’VARSITY COURSE

New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 11829, 15 May 1924, Page 10

’VARSITY COURSE

DAY LECTURES DEBATED. WHAT FIGURES SHOW. The Victoria College Council briefly discussed the possibilities of turning over to a day course last evening. This was when Air G. G. S. Robison (registrar) reported the result of an investigation as to how many students were employed in the daytime. The figures of an imperfect canvass, he said, showed that of 112 new students in arts 18 were not employed, and of 234 old students 59 were not employed. This gave 77, or 18 per cent., of tho total of 3G4 able to attend day lectures. In law, 23 of the 62 new students and 16 of the 161 old students, or 17.5 per cent., of the total of 223 were able to attend. In science, 17 of the 52 new students and 11 of the 70 odd students (a percentage of 23) were able to take day lectures. Only one etudent of 25 in oommerce was disengaged during the day. DUPLICATION. “You will never have proper university life unless you have day classes” said Mr W. J. Howell. Dr Stout pointed out that lectures could not be duplicated. This would entail a bigger staff, and would not be fair to the students. Professor Hunter pointed out that the pace set was the pace of the evening student, and that, to his mind, they were not fairly treating the whole-time students under the existing arrangements. “MADE A MISTAKE.” “In the oase of law students,” he said, “the day work must be counted as practical training. I believe that what we’ve done in twenty-five years is to train people to think that you can get a university education in the evening/* But in making the main provision for the evening student, it seemed to him that they had made a mistake. They had now something which, he thought, would not bo found ’in any other university in the world. There were, of oourse, cases of evening classes whioh were provided for deserving students. They were really faced with the difficulty of the changeover, and it had to be faced. TEACHERS CONCERNED. Air W. J. Howell’s inquiry elicited from the registrar the information that a large number of arts students were at the Teachers’ Training Collego. In addition, there were about 100 people who had passed through the college, and were going for other degrees or on for a higher degree He would not say that they could not come down to lectured in the day bv arrangement, however. “A DELt'STON.” Mr Howell pointed out that a degree was needed by a teacher for clnsuiiication purposes, but that the kind of degree mattered little. Arts and science degrees were of equal weight. Too many people were under tho impression that a etudent could do as well by attending a night class as by attending a day class. This was a delusion. BOARD CONSIDERING. Mr A. Fair suggested that the matter should be referred to the professorial board. He was answered by Professor E. J.

Boyd-Wilson (rheirman of the professorial boardb who stated that the matter already was in the hands of th© boarA an<\ that but foi the intervention of the jubilee celebrations and of the first term vacation it would have reported already.