English Universities Face Rehabilitation Problems

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26531, 5 August 1947, Page 2

English Universities Face Rehabilitation Problems

Some of the difficulties encountered in the rehabilitating of universities in England and on the Continent were explained by Dr Gertrude Huehns in an interview with the Daily Times yesterday. Born in Berlin, Dr Huehns went to England in 1931. She studied at Birkbeck College, London, taking her B.A. degree under Dr W. P. Morrell, Professor of History at the University of Otago, and at the London School of Economics, where she gained her degree in Political Science under Professor Harold Laski. She has taken up the position of assistant lecturer in history at Otago University.

During the war students had face'' 1 many obstacles in trying to continue their studies, Dr Huehns said. Those who were not on active service had some type of part-time war service to perform, dnd the’-e had been very few who had been allowed to continue witt> uninterrupted classes. Some, including Dr Huehns, were permitted to continue their studies while teaching in the secondary schools. Most of the universities had beer evacuated during the war period, and the essential and valuable books, without. which no student’s work could p-oceed at a normal rate, had been sent to remote places beyond the bombed areas, so that even where classes were being held the work wa s considerably retarded. The acute paper shortage at presem existing in England was making studying just as difficult for the post-war students. - Dh Huehns continued. The universities were full to overflowing and the supply of books was quite iff adequate to meet the demand. Careful ''onsideration as to priority was mar l '' of every application for university entrance, the highest percentage of acceptances being given to ex-service men. and some attempt to diminish the numbers of students was being made by raising the school-leaving age Every effort was being made to

restore both cultural and social life in the English universities to their pre-war activities, and women students at Cambridge were receiving more recognition; for whereas they were previously not granted a full deg ee. but were made fellows of the college *o which they belonged, they now ha'< equal status _with men students, and were able to’ receive a degree in the subjects which they studied. The visits of individual students from the Continent to England and the holding of students' congressewere doing much to re-establish th<' connection between the students of Europe, Dr Huehns said. These meetings were invaluable in helping t r provide solutions to each other’s problems. and interest on the part of British universities played a big part in raising the morale of students in the devastated areas of Europe who were trying to re-establish their col leges Britain was able to offer little material assistance, but some books were now being reprinted in Switzerland and Paris. Dr Huehns concluded by saying that she thought she had been most fortunate in gaining a position in New Zealand, and, as a student of political science, would be interested in the new developments which were taking nlace in this country.