EDUCATION IN OTAGO

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26933, 19 November 1948, Page 6

EDUCATION IN OTAGO

HISTORY OF FIRST CENTURY MR A. M. DAVIDSON APPOINTED The Otago Education Board has now completed arrangements for the writing of the history of education in Otago for the years from 1848 to 1948. A proposal to publish this history has been under consideration by the board in recent months, and the Education Department has promised some financial assistance towards the project. Making a statement to this effect to the Daily Times yesterday, the chairman of the board, Mr J. I. Fraser, said that some time ago the board appointed a small committee to consider the proposal. It comprised Dr R. Lawson, a former professor of education at the University of Otago, and representatives of the Education Board, the Otago High Schools’ Board, and the King Edward Technical School Board The board has adopted recommendations from the committee that the history be proceeded with, and that it should cover all stages of education up to post-primary, with such reference to university education as is desirable to show the liaison between postsprimary teaching and the university. Mr A. M. Davidson, M.A., Dip. Ed., principal of the Macandrew Intermediate School, has been appointed historian. Mr Davidson will be granted leave of absence from his present duties for one year from February 1, 1949, or such longer period as may be necessary to make the necessary research and complete the writing of the history. Mr Fraser said that it had been hoped that a start would be made on this woik before the end of the year, but Mr Davidson had made a request that he should be permitted to complete his important end-of-year duties at the Macandrew Intermediate School. “There is no doubt that Mr Davidson’s ability, coupled with the enthusiasm he displays in any work he undertakes, will ensure that a valuable history will be compiled,” the chairman added. “ The support of the public will, of course, be necessary to ensure that the costs of publication will be met, but that is a matter of which those interested will hear more in due course.”