THE EDUCATION SYSTEM

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25625, 28 August 1944, Page 3

THE EDUCATION SYSTEM

Sir, —I like the suggestion of your correspondent " Commentator ” that an independent competent inquiry into our education system is imperative, for there Is undoubtedly general dissatisfaction with the education given to our young people to-day. Educational authorities, farmers' organisations, business people, and parents express their dissatisfaction from time to time, but nothing is done in a constructive way to correct present tendencies. True, the Minister of Education has called an Education Conference for late October, but only matters of second class importance will be discussed, and it seems likely, therefore, that an excellent opportunity of obtaining some really constructive ideas will be lost. I think that people interested in education are entitled to ask why the popular demand for reforms overdue in education is not met.

No doubt our highly centralised system of control in education is partly to blame, and yet further centralisation of control is inevitable if our people do not bestir themselves to take a healthy interest in this matter. Our national strength depends in no small measure on the quality of our education. Present methods in education could easily lead our children to become mere robots, and it is already evident from the comments of such authorities in educational circles as Professors Anderson and Rutherford, of Auckland University College, that the deficiencies of our present schools are very great. The wise men of the Soviets seem to have much more sense than our own administrators, for they are {breaking their centralised control down as fast as they can—and this applies not only in education but in industry and politics as well. Their policy is a sound one, for they realise that friendly competition between different groups can be constructive. In New Zealand, decentralisation in education, with, of course, specific limitations on the power of the smaller education authorities, would have a healthy effect. Education Boards were responsible for more educational progress in New Zealand than the Education Department has ever been. In fact, the record of the department is almost one of progressive deterioration as far as the quality of the children leaving schools is concerned. If Education Boards were revitalised by giving them more extensive powers and widening their franchise, a great step forward would be made. The boards should be only partly elective by school committees, .and there should be representatives of teachers, trade unions, business organisations, local bodies, and the Government as well. Perhaps the Minister of Education is afraid to ask the opinion of the people at large for their ideas on reforms in education. The conference in October can discuss the frills, but what about the things that really matter —decentralisation, curriculum, training of teachers, and so on? Maybe our friends in the North Island are afraid of Otago's ability to stage a come-back in education I I wonder!—l am, etc., Gore, Aug. 23. Hit Hard and Often.