OTAGO UNIVERSITY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17913, 19 April 1920, Page 2

OTAGO UNIVERSITY

HONi MB PARTi MEETS THB COUNCIL. RECXXHOIION OF CLAIMa. ADDITIONS TO , MUSEUM AUTHORISED WITHOUT CKBEMONY. The Minister of Educalion (il»o Hon. C. J- Parr) devoted the greater part of Saturday aftornoon to a oonferenoe with tho UniTersity Council, including a tour round the various buildings in, order to gain Crstliand knowJedgt) of tho ganeral situation in regard to (.he requiroinenie ol tho institution. Ho was oocouipiiied by the niembers ol' tho coimcil and lJr Andereon (Director of jiducatiott). Mr T. K. Sidey, M.P., introduced tho oouiicil, and th.iuiccd tiw Muustor Jor giving up his Saturday afternoon in order to meet with them. Dr Cameron (Chancellor of the University) tlianked the Minister for tho opportunity given thom of seeing him and placing, some of their requirements before him. He expressed the hope that the Minister would afterwards visit the Medical School and boo the requirements there. With rogard to the science and arts buildings of the University, the architect had prepared plana for a new physics departinent, also an extension for the department of biology, and they would be glad to havo them approved as soon as possible. They had got so far that tho last communication they had received from the department indicated that there was no reason why there should be any further delay in' the matter, of these buildings. They had been preparing the details for the fitting up of the buildings as well, so that when tenders were called for they would include not only tho erection of the buildings but tho fitting up as well. Another matter of extreme urgency was the question of tho heating of their buildings, it was very pressing. They had had complaints from the professors again and again, and it was simply their abounding compassion for the Government that had prevented their urging the matter before. The council felt that tho work should bo carried out at once, and had hropared tho plans for heating also. A further matter of urgency was tho necessity of an increase in fJieir revenue. That might seem to the Minister rather .ungrateful in face of the fact that the Government last session had given them an increase of £5000 per annum. They thanked the Government very sincerely for that. It was a very handsome addition to their revenue, but he thought he could make it quite clear that though it was a very considerable sum it left them very mmch in need of an increase over that. A committee of the council had been going vt?ry carefully into the question of tho allooation of that money and was submitting , a report to the noxt meetinp- of the council. The council of Victoria College, they were led to understand, had resolved to pay the professors £900 a year. That might be possible in such an institution as Victoria. College, but if tho Otago University Counoil was to grant such a sum £1000 per annum more would be required. The plan to bo submitted was that six professors shonld receive £900 per ann-um, including the medical i profeasors, leavintr 10 professors with a minimum of £850 a year. The Minister said he ratlier regretted, personally that Victoria College had gone so far.

Dγ Cameron said that the council felt that th©_ professors of Otago University had a very important "work to do, and should not be placed in an unfair position. Continuing, Dr Cameron said that tho University was mot adequately staffed. The matter of assistants for tho professors was very pressing. The oouncil had advertised l in Britain, through the office of the Hijrh Commissioner, for an a-ssistant for the physics professor, offering £400 per annum, rising to £500. Not a single application had been received, and the reply was t.liat they would have to offer at least £600 to got an application. The oouncil was able to offer only £W0; most of tlw assistants at present got less, some down to £100 per annum. It was folt that if thp professors were to have an opportunity of doing morov than roero teaching and correcting -work They must havo an adequate number of assistants end highly qualified assistants. It was felt that it would' be in the interests of the whole community if tho profpssors were able to devotr> some of their tirrn* to research work. That applied to all the departments—science, medical, and mininq-- and even to the arts. To keep highly oi'ilififd mon doing nothing but teoehinir find correcting was wnstinp a very valuable in mere rmitino work. It mijrht be said that it would not be easy to got nn increased grant, but he wanted to imnrees tho fact that the Church Board—thp Prrsbyterian Church—had in tho past- given the salary of three profpssors. This yaar the board was paying the salary of an additional professor and adding £50 to the

eakrica of two others, making a total o £2500. It w*a only lair that the ecrancri should receive & pound tor pound sobaido on that amount, and they had entered i claim for it some tnno ago, but th( Solicitor-general ' had advised that tbi Churoh Board's grant was not a free omo and that they were not entitled to a eab sidy. Tho Minister: "Ho advised 'that it vwi not, exactly a free grant; that the origina origin of the money was the Government' Jir Cameron said that tlio council ha< taken advice froni tho lawyers most in timatoly ' connected with tho matter, aui their opinion was that the money sbouh carry the £ for £ subsidy. Ho cinphusisci that tho Church Board of Property could op point professors with tho money in sui; college iu Otago. It could do it in Kno; College, or it could, if it liked, do it in In vorcargilL That waa quite within its option If tho board did it in tho University, thoi tho Government would Iks folly justified ii giving fcbij subsidy, which would just place the council in tho position of being abl( to moot tho demands at the present tune. Tho Minister: Do I understand that th< trust is not for the good of Dunedin Uni varsity solely? Dr Cameron said that tho Act of Parlia ment gave it power to set up literary chain in any college in existence or to be erectec in the Province of He explained tc the Minister in full how the Church got the property, adding that it was not a graJil from the Crown in any way, tho only thinj the Crown having to dio with it being tht failure to carry out its original agreement He would forward to the dop&rtmont tho legal opinion on trio point, and tho Ministoi would be able to consider it. They needed £2500 a year, whether by £ for £ subsidy 01 by an increased grant from the Government, Continuing, Dr Cameron said another question they would like to pat belore tho Minister referred to the teachers in the primary and &econda,ry schools. Some members of tho Council nad felt that the University should, as iar us possible, increase not only tho efficiency of tho teachers, hut raise theii stitus in tho community. At present students at tho Training College got a bursary for two years. They could not graduate at the University in that time, and most of them had to go into the country without naving dono so, though they had attended classes for two years. He would suggest that tlio Minister should introduce a system that students might bo recommended either by his own department, by tho professors, or in some other way, for a bursary for a third year, ao that they could complete thoir University course. In that way they would havo a considerable increase in the number of teachers fairly well qualified. He thought there should be a continuation of bursaries in that way. In Scotland, by a now Act of Parliament, a teacher who had graduated at a university K received an increase in his salary over teachers who were not graduates. If some of the students here were specially recommended by the principal of the Training College, by the professors, or in some other way, it would' be money well spent, giving the etudtents tho opportunity of continuing their studios until they graduated. At the conclusion of Dr Cameron's remarks tho Minister looked/over tho plans of the proposed additions to tho University, tho architect (Mr Ansoombo) being present for that purpose. In reply to the- Minister, Mr Anscombo said that the estimated cost for the addition to the main building had originally been £19,000. It was then increased to something Uke £22,000 or £23,000, but with tho physics department he did not think the building could foe completed for less than £26,000. Dr Benham explained the position in regard to the proposed additions to the Museum bnildings to provide accommodation for the botany and biologioal departments, the estimated ooofc of which was £3300. Mr Sidey remarked that beforo the Minister had a look round tho buildings the matter of tho Dental School should not be overlooked, and Dr Davies (Dental School superintendent) wag asked to explain the position iri regard to bursaries. Dr Davioa said that when Mr Russell was Minister of Publio Health they had convinced him, by 'means of publio subscriptions, that bursaries would produce students. Dr Davies stressed the point that the bursaries had uot been made attractive enough. If that were done they would havo sufficient students offering to enable a selection of tho best possihle men to be made, and ho pointed out to the Minister that such a course would prove in the best interests oil tho school children under the dental system carried out by ,the Government, tho bursar students being bound to serve the Government for four years after their course was completed. The Minister: The point is that" tho bursaries are not sufficiently .attractive to get the material for the State Dental se-rvico. He asked if the students who had just completed their course were sufficiently trained to. undertake such responsible work Dr Davies replied that it had been proved in tho camps that they were ahead of men with years standing under the old sys- * tern. If the bursaries were not made sufficiently attractive, it would mean a return to the old apprenticeship days—a most retrograde step, jn the interests neither of the dentists nor the people. Ho wished tho Minister could have visited the school in tho morning. Thirty or 40 children were dealt with every morning, and- the Minister would have seen the qualitv of work by students who had been working on the mouth for only six weeks, and still had two years to go. Tlio Minister, rer lying to the deputation, said he was very glad to have had tho opportunity of meeting the council. He appreciated as much as any man in New Zealand the work the University had done, not only for Otago, but for New Zealand, and he was anxious to help the council to the limits of his means. That must, of course, always bo understood. It was true, as had teen stated, that Parliament liad dealt very liberally with the Education Department last session. Very excellent grants had been made for the work of education—not a day too soon,—("Hear, hear.") He thought the public conscience had at last been smitten with its neglect of education during the last 20 years, and was anxioua to make up for it. He cculd assure them, as a new Minister, that when he looked on one side at his means and the other side on Dr Anderson's list of tho claims made upon fcim by every branch of education, he was somewhat appalled. Is was all a question of money. He hoped the University Council realised that, and the liberal grants that had already been made. Their means were not limitless. He had had tho opportunity of a talk already with Dr Anderson about the Council's ambitions and the matter of the additions, and was--already prepared to say that it seemed to him they had a case. They had put the matter before him, and it seemed to him that it -would be his duty to endeavour to find the money within reasonable limits to carry out any work they could convince him was urgently necessary in the beet interests of their University. With regard to tho Dental School, he was glad Mr Sidey had interposed. Ho %yas keenly interested in the dental work of the University. As an administrator for many years—as member of a board of primary education, ho realised, and realised more fully to-day, that the teaching of children wanted serious attention. But physical well-being was essential, and it was impossible for the average parent to pay the average dentist's bill. The only way was to.make a start with these young men ho hoped to see in some numbers from the Dental School. It was very satisfactory to know that' tho school was turning out .material that was going to be some benefit to the State later on. The Minister consulted Dr Andeison with regard to the question of increased grants, and £1 for £1 subsidy. The Director of Education said • tho question wsts really a legal one. If the conditions of the original grant were such as to remove tho income derived from the lands from tho State, and their being indirectly derived from tho State, then there would be no difficulty about granting the subsidy. The difficulty in tho way was the Solicitorgeneral's opinion; it was not a matter of discretion on the part of the department. After the facts were fairly put before the legal authorities and the true legal position was established ,in favour of the Council the Education Department would probably have no option about granting Ihe subsidy. He wanted them to assist him in putting tho facts of the original grants as clearly as possibk. If the grant was presumably from the Crown then the church contribution was not subaidisable; if the lands were really, to all intents and purposes, purchases of the settlers of Otago, then mattors were in a different position. Mr Parr said that as a new Minister he would like to look into the question. He understood from what the Chancellor had said that if the subsidy could not be paid then the Government should make a direct ga-ant. With .regard to extension, be understood that the plans for tho additions for the botany and biological departments necessitated an estimated expenditure - of £3300. He understood the dspartmont was sufficiently '■ far forward in the mattor as to advise him tliero was no objection, except, perhaps, for tho formality of authorising tenders. Hβ would dispense with that formality, and say at one? that the Conncil wae at liberty to proceed with tly> 1 works. With regard to tho Phys.'ce Dopartment, tho plans could bo forwarded to Wellington, and tlio matter would be fully gtrno into.