TE AUTE COLLEGE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1775, 14 March 1906, Page 66

TE AUTE COLLEGE.

TRAINING OF NATIVE YOUTHS. TECHNICAITeDU CATION. The Hon. J. D. Ormond, M.L.C., in writing to the “Hawke’s Bay Herald,” concurred with the opinions recently expressed by the Premier at the native meeting at Waimarama, that Te Aute College could, with great advantage to the natives, include instruction in practical, useful industries, and that suoh would be in accordance with the objects of the grant. / In his letter, Mr Ormond said that application of part of the revenues of Te Aute College estate could properly be made to the teaching of technical and industrial subjects. He be’lieved that an examination of the grant would show that it was worded similarly to other grants of a like kind at that period made by Sir George Grey, then Governor of the colony. If so, the wording, would be “a grant for the maintenance and education of indigent persons inhabitants of New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.” Mr Ormond added that he “had a conversation with the Rev. A. Williams, who was present, and he told me that he (and I understood that the Te Aute College authorities also) had thought that industrial teaching might have been introduced at Te Aute with advantage, but that Mr Pope, Inspector of Native Schools, had objected, and so nothing had been done. I told the Premier this, and I expect that the objections will be removed.” We have made some inquiries into the subject, and find that the facts of the case are as follows: On May 10th, 1900, by direction of the Minister of Education (the late Hon. W. C. Walker), the Education Department wrote to the Ven Archdeacon Williams, offering (1) to provide material for the building and skilled supervision during its erection, (2) to give £25 towards initial cost of tools, (3) to give an annual sum towards cost of timber and replacing toot 1 ?, and also towards cost of instruction in carpentry, provided that the amount and character of the instruction be shown on a programme to be approved of by the department, (4) as the Government was anxious that as many scholars as possible from the village schools shout receive instruction in technical woi as well as in the subjects of a ary school course, it would a. poet the trustees to take • . . , eminent scholars, five in addition to those already arranged , of £2O per annum. To this lettex no answer was received by the Apartment till February 21st, 1901, when the Ven Archdeacon replied to the effect that the trustees were prepared to consider carefully any practicable scheme for the extension of the work as then carried on, but that Te Ante

was the only Maori High School in New Zealand, and the trustees viewed with much anxiety any experiment in connection with the working that would lower its position; that the average age of the Government scholars being twelve or thirteen, they would not be likely to derive much benefit from such technical instruction, and that to devote four hours per week to technical instruction could not be done without retarding their progress in secondary subjects. Further, that domestic duties and the labour demanded in bringing Maori boys up to the matriculation standard fully occupied the time, and that carpentry instruction had been carried on for some years. In February, 1903, the principal approached the department with a view to reopening the question. He reiterated the difficulty of giving four hours per week, and asked if the matter could not be arranged on the basis of two and a half hours per week. The letter concluded with the hope that some practicable scheme might be devised, and the work begun. On the 7tli April, 1903, the department wrote, agreeing to this proposal, and renewing upon these terms the offer of May 10th. 1900. A' plan of the workshop was forwarded. To this no reply was received by the department, and the principal of the college wrote on July 31st, asking if any decision had been reached! In September. 1903, the principal wrote on behalf of the Archdeacon, who anticipated that the trustees would thankfully accept the offer of the department. This the trustees did in September, 1903. Meanwhile the department had. need to revise the conditions under which such instruction was given in native schools, and the matter had to remain in abeyance, pending fresh arrangements, The trustees were informed of this in September and August, 1901. The matter was again renewed in April, 1905, when by direction of the Minister the department wrote, offering £IOO towards the erection of a building and its equipment, and offering to pay up to £SO per annum for every Government scholar to receive four hours’ instruction per week for forty weeks in the year, unless the Inspector-General agreed to exemption in the case of particular scholars. This was practically declined on the same grounds a.s those on which the first proposal had not been accepted—the chief being that four hours could not he spared in the week for technical work, as to do so would be to jeopardise the standard of the school. The department replied on June 13th, 1905, that in its opinion a well thought-out course of woodwork, with drawing and geometry implied, was just as mu ah a subject of secondary instruction as Latin or deductive geometry, and that the standard reached in Te Aute would be in no danger of being lowered by including in the school curriculum a properly graded course of manual training in woodwork. ' The principal being away, no reply was received until August 29th, 1905. The trustees regretted the delay, and again pleaded that t>he hours should be reduced to two and a half. The department replied in September, 1905, agreeing to the proposal that Government scholars should devoto four hours per week and other scholars a minimum of two and a half hours per week. On November 14th, 1905, the principal wrote, regretting that the department’s letter had not been answered. It is still unanswered.