TECHNICAL COLLEGE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3833, 30 August 1927, Page 68

TECHNICAL COLLEGE.

MONTHLY BOARD MEETING. The monthly meeting of the Technical College Board of Managers was held on Wednesday, and was attended by Messrs I. Scott (in the chair), J. Haynies, J. Wallace, E. A. Rosevear, J. H. Wilkinson, J. 1. Paul, W. H. Steele, J. Heeney, G. Clark, E. F. Duthie, M iss Runciman and Miss Cumming. COMMITTEE REPORTS. The reports of the various committees were adopted without discussion. FINANCE. Accounts amounting to £2401 19s 3d were passed for payment. GENERAL. It was agreed that the chairman confer with representatives of the secondary schools with a view to arranging the synchronisation of all school holidays during 1928. ' * A letter was received from the secretary of the Plumbers’ Board, pointing out that at the board’s recent examination the work of the candidates generally was poor, which appeared to indicate that the majority of them had not received any technical education.—The Principal said that three pupils of the college had entered for the examination, and two had got through. Unfortunately, a number of prospective candidates were in the habit of joining the technical classes a few weeks before the examination was held, and he would like authority to stop this practice.—The Chairman said that employers should make it a condition of apprenticeship that apprentices should take a course of technical education. It was altogether against the interests of the college tliat apprentices, after merely a few weeks’ tuition, should class themselves as technical students.—The letter was received.

It was decided that the Chairman, the Principal, and Mr Clark discuss with the Painters and Decorators’ Apprenticeship Committee the proposed syllabus for a practical class for boys in the trade. SCHOLARSHIPS. The Principal reported that J. A. Robertson, H. C. Birt. W. A. Brough, and A. D. Pullar had been awarded Burt Trade Scholarships. He pointed out that although three scholarships only were awarded annually, four boys mentioned were of equal merit, and he had, therefore, decided to divide the aggregate value of the three scholarships amongst the four boys.

The Principal also reported that Lorna Hunter, Aileen Walter, Adelaide M‘Millan, Thelma Carter, Gladys Mee, and Ngirita Ree had been awarded Domestic Science Bursaries. TECHNICAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE.

The Principal (Mr W. G. Aldridge) reporter that the chairman and he had attended the August technical education conference on behalf of the board. A detailed report would be furnished to each member in the next number of the New Zealand Technical Schools’ Journal, which would be issued by arrangement between the Technical Education Conference and the New Zealand Technical School Teachers’ Association. The conference induced the Minister of Education to reconsider his decision not to call a technical schools’ board into existence. He promised also to go fully into the question of the issue of railway season tickets. Outstanding points of the conference were the chairman’s address on educational expenditure and the speech made by the Director of Education, in which he gave it as his opinion that technical high schools were ideal post-primary institutions. He had been mast interested to watch- the definite movement of the secondary schools towards the technical high school type, and he thought that educational policy would encourage such movement. Not only did he consider technical schools buildings most economical institutions on account of the length of their working day, but he recognised that it would be a social disaster if evening classes at technical colleges were ‘not allowed to continue. The report was adopted.