AGRICULTURAL TRAINING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20504, 4 March 1930, Page 7

AGRICULTURAL TRAINING

PROPOSAL AT KAIKOHE. DESIRE FOR HIGH SCHOOL [BS TELEGRAPH. OWN CORRESPONDENT. 3 KAIKOHE, Monday. The proposal to establish an agricuhtural high school at Kaikohe was discussed between Mr. T. B. Strong, Director of Education, Mr* W. W. Bird, chief inspector of native schools, and the Kaikohe Maori and.pulilic schools' committees and leading natives of the district. Mr. 11. F. Guy outlined the proposals agreed to at a conference of the two committees. It was felt that the time had arrived when some form of post-primary education should be available in the district, and the general opinion seemed to favour a high school with a distinctly agricultural bias, open to lads of both races. The Rev. W. N. Panapa pointed out that the native lands were being consolidated, and it Vas an urgent necessity to train the Maori youths in agriculture practice so that they could usefully and profitably farm the land that would become theirs in individual ownership, Mr. Kari Pou said very few of the natives could afford to send their children away to attend a secondary school. The future of the Maori race rested on agriculture, and if the natives were to make a success of the cultivation of their land they must be instructed in the subjects that were most essential to the profitable tilling of the soil. If the youth of ihe race' were not taught to cultivate their lands he did not know what would become of them, and their lands would slip through their fingers. Mr. J. B. Berry said he thought the majority favoured the establishment of a type of school on the lines of the New South Wales district rural schools. It would provide a course of higher education extending for three years beyond the primary school, with a decided bias toward preparation for rural pursuits. Mr. Strong explained the steps that would have to be taken and the nature of the information submitted before tlie matter could be seriously considered by the department. He had been for many years an advocate .for improved agricultural instruction in schools. At the same time the academic side must not be neglected. He would forward to them a syllabus giving the course of instruction that would probably be adopted in the kind of school they proposed, and they could then sot up a sub-committee to find out the probable number of pupils available and also whether a suitable area for a rural school was availablo in or close to the town.