UNIVERSITY COMMISSION

New Zealand Times, Volume LII, Issue 12185, 9 July 1925, Page 5

UNIVERSITY COMMISSION

CHRISTCHURCH SITTING HIGHER EDUCATION FOR WORKERS. Per Pres* Association CHRISTCHURCH, July 8. The Royal Commission" on University Education began its Christchurch siftings this morning. Air H. D. Acland, chairman of the Board 1 of Governors of Canterbury College, said that hostels, playing fields and libraries were urgently needed for the university colleges in New Zealand. The colleges were suffering from a lamentable lack of Vision c.n the part of the founders. Christchurch had suffered greatly. The New Zealand University as it was constituted could not continue much longer. The attitude of Auckland apparently was to place the claims of that citv before those cf the rest of the Dominion, without any regard to Dominion interests. Separate universities, he said, appeared to be desirable in New Zealand, and he believed popular sentiment was steadily growing in this direction. When established local universities were likely to have much greater support than - the colleges received at present. Modern universities reouired a stream of, gifts to keep pace with modern development, and the New Zealand , University system at present existing did not produce them to any extent. In- the event of separate universities being established it was most desirable that the constitutions should be such as to give them freedom of development, andi unhampered by the baneful influence of bureaucratic control. It did not appear desirable for, say, Auckland to go off -at one time, and the other colleges to constitute one university. Sir Harrv Reichel said 1 the general trend of the argument in favour of separate universities was the distance between the centres. Regarding higher education generally, Air Acland urged the claims of the Workers’ Educational Associatibn for increased support and recognition. It was most essential that the classes which usually consisted of adults should be free to obtain such education and knowledge as they required. "He expressed the belief thal the next development in education would) be a great extension of higher education of adults, especially of a voluntary nature. He urged the necessity of immediate steps being taken to provide for this demand. CHANGE URGENTLY NEEDED The rector of Canterbury College, Dr C. Chilton, stated he was strongly of opinion the time had arrived when steps should! be taken to establish four separate universities. The attempt to manage the business of the university, and to secure the necessary co-opera-tion of university colleges by a senate sitting once a year in Wellington had proved to he largely a failure. Many of those most associated with the work of the University Senate of recent years were of the opinion that the university had become unwieldy, and that this could he remedied only by a system of decentralisation. Combination and co-operation of the different educational bodies in each district would enable much better, more efficient, and probably less expensive control to be exer, cised over the whole education of the district than was secured by the centralised svstem. Referring to the functions of the university. Dr Chilton said research and teaching should work hand in hand. To attain that it was desirable to have as large a staff as possible. That might be secured without incurring great expense by research fellowships or by graduate assistants, part of whose time was occupied in doing original work. Dr J. Higlit, deajj of the faculty of commerce And law at Canterbury College, 1 said the present organisation had become so unsatisfactory and confused that a radical alteration rather than reform was required. The present system WB9 a bar to progress. Some years ago it had reached the limit of its usefulness, and the greatest good - could not be secured by continuing the University of New Zealand. Professors had far too scant time for reading and preparing their courses, and in some cases need for relief was very urgent.