PROFICIENCY EXAMINATIONS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19977, 20 December 1926, Page 12

PROFICIENCY EXAMINATIONS.

CENTRALISATION OF PUPILS. INSPECTOR MEETS OBJECTIONS. (From oub Special Correspondent.) INVERCARGILL, December 19. At a meeting of the Southland Farmers’ Union Executive on Saturday, Mr D. A. Strachan, chief inspector of schools for Southland, discussed the matter of centralisation of country pupils for the purpose of proficiency examinations, to which practice the executive, had previously expressed opposition. Mr Strachan explained that the centralised examinations wore instituted for ( the purpose of finalising tho primary schools years as simultaneously as possible. If each school was to be examined separately it would mean that in many cases examinations would necessarily be conducted very early in the year, and, as the inspector s visit was regarded as the completion of the school year, this left the scholars at a dead end for several months, until such time as they could commence their secondary in struction. Mr Strachan said that in the cases where children were examined m any but their own school, the inspectors always nut themselves out to counteract any tendency towards nervousness, _ and added that the percentages of proficiency passes under this scheme were, if anythinghighe rthan they were under the old system.