' notice was taken of the agricultural results and of the instructors' reports. What was the use of having the instructors, who were experts, if they could not rely on their reports on the workr" He attached great importance to these reports, and while he, himself, probably knew a little more about agriculture than most inspectors, he would not say he knew more than Mr Ridling, for instance. Mr McKenzie reiterated that the reports of agricultural instructors were taken into consideration for the award of grading marks, as well as those of the physical instructors themselves. Teachers definitely lost marks through insufficient attention to agriculture. Tho inspectors did not neglect any subject, but tried to consider the work of the teacher as a whole, Tho trouble was that they could not get out of the minds of the teachers the idea that proficiency subjects were ail that counted, and until they got rid of the proficiency the idea would prevail. He believed, however, that the proficiency examination Avas finished with, and that under the new regulations its place would be taken by leaving certificates. Though he had not seen the regulations, he thought these certificates would be issued subject to a check by the inspectors. The chairman, Mr. S. G. Smith, M.P., referring to the problem of finding employment for boys, said it was agreed that one of the avenues for relief was a progressive land policy, anil a scheme for financial assistance. Agricultural education was costing a lal-ge sum in T'aranaki, he added, and if there was an impression, right or wrong, among teachers that they were not receiving credit, that impression must be removed. Nearly tho whole of the Dominion's wealth came from the land, and- it should be made plain that agricultural instruction in the primary schools was something real that would help the whole of New Zealand. He was sorry that some o the teachers felt the inspectors relied too much on paper reports, instead of taking notice of the actual practical Mr McKeni/.e pointed out that the school grounds were invariably mem tioned in the inspectors' reports. Personally he had always been strongly in favour of agriculture in the schools.