REMOVAL FROM LIST

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 18918, 21 January 1936, Page 5

REMOVAL FROM LIST

UNIVERSITY EXAMINER EXPLANATION BY SENATE DISCOVERY OF INJUSTICE (Per Press Association.) AUCKLAND, this day. The action of the senate of the University of New Zealand in removing the name of an Auckland professor from the list of examiners for the entrance examination, which list was submitted by the academic board, was the subject of considerable discussion in committee by the senate, which is now sitting in Auckland. ; The matter was made public last vear. The annual report of the academic board to the senate contained the following passage: “The board feels that, in recommending examiuers, it must act -.with justice and without unfair discrimination, and that it must submit the name of any person who is in other respects eligible, unless and until, it has in its possession information .which would justify it in withholding the recommendation in any given case. The board, therefore, in view of its responsibility in recommending examiners, would:'be' gia'd if the senate would inform 1 the board of the reasons for its action.”

After discussion in committee, the senate reported that it had decided that the following statement be sent to the board: “The senate is responsible for the appointment of university examiners. The function of the academic board is to recommend, for approval, the appointment of examiners by the senate. In the opinion of the senate, the board is entitled to have reasons given to it for any action the senate may take in declining to appoint an examiner recommended by the board. In the case under consideration, the senat> informed the board that the particular person would not in future be accepted by it to act as an examiner in French in entrance examinations.

“The facts which caused the senate to take this action were the following: (1), that the examiner, owing to his avowed disapproval of the policy at present followed by the senate in regard to the purposes and to the conduct of the entrance examination in French, did, in effect, refuse to accept the conditions of examining required from him under that policy; (2), that, as a result of this refusal, his standard and method of marking differed materially from those of his co-pxam-ipers, entailing thereby the possibility of injustice to some candidates; (3), the re-marking of scripts by the chief examiner disclosed the fact that injustice had actually been done in some cases. The senate also resolved that a subcommittee be set up to decide on some procedure to deal with these types. of cases and report to their respective bodies.

BANKING PRELIMINARY ALTERNATIVE SUGGESTED GUILD TO BE HEARD (Per Press Association.) AUCKLAND, this day. The desire of the New Zealand Bank Officers’ Guild to have the school certificate examination accepted as an alternative to the university entrance examination as a preliminary to the diploma of banking gave rise to discussion m the University Senate yesterday.

The matter wa» introduced by the prochancellor, Mr. H. F. von Haast, who moved that the question of acceptance as an alternative to the university entrance examination, of the school certificate examination (as recommended by the New Zealand Bank Officers’ Guild) for the diploma in banking be referred back to the executive committee with instructions to receive a deputation from the guild on the matter, and to report to the Senate.

Mr. von Haast said that they ought to hear what the guild had to say. The diploma in banking was on a different footing from the diploma in insurance, which was given by the insurance authorities and not by the university. It was said that insistence on matriculation or the entrance examination was tying the hands of teachers in the schools. A deputation from the secondary school teachers had made a strong plea for greater freedom. Mr. W. J. Morrell and Mr. H. J. D. Mahon supported the motion of the vicechancellor.

Professor Hunter said that he hoped the Senate would not agree. To all' intents and purposes it would make the school leaving " certificate another entrance examination. The remedy was perfectly simple. If the guild objected to the entrance examination of the university, it could confer the diploma itself. If they desired to have a university diploma, they should be prepared to comply with university conditions.

Mr. F. A. de la Mare expressed the opinion that these examinations should be taken over by the banking and other institutions concerned. The motion was carried.