ANOMALY EXISTS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23073, 25 June 1938, Page 18

ANOMALY EXISTS

students UNINTENDED ADVANTAGE PUPILS IN COUNTRY CENTRES [BT TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] WELLINGTON, Friday Abuse that had recently crept into tho •system of extra-mural students at \ ictoria University College was mentioned at a meeting of tho College Council by the principal, Professor T. A. Hunter, who brought forward a recommendation by tho , Professorial Board that the councils of other constituent colleges bo invited to discuss tho increasing tendency, in secondary schools to hold classes for degree examinations. Under tho system of exempted students, Professor Hunter said, provision was made for the student who, in tho opinion of the board, was unable to attend classes to get exemption from one or more classes, and that was widely availed of up to recent years. Provision tvns made i.hat a student to obtain a bursary must not liavo matriculated, tho bursary always being; held at a college. If the student wanted to do extra-mural work he matriculated, and thus lost the chance of getting a bursary.. For some reason that restriction had been removed, and the Professorial Board was noAv faced with the difficulty that a student outside the main centres could attend a secondary school, do certain degree subjects, and have a bursary awarded him on that year's work. Sixty Students Concerned The position was anomalous because such a student got in his first year s work, and then obtained his bursary. There were no fewer than 60 students attending secondary schools in the Wellington district who were doing university work. Mr. Forsyth: All outside main centres ? ' . / Professor Hunter: Yes, 1 don't think it was ever the idea for exempted students not only to keep terms at a secondary school, but also to get a bursary. The idea was that such a student should have the right to prepare himself to sit for university examinations. It seems to tho board that an abuse i has crept in regarding exemption. It is also educationally unsound because it means that some of our best teachers in the secondary schools must bo giving up time to university work which they should be giving to ordinary pupils. Steps should be taken to get rid of the anomaly, and the opinions of councils of other university colleges should be obtained. Investigation Proposed Mr. M. H. Oram suggested that the matter be referred back to the Professorial Board to set out categorically the abuses that existed, and the steps it proposed to take to deal with them. In its present form the whole thing was all too vague, he said. It would be a disaster if a demand arose for the abolition of extra-mural privileges. Dr. T. D. M. Stout said the position was grossly anomalous. A hoy in the sixth form in a secondary school in main centres might be doing exactly the same work as a hoy in the country, hut- the latter could do the first year of his university course, which a city bov \yas unable to do because he could not get exemption. Bovs at Wanganui College could do all their ,first year's university college work, whereas boys at Wellington College could not.^ On the motion of Mr. Oram, it was decided that the council invite other constituent councils to discuss anomalies that had crept into the system of extramural students.