UNIVERSITY PROBLEMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17780, 13 May 1921, Page 6

UNIVERSITY PROBLEMS.

THE FOUR COLLEGES.

DIFFUSION OF EFFORT.

VALUE OF SPECIAL SCHOOLS, fBY TELEGRAPH. —OWN COBSESFONDENT.] WELLINGTON. Thursday. The Minister for Educat/io-n, Hon. C. JParr, at the Victoria College capping ceremony, said that special problems were created by the fact that New Zealand had four University Colleges. There was no doubt that from some points of view the colleges suffered from the diffusion of effort and expenditure. Other States j within the Empire had one University each, and if New Zealand was in a similar position it would be able to have a residential He was old-fash-ioned enough to believe that a residential University, where many young people were gathered together, and enabled to devote their whole time to tho highest culture and science, made for the promotion of learning and the development of character. He would have been glad to have been able this year to find money for the establishment of hostels in connection with both the Northern colleges on the lines of the establishments already in existence in Dunedin and Christchurch, but the limitations al finance made that I impossible. Mr. Parr added that he would like to see the activities of the Wellington and Auckland Colleges very much increased by the addition to each of them of some special school. While it might not be the main function of a University to train professional people for their work in life, that work was an important part of the dutv of such institution. The prestige 4ind strength of a University wore increased if t-ome specialised form of professional training were offered. Themedical and dental school at Dunedin, and the engineering school in Christchurch illustrated his point, and he hoped that tho time was 'not far distant when Wellington and Auckland would have similarly useful schools attached to their Universities. It was true that Victoria College specialised in law, but the other colleges had pretty well the same equipment for the instruction of law students and there was no concentration of the subject in Wellington. Auckland needed something better than a school of architecture. That was, he though, more or less defunct. /