TWELVE YEARS' LIMIT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17586, 17 September 1917, Page 3

TWELVE YEARS' LIMIT.

QUESTION OF SCHOOL AGE

A proposal, which has been endorsed by the Wellington Education Board, to the effect that a primary school education should finish at the age of jfcwelye years, was discussed at Friday night's meeting of the Wellington branch of the Now Zealand Educational Institute. The following motion was proposed by Mr H. A. Parkinson: "That this Institute is of opinion that the proposal to terminate all primary school education at twelve years is contrary to the best interests of the youth, and therefor© of tho people, of the Dominion." Mr Parkinson said that the question to be anfiwercd was: What are the children educated for? Some would reply that they are educated in order to make, competent and skilful workers; the economist would probably say that they were educated to increase their earning power; but. the citizen who had no special financial outlook would say they were educated to make good citizens of the State. The latter answer was. he said, the right one. Ho thought that the proposal would seriously curtail tho general and cultural education of the youth of the Dominion. Would the demands of the State for good citizenship be met by tho curtailment of the education of. tho young people? He thought.not. The proposal would have its the general intelligence of the people, arid would divert education to spec.ial technical and mercantile traiuing. The proposal meant that all children were to leave school at twelve years of age, whether they were fit to leave it or not. He pointed .cut that only the brightest . children got. to .. tho sixth standard, and jn some cases there wore twelve-year-old children in tho second and tfiird standards. Ho took it that the plain meaning of tho proposal was that when children reached twelve years of age they were to he divided between the secondary and technical schools- Such a reduction of the general educational equipment of the young person must greatly affect his power to earn his living and his value in the world's market. Another point to bo considered- was that some parents who wore better off than others would not bo content to allow fchsir children to ceaae /their primary education so soon, and they Would he prepared to pay for the education .of their* children. This would

create'a class division between parents, and this was to be deprecated, j Continuing, the speaker said that * many- people considered that the purpose of education was to lib a child for his or her particular environment, but ho contended that the greatest ini fluenco of educatCon was to fit a child j to raise nbov e his or her environment. The child of twelve years of ago was •still in the primary stage, and no Act of Parliament or regulation could alter that fact. Itc garbling tho motive for the .lie considered that it was to economise in time and money, but it was plainly false economy, and would dp a great deal more harm I,han good. " Other members spoke strongly against the proposal, and some considered that it would be advisable to hear tho other sido before coming to any definite conclusion. It was also contended that some children of twelve years ..were not at a Braga to benefit by secondary' or technical education. Mr W. W. Pcwntrco stated that he had gone carefully into the matter, and had found that the proposal would take 45,000 to 50,000 children from the primary schools of the Dominion out of a total of-183,000. It would leave in standard sirs 240 children, add in standard five 2500. Altogether it would take 25,550 out of standards five and sis. . After further discussion tho motion was carried, and iti was decided, on the motion of Miss P. to request the Education Board to’fcceive a deputation from the Institute.