EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 9036, 3 January 1901, Page 4

EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE.

STANDARD PASS SYSTEM CONDEMNED.

(Per Press Association.) v ~ WELLINGTON, lust night. The eighteenth annual meeting of the New Zealand Educational Institute opened this morning, Mr W. J. Grundy, of Wellington, the President, m the chair. The Mayor of Wellington delivered a hearty speech of welcome. The President m his opening uddress confined himself to two points (1) the working of the new regulations for examination of schools and (2) the proposed colonial scale of staff is and salaries. As to the former, ho pointed out that, though the teachers now had freedom of classification, the standard pass was still retained, to the detriment of real education. He suggested the excision, of the provision for a standard pass, and the substitution of % special examination for a "leaving certificate," what might be called the '"honor certificate." As to a colonial scale, he deprecated the cry of some boards that the Institute wanted control of the teachers taken out of their hands and vested m a central department. The ! only change desired was classification of ! the schools of the colony, m that the ! staffing of schools and payment of teachers should be according to a definite colonial scale, and to' make the system truly national. He earnestly appealed t to boards to take a generous view of the position. j A discussion took place on the subject of training teachers. A motion on the subject from Otago and Marlborough In- : stitutes appeared ou the agenda paper, urging the necessity of making more ade- < quate provision fo r the training of j teachers. One of the speakers said he thought it unfair that Otago and Canterbury, which had the only two training colleges m the colony, should bear the ' cost, of training teachers for the whole , "of the colony. A motion was moved that the Government should undertake the training of teachers for the whole colony. The mover urged that there should be one training college for the whole colony, and thought that Wellington would be the most suitable centre. Another speaker urged that a

training college and chair of pedagogy, which it was proposed to estabhsu m connection with me Victoria College, would lit, m well together. He pointed out Uiat the Government bad appointed dairy and poultry experts, and asked why should it not- appoint teaching experts to go into the oack blocks and instruct tne teachers there how to teach. An amendment to the motion was moved, to the elfect that the whole cost be paid by the department, and no part come out of the teachers' salaries. The motion was carried. The following resolutions were also agreed to : "That the following changes be made m the methods of examination for teachers' certificates— (a) That code words or numbers be adopted instead of names of candidates; (b) thai, the names of examiners be placed at the heads of papers set ; (c) that the spelling lists supplied to the supervisors lor dictation to candidates should show pronunciation and meaning of each word tor the information of supervisors and candidates." A remit from the Southland Institute was amended and passed m the following form : "That the Minister of Education be asked to introduce a School" Attendance Bill to raise the school age to 14. yeans, and to make attendance compul-" sory, the limit of distance being three miles for those over 9 years of age, and two miles for those between 7 and 9 years." At the instance of the North Canterbury Institute, it was resolved that the attention of the Minister of Education be called to the inadequacy of the provi- j sions for enforcing the jScliool Attend- j ance Act, and to the desirability of plac- ! ing the duty of such enforcement m the hands of the police; and it was further resolved that between the ages of 7 and 1 14 years every child should be required to attend school for not less than threefourths of the number of times that the I school was open each week. ! The report of the treasurer showed that the legal defence fund had been raised to £438.