SECONDARY EDUCATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12608, 24 June 1904, Page 3

SECONDARY EDUCATION.

■y ' ;■-■' ~: ———————— - AGE LIMIT FOR FREE PLACES. A point in connection with the new secondary education system came before the Auckland Grammar School Board at its meeting yesterday afternoon. A letter was received from the Education Department, covering a copy of a letter sent to the Department by the Board of Governors of the Otago Boys* and Girls' High Schools. V The latter body i-l its letter referred to the disability which it considered many deiervisg pupils in. the country primary schools; Buffered; by reason of the stipulation that candidates must have passed* the sixth standard before attaining the age of 1* years, in order to qualify for free places in accordance with the Secondary Schools Act, 1903. V The Board considered that as country.:. pupils had not the same facilities as! those in town, it was only reasonable to conclude that a large number.! of promising children ware unable to pass the sixth standard under 3.4 years of ■ age, and were thereby debarred from taking advantage of the provisions of the new Act, The Board expressed, the : hope '(:• that the Department' would see'its way to remove the age limit. The Department in its letter pointed out that'the average age at which scholars passed the sixth standard was 13 years ;.- 10 months, and asked whether a pupil with more than average ability would ' nob be able 'to pass that standard under 14, especially" under the new syllabus, - whereby , the ; number ;of* subjects for small schools was less than formerly.' It was also asked whether tin* fixing of the junior scholarship agesjjy most of the education ' boards and by ■educational authorities' in other parts of the Empire, at 14, 13, or even 12 years, did;not point to a belief that a pupil deserving of free secondary education would generally stow merit before such an age was reached. It was further considered that the cases of those who could not pass the sixth standard before the age ot 14 was met by clause 3 (d), under which, subject to the Minister's consent, '. free places were more or less at the discretion r of the . governing bodies of secondary schools. The Auckland Board ; was asked"* to express 'fits opinion 'on the matter. Mr.' J. W. Tibbs, headmaster of the Gram- i mar _ School, advised the Board that 4 in ;., his' opinion the age limit should be retained, for the following reasons:—{l) The average "age of passing the sixth standard being 13 years 10 months, it was evident that the privileges were open to all .of i average ability;; (2} ■ the privileges i would ■be . most ■; valued when »some slight effort was needed to win .them; ; (3) the age limit would tend -to make the idler children put■'. forth an effort, j and so | raise the average standard; (4) the '■ admission of-dull or idle children above the average age would lower: the standard of higher education; * (5) a pupil who could not win a free place under the present liberal regulations would b© better employed in learning a trade than in attempting secondary education,. " The Board, after considering the matter/ decided to adopt Mr. Tibbs' recommendations, and to reply to the Department accordingly. > A letter was read from the Education Department stating that the regulation as! to : the age limit of pupils qualifying for; free places could not be relaxed in favour of a boy who, by his birthday falling on December 27, s instead of ; January 1, had been debarred from participating in the benefits of th« new, system. It was stated that several other cases of the same kind had been brought un- | der the notice of the Minister. The Education Department notified that \ the sum of £371 lis had been paid to the Board's credit i" connection with pupils admitted under the new secondary' education regulations.,, ■.:W;-Z : .i&l. ,'*■:; ■;, A.,,-, '-•'. ~— r —— ;