UNIVERSITY REFORM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19119, 10 September 1925, Page 11

UNIVERSITY REFORM.

KEPOBT OF COMMISSION. FEDERAL IDEA FAVOURED. limited local freedom. PRESENT SYSTEM'S EVILS. THE EXAMINATION FETISH.

SPECIAL SCHOOLS QUESTION [by telegraph.—SPEClAL reporter.] WELLINGTON. Wednesday. .The report of the Royal Commission on University Education has been presented to Parliament. Tho document is a long one and covers many important subjects. In the report there is necessarily a good deal of historical material fti'd many citations from authorities and from evidence submitted. Tho general nature of tho report, however, may be gathered from tho following summary prepared by the Minister for Education, Sir James Parr:— The present constitution—that is, an examining university with affiliated institutions—is very severely criticised by the commission. Two methods of reform are

suggested:— (a) A foderal university of the type of Wales; (b) Four universities with limited charters.

The commission follows all other commissions in condemning the purely examining university such as exists in New Zealand, and considers that, in view of tho small population of Now Zealand, the nature of the university staffs and the plan of decentralisation, "a reformed federal system is the best for tho present conditions."

The commission recommends that, in addition to the governing bodies of the colleges and the professorial boards, there should be two university bodies—(a) The council (present senate). (b) The Academic Board (present Board of Studies). In suggesting the constitution of these bodies the commissioners are moved by the desire "to minimise as far as wo can the operation of the provincial jealousies and strife which have in the past, we are convinced, operated prejudicially to the interests of the university." Suggested Constitutions. It is suggested that the constitutions of these bodies should be as follows: The Council (21 members). —Six appointed by the Governor-in-Council, three by the Academic Board, one by the governing body of each college, five by the General Court of Convocation, the principal of the university, the Director of Education, and one co-opted member. The Academic Board (21 members).— , The principal, eight members elected by the professors of the university, and three by each professorial board. A dominant feature is that under this constitution the .colleges would be given a very large measure of autonomy. Subject to the final approval of tho council or academic board, or both, each college would have power to carry on its own administration and arrange the academic details of its courses. The commission insists th»t, with staffs of different aptitudes and interests, any attempt to make all teachers of a subject conform to a common rigid syllabus : is bound to devitalise the teaching and destroy the enthusiasm of both teacher and student. I he university examination in a subject would oe conducted by the professor and an external examiner appointed by tho council. All degrees , would be degrees of the university as a present. University Education. ■ i. report in a striking summary says: 'The general impression left on our minds , 13 that tho ftew Zealand University offers unrivalled facilities for gaining university degrees, but that it is less successful in providing university education." The commission condemns the dominant place given to examining and indicates the evil effects of this system on" the studv tuu l training provided in the secondarv schools and university colleges. Further, the commissioners cansider the standard of the matriculation examination find the pass 8.A., and B.Sc., all too low. While 'approving of facilities being given to the evening student, they strongly condemn the present practice in many faculties of allowing university standards to be determined by the work of part-time students. They criticise verv drastically the present system of university training for the legal and teaching professions, and make far-reaching recommendations in these matters. They condemn the tendency to duplicate special schools and suggest « policy for preventing this. Heal Ideals Neglected. Ihese evils can be remedied only by -a i oncert?d effort to educate the public to Jeali&e the real nature of university education and ideal. " Among the worst effects of a university system dominated by external examination and rigidlv imposed sa) ? re l' ort > "are not <>nly that these tend to make the teaching formal and lacking in stimulus, but that they also confirm and strengthen tho popular view that a university is a place which students attend merely to secure degrees wh,ch have definite occupational values. J he effect of such an idea strongly held in the 'community is most insidious and makes progress toward the realisation of • truer ideals of university life and work very slow and difficult," Evidence of this spirit is indicated by the deplorable condition of university libraries. The University of Bangor, with about half the students of a New Zealand college, has in its library about 50 per cent, more books than are to bo found in nil the college libraries in the Dominion. The commission recommends that the "Rxpenditurp of £IO,OOO, spread over fivp JOars, should be made to remedy these glaring defects. University and Secondary Education. Tho commission recommends that the present matriculation oxamination should bo abolished and should v bo replaced by:~ (a) An intermediate 'examination ' (at libout 16 years of age). (b) A school leaving examination (at fcbout 18 years of age), wiien the full Secondary school couiao is completed. These examinations should be controlled by a Secondary Schools' Board (appointed by the university) and on which the university, the Education Department, and I he secondary school teachers would l>o Represented. Entrance to tho university Would bo gained by taking approved ponrses in these two examinations. By this means it would bo possible to leave the schools free to meet the university requirements for entrance, to provide school leaving certificates, and to fcttach due importance to practical and oral work that is not tested in the written examination. The commission does not (facommend the immediate introduction of * system of accrediting. It suggests that Ibis might be done in ten years! time. Training o! Teachers. The commission strongly urges that Ihere should be much closer co-operation between the university departments of i ducat ion and the training colleges, so that a proper classification of the entrants to the teaching profession may be made frith a view to providing each with the lyp» of training suitable to his or her ability, aptitude and future sphere of ivoik. It considers that one and the same 1 3ison should bo professor of education % I; of iho training college. No

ono should bo accepted for training who has not completed a lull course at a secondary school. These entrants should be classified, some being given one year's professional training only, others being allowed longer courses if desirable. In the case of approved students a full university course with post-graduate prolessional training should be provided. The commission especially condemns the present practice under which students endeavour to carry on a university degree couise and their professional training at the same time. The university vacations might be used for " practice" teaching. The commission recommends that in one university college there should be provided a fully-equipped school for the training of sscondary school teachers. Legal Education.

The commission condemns most strongly the present methods of legal education, and considers fhem detrimental to the public interest. ".Legal practitioners have always been regarded as members of a learned profession, as, indeed, is shown by the customary courtesy of allusion to 'my learned friend.' It appears 'to us that, unless a marked change is effected in tho legal education provided in the Dominion, this term runs tho risk of being regarded as a deiicate sarcasm." The commission then recommends:— (a) That there should b-j set up a Council of Legal Education, repesentative of the Judges, legal profession and university, and that this, body should have tho powers now vested in the Judges under the Law Practitioners Act. (b) That the standard of entrance should be raised very considerably. (c) That every candidate should be required to take a definite period of practical training in a law office. (d) That the "back-door" to the barristers' profession should be closed. (e) That a Law School, properly staffed and equipped with a good law library, should be established at tho most suitable university centre. Special Schools. Tho commission considers that the aim should bo to provide in each professional course tho best possible training at some one centre of the Dominion, Dut that work might be taken in other centres wherever this can be done without increasing cost or lowering efficiency. The commission therefore recommends:— (a) That the present haphazard method of establishing special schools should cease and a policy for the futuro determined upon. (b) That the School of Engineering at Auckland should be recognised for the first and second professional examinations of the B.E. degree. (c) That only one School of Agriculture should bo recognised in the North Island.

(d) That Lincoln College should either provide a real university course in agriculture or cease to be recognised for this purpose and undertake merely diploma courses for young farmers. (e) That a University School of Agriculture should provide homo economics and rural economics for farmers' wives and daughters. (f) That there should be only one School of Forestry, and this should bo situated at Auckland. (g) That clinical instruction for final year medical students should be organised at Auckland. (h) That bursaries should be provided for tho maintenance of selected students wishing to undertake a professional course at a distant university centre. (i) That finances of special schools should be kept separate .and distinct. (j) That there should be due delimitation of the functions of the special schools and technical schools. University Staffs. Tho commission stresses the vital importance of the staffs in university education, urges that much greater care should be taken in the selection of the personnel, that better salaries and conditions are necessary, and much more attention must be paid to junior and tutorial staffs. ,

. Tho commission notes the very detrimental results that have followed tho worship of the examination fetish, and is convinced that these evils can be remedied only by carefully selecting the staff and by giving it the greatest possible freedom in its task of creating enthusiasm for knowledge among students. 30 that these may be prepared to take their share in the work of research. True university teaching consists in co-operation between teacner and student in study and investigation. "The adoption of the recommendations throughout this report will necessitate new financial arrangements being made for the university. When these are under consideration the classification, salary and status of the teaching staff should be reviewed in the light of the considerations we have set out herein and in those contained in tho printed evidence." The report also makes a number of recommendations dealing with research, student- activities, . representation on college governing bodies, degrees in divinity and extra-mural work. It is an interesting historical- fact that the recommendations of this commission follow somewhat the lines of tho report of tho 1878 commission. The present conditions are, of course, very different, but the general principles laid down are very similar, "In conclusion," says the Minister for Education, "I may say that I have not' 1 yet had time to go carefully into the cletails of the report. I may, however, safely say that it is a most, informative and valuable document. Tho commission is amply justified, for its report prove 3 beyond question that an inquiry and overhaul was necessary. My great regret is that an investigation into university education in this country has been so long delayed. It should have taken place years ago. With most of the main recommendations I cordially agree. It will be my duty at an early date to bring the matter before the Cabinet, and then before the various educational bodies concerned."

EASY ROAD TO DEGREES.

"UNRIVALLED FACILITIES."

NO UNIVIRSITY EDUCATION.

[BY TELEGRAPH. —SPECIAL REPORTER.] WELLINGTON. Wednesday. " The general impression left on our minds is that the New Zealand University offers unrivalled facilities for gaining university degrees but that it is less success* ful in providing university education. Degrees are open not only, as in the universities of all other countries, to regular students who devote their whole time and attention for a prescribed period to their university lectures and studies, but to others who attend lectures and pursue their studies while following some whole time occupation, such as school teachers, clerks in offices, etc. There is in addition a large class of ' exempted students who for various reasons are excused attending lectures altogether, are subject to no oversight and receivo .no help 'in their studies from the univewity colleges. "It is not surprising that under a system such as this which opens its doors so wide and does not insist upon training, but makes everything depend on the result of an external written examination, tho number of university students in proportion to the population (320 per 100,000) greatly exceeds that in countries like Germany (178) and Scotland (173), where the university has been the training ground of the national intellect for tho last four centuries or in* new countries liko the United States of America (171) and Australia (150), where the whole time student is the rule and the part time and exempted student is the exception. " There is, as the London University Commission found was the case in England, confusion in tho public mind between university education and a university degree.. People believe that everyone who has the latter in some way or other also had the former and that ,the examinations that have been passed aro proof of it.".