FOR EMPLOYERS ONLY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 16 June 1930, Page 8

FOR EMPLOYERS ONLY

SCHOOL CERTIFICATES A SCHEME PROPOSED

Support was given by the Council of Education last week to a proposal that school certificates issued with the imprimatur of the Education Department should take the place, as far as commeicial requirements were concerned, of the matriculation examination. On the motion of Mr W. A. Armour, it was resolved : That the council is of opinion that an alteration should be made in._tho names and significance of school certificates, and in the method of issuing these to pupils of post-primary schools, with a view to"making these r.-crlifii , filf>s a better indication of a pupil's career and more acceptable than at present to prospective employers.

Mr Armour said it was felt that the certificates used at present —intermediate, lower leaving, and higher leaving —did not always fill their intended place. The matter of secondary school certificates was closely knit up with the matter of accrediting. One of the charges made against secondary schools was that they were very narrow, awl it was a wrong view to take that those responsible for education in secondary schools had endeavoured to make them narrow. As soon as one endeavoured to widen the curricula one was up against difficulties of funds, room, and equipment. They had been striving for a leaving certificate acceptable to employers. Unfortunately, pupils who had passed through secondary schools and who sought employment were invariably asked if they had matriculated. Even the Public Service demanded matriculation a condition of entry, the Public Service examination being practically useless. What was wanted was a reorganisation of the scheme, and certificates that would be acceptable to the public as a good standard of secondary education. How was that to bo brought about? It was desired that matriculation should be considered by the public as an examination for entry to the University. (Hear, hear.) That could be brought about, and it did not matter very much if there was accrediting or not. Mr Armour suggested a certificate issued by the Education Department, with its imprimatur, as a certificate acceptable to employers. Why should the imprimatur of the University bo on the certificate for employers, in commerce or business? It would be possible for the Department, in. the schools, to have an examination on a diversified school curriculum; to have a certificate based on the pupil's record in the school, together with an examination conducted in the school vouched for by the Department. Freedom from the University Entrance requirements would mean that the curricula could be widened. Ho believed that employers would demand some form of examination, and not merely a certificiate. With a certificate of that nature a lot of the bugbear of examinations could be done away with. They would be able to widen their outlook and their curricula. : Pupils' records would be taken in which was not done by matriculation. As time went on there would probably be less necessity for examination, and more accrediting.

Only 5 per cent, of pupils went to tho University. It was only a fashion of employers to ask for matriculation. In seconding the motion, Mr J. IT. Howell emphasised the point made by Mr Armour that the examination should not be an outside one. No examination was a true examination unless it was conducted by the teacher, or partly by the teacher who had been responsible for the course the pupil had followed. The fact that the examination was an internal one would make .it a really favourable test. Instead of the examination being conducted by the Department, he suggested that the Department should act as moderators, and the papers be submitted to its officers for approval, tho examination being conducted by the teachers. There was no need to fear that the staff would bo lenient, as the credit of the school would he at stake. If their certificates could not be relied upon by the public, their school would be brought into disrepute.