“ACCREDITING”

New Zealand Times, Volume L, Issue 11522, 18 May 1923, Page 11

“ACCREDITING”

TEACHERS APPROVE "MATRICULATION EXAMINATION'S , UNSATISFACTORY.” CRUSHING OUT INDIVIDUALITY. "That this association again strongly affirms tho principle of accrediting, in lieu of the matriculation,” was a remit moved hy Mr F. Martyn Renner on behalf of Wellington and Nelson at the annual meeting of Secondary Schools Assistants yesterday. UNSATISFACTORY. Mr Renner, in moving the remit, enid that the matriculation examination was in many respects unsatisfactory from the secondary' school teachers’ point of view. They had, therefore, for the past three years, asked that some form of accrediting should he substituted in the place of the examination. In this they had been supported by the department, but snefi was the conservative nature of the Uni-' versity Senate that they have made very little, if any, progress. Some of the chief objections to the matriculation examination could be summarised as -Oll0" _ TOO LARGEt (11 The number of candidates was now so large that the system of examination must break down from its own ah®®! weight. Last year there were over 40W candidates. In tho subject of English there were two papers. The examiners—four or five in number —had to mark and report on nearly 8000 papers ina. littlf? over one month, and with the Christinas and New Year holidays intervening, that could not be satisfactorily done without a serious injustice to a large number of candidates. LESS RESTRICTIONS. (o> The necessity for secondary schools to work to the matriculation syllabus, unduly hampered and restricted the curriculum of the schools. Many interesting and important subjects 'had to t»e subordinated to less important ones cr altogether omitted. The matriculation examination tended to develop schools of one type, and crushed out the individu ality which they wanted in secondary whools in New Zealand. They not teach history properly; they had to neglect economics and European history. Thev hod to ignore more or less their greatest duty—to lay the foundations of ~ood citizenship—by helping the boy <r rirl over what should bs the least obstacle in the examinations. 13) In these flays of economy of a<lrainistration. the matriculation examination was a waste of nnblic money. The 4000 ofld candidates eonld. bv means of a duly safeguarded accrediting system, he cut down to less than 2000. NOT TOTAL ABOLITION. They would observe that they did lot advocate the total abolition of the matricuitation examination. Some form of examination must he kept for tho6®' students outside the secondary schools, and for those secondary school pupils whom the principals, in conjunction with the inspectors, could honestly recommend as being up to the required standard In any subjects. The accrediting system would undoubtedly have a beneficial effect on the growth of secondary schoools. If, as they hoped, the Senate decided to accredit oupils instead of examining them at the end of four years, many more children would stay on in the secondary schools. Mr J. CL Mackav (Nelson) seconded 'he remit. ' . Mr H. B. Tomlinson (Wellington) Minted out that there was a crying need for reform, but they should be able to accredit a boy before the end of four years f they considered hiH chances indisput, able. The remit was adopted.