NEW SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE

Southland Times, Issue 23377, 8 December 1937, Page 6

NEW SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE

UNIFIED CONTROL OF EXISTING COLLEGES

DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, December 7. The establishment of a New Zealand School of Agriculture, affiliated with the University of New Zealand, for the purpose of - co-ordinating and developing higher education in agriculture is provided for in the School of Agriculture Bill, which was introduced by Governor-General’s Message in the House of Representatives today. The main feature of the Bill is the amalgamation of Massey and Canterbury Agricultural Colleges for general administrative purposes, and the controlling authority of the new school is to be the Council of the School of Agriculture, which will consist of four members appointed by the Board of Governors of Canterbury Agricultural College and four members appointed by the Massey Agricultural College Council, which will be known in future as the board of governors. The council will have the right to appoint one of its members to be a member of the Senate of the University of New Zealand. Each member of the council will hold office for two years and there is a provision for the retirement by ballot of two members in November 1939 and in every succeeding year. However, the retiring members will be eligible for reappointment. Casual vacancies will be filled only for the remainder of the term of the member concerned. The chairman of the council is to be elected annually. DUTIES OF COUNCIL The council is to be the governing body of the School of Agriculture and it will be charged with the duty of coordinating the work of the two colleges with a view to the development of a progressive policy of agricultural education in the Dominion, determining the general policy of research and teaching and collaborating with departments of State in the preparing and adoption of special programmes of work. Various machinery clauses providing for general administration are included in the Bill and there is authority for an annual grant of £27,000 for the maintenance of the school. The amount of the grant may be varied by the Minister of Finance on the recommendation of the council. When the Bill was introduced the Minister of Agriculture (the Hon. W. Lee Martin) said it embodied recommendations for the best methods of co-ordinating the work of the two agicultural colleges and had the unanimous approval of the controlling authorities of the colleges. He had no doubt that it would assist in raising the level of agricultural education in the Dominion. The Bill was read a first time.