SCHOLARSHIP REGULATIONS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2199, 23 April 1896, Page 51

SCHOLARSHIP REGULATIONS.

At Thursday's meeting of the Education Board the following letter from the rector of the Boys' High School was received, consideration being deferred for a month :-— Otago Boys' High School, Dunedin, April 15, 1896. The Secretary Otago Education Board. Sir,— l Bhonld be glad if you would bring under the notice of the Boayd of Education at its first meeting the following statements and suggestions relative to the regulations at present in force for the board's senior scholarship examinations. It is in no way my intention to usurp the office of the board's inspectors, who are of course the board's proper advisers in such matters, but only to bring under the notice of the board and its inspectors certain tendencies of the scholarship regulations at present in force which, in virtue of my intimate connection with the chief secondary schools of this education district, I have probably had bettor opportunities of observing and, estimating than have members of the board, or even the board's inspectors. I will as succinctly as possible state the facts (correctly, to the best of my knowledge), indicate what appears to me to be the explanation of the fact?, and suggest the direction in which the scholarship regulations appear to me chiefly to require revision. I may say at the outset that this communication to the board proceeds on the assumption that the intention or the board in awarding scholarships is to enable those who win j them to get the best possible education obtainable in the colony, and that it is therefore a matter of first importance that' as many as possible of the board's scholars should secure one of the scholarships offered yearly by the Senate of the New Zealand University and open to the whole colony. THE FACTS. From the year 1879 to the year 1593, both inclubiv*, there attended the Otago Boys' High School 98 boys who held Edu ation Board senior scholarships. Of these 98 scholarships 51 were won by boys previously in attendance at the High School— that is, with one or two 'exceptions, by boys who had I entered the school two years previously, holding . a board junior scholarship. These pupils would therefore, f rom first to last, have at least five years of the Boys' High School. I shall call these " lor<g term " scholars. Of the 98 seuior scholars, therefore, 54 were " long-term" scholars. . The other 44 of the 98 came to the Boys' High School holding a senior Fcholavship won at Rome other school. They would therefore attend tha Boys' High School for a period of at least three years. These 44 I shall call " short term " scholars. During the period nndor consideration— that is, 1879-1895 (allowing the senior scholarship winners of 1893 time for their scholarships to expire)— the Boys' High School gained 32 university scholar- | thips ; or, - counting the Sinclair scholarship i (which is open to the whole colony), 33 university scholarships. These fellas follows :— (») Six of the 33 came to pupila of the school who had not held Education Board scholarships, either senior or junior. (6) Nineteen of the "3 university scholarships fell to the 54 "long-term" scholars — that is, 85 per cent, of the 51 " long terras" wore successful in getting university scholarships. (c) Eight of the 33 nniveraity scholarships fell i to the 41 "short-term" s-cholaiM — that is, only 18 percent, of the "short term 3" succeeded in getting university tchx-larships. - But even this does &ot fairly represent the case : for of the six mentioned under section(a), five were practically "long-term" pupils, so that of the 33 university scholarships taken by the school, 72 per cent, of the whole number were taken by long- term " pupils, aud 28 per coat, by "short term " scholars. Further, of the eight "short-term" scholars who succeeded in gaining univeisity scholarships four i'<m*ined at the Boys' High School for four years— that is, for one year beyond the expiry of their Soard senior scholarship. The") \vere not, therefore, in the full sense " short-term " scholars. EXPLANATION OF THESK FACTS. The explanation of this might at first-s ! ght be supposed to lie in the fact that "long-term" ectiolars, having at least two years longer of "High : School training than " Bhort-term " scholars, must, other things being equal, necessarily outstrip these last where the competition is in advanced secondary work, and no doubt the explanation does He partly in this fact. A school specially staffed for the purpose desarves no credit for supplying a better training in secondary work thaa Echools whose first concern is primary education. " If this, however, had been the sole explanation of the facts I have brought under your notice, I should not have addressed the board on the subject. There is another Bet of facts to which is due the lack of success on the part of the "short-term" scholar, and these, are within the control of the board. I refer to certain defects, or what seem to me defects, in the board's arrangements for the senior scholarship competition. I would point out to the board that though Latin is not nominally a compulsory subject for the university junior scholarship competition, it is so viitually. Since university scholarships were put on tha present footing, no candidate has ever, so far as I know, won a scholarship who has not taken Latin as one of his subjects ; the reason being that the marks' assigned to Latin are relatively so high that low marks in Latin count more towards a scholarship than hiehmarksin most other subjects. There may be a difference of opinion as to whether it is right or wrong to give this relatively high value to Latin. The point is that, rightly or wrongly, the University Senate has assigned to Latin twice the value it allows to French or German, and half as much again as it allows for two sciences (combined). Clearly, therefore, the competitor who has not had sufficient instruction in Latin is at a great disadvantage in the competition for university scholarships. Now, in the Education Board scale of marks for its seuior scholarships Latin and French are held of equal value (150 marks each). But French is what teachers call a "cheap" subject— that is, marks may he made at much less cost in French than in Latin, the elements of French being much more easily acquired than the elements of Latin. Candidates, therefore, for teiiior scholarships -take up French for the competition and leave Latin alone ; so that if they are successful in winning a senior scholarship they come to the High School having made a fair beginning in French, but knowiDg no Latin, or next to none. Thus they have three years before them in which to bring up their Latin to university scholarship standard ; in other words, they have thres years in which to do work that would require five or six. Now, if the case had been reversed, if they had taken Latin for their senior scholarship subject and left French alone, they would have had before the expiry of their senior scholarship five years of Latin . and three of . French. Three years of French is perhaps little enough for their purposa ; but, with some previous knowledge of Latin, a good deal of French can be learned in that time. If, therefore, it is thought desirablo to put "short-term" scholars within reach of a university scholarship, clearly it is time that some change were made in the board's schedule of marks for the senior scholarship competition. I would suggest that the marks assigned to Latin be double those assigned to French— say, Latin 200, French 100 ; that mathematics should receive relatively high marks— say, 209 for Euclid and algebra (combined); that dictation for the senior* should be much reduced in value— say, 200 for English, including dictation. I have long been of opinion that a serious mistake is made in assigning to geography its present Ctooe amongst seuior scholarship subject*. She

time at present spent by the pupils of schools in laboriously acquiring knowledge of the names and positions of places that have, and always will have, for them only a remote intereat would be sufficient to make them tolerably familiar with the vocabulary of a new language, or with the elements of a science. I would suggest that the mtrks for geography be reduced to, say, 50, and that in this subject a preponderating value should be assigned to physical geography. The BCale as it stands at present is :—

S English oGram. gGeog. gjArith. gDict. SSHisty. gMath. g French. g Latin.

+-. Suggested Readjustment.

§ English °(inc. Diet. 3 Grammar gGeog. gArfth. S History. I Math. § French. § Latin.

I must apologise for the great length to which this communication has run. My excuse must be that I could not more briefly make this important matter clear. In order that the board may see how the matter is regarded in another important education centre, I subjoin the scale of marks adopted by the North Canterbury Board of Education in their senior scholarship regulations. It might be considered whether it is not desirable to encourage the teaching of science in the schools of the Otago education district by including a science in the optional subjects for the board's senior scholarships.— l am, &c, A. Wilson. Foy Senior Scholarships. COMPULSORY. English ... M ... .„ „, ... 200 Mathematics— " : Euclid (Book I) with simple deduc- I tions, Algebra to include simple ■ > 200 equations ... ... ... „. ... I Arithmetic ... ... »„ ...* ... J Latin— "N Grammar; Sontences for translation ( into Latin ; Cawr de Bell. Gal. 111, V 200 or an approved equivalent ... ... j Roman History ... ... J OPTIONAL. Geography -Physical and Political ... 100 Hietory— British " 100 Science — Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Pbjsiology (one only) 100 French — Grammar, ea i y tratvolation and composition ... 100 Any three of the optional subjects to be taken.

_ The resumption of work in the damaged portion of the" -Brunner mine necessitates the employment of about 50 men in coal hewing.

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