TECHNICAL TRAINING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15520, 30 January 1914, Page 8

TECHNICAL TRAINING.

INADEQUATE BUILDING.

MORE • FUNDS REQUIRED.

CITY LOAN SUGGESTED.

A tika for ; funds for th© completion of the Soddon Memorial Technical College was made by the director (Mr. George George) in the . course of an interview yesterday. The present scope of the college, he remarked, was hampered; by the lack of space available.

" The students and staff found the new building, in which classes have now been carried on for a year, a great improvement upon the old conditions," aaid Mr, George, "but the'completed three storeys of the college did not provide us with anything like sufficient accommodation for last year's students: By dividing some of the larger rooms with temporary partitions, and by utilising some of the rooms for purposes other than those for which they were designed, we managed to accommodate the whole of the day school, consisting of about 350 boys and girls, but for evening work we still had to make use of the Normal School in Wellesley Street, the old Rutland Street building and the Newton Manual Training School. Naturally several of the departments were much handicapped by their accommodation being curtailed as the result of the work of other departments which it was intended to have carried out in tho fourth and fifth storeys. " It is a question of funds," he added, in reply to a question, "and, as far as I can see, there is very little' prospect of funds being available in the near future unless the ratepayers of Auckland vote a loan for the purpose. It is estimated that it will cost £25,000 to complete the building, and if the ratepayers would authorise a loan of £12,500 the Government would subsidise the amount £ for £, thus providing the required amount. The completed • building would not be more than sufficient to accommodate all tho students, numbering upward of 1500, and it would be an architectural ornament to the city, instead of the eyesore it is at present. The proposed action of the ratepayers would not be unusual, for in other countries where the State provides for other branches of education the municipalities generally find the bulk of the money for technical education. To come closer home, it may be remembered that Devonport voted a special loan for the erection of a technical and manual training school, while the City Council of Dunedin recently voted £3000 towards the erection of a new technical college. This was in addition to its annual contribution of £300." Referring to the work of the students at the college Mr. George said that in the examinations conducted by the Board of Education, South Kensington London, and by the City and Guilds of London Institute, the Auckland College had for some yearn past had a larger number of successes than any other technical school in tho Dominion, and, in fact, on more than one occasion had more successes than Dunedin, Cliristchurch, and Wellington put together. Further, he believed the local college was the only one in Australasia that provided practical training in all branches of mechanical engineering. Finally Mr. George remarked upon the fact that boys and girls under 17 years of age were not compelled to attend continuation classes. Such a regulation was in force in several Southerp .towns, including Wanganui and Napier. ' ..-v";