COMPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS.

Colonist, Volume LIV, Issue 13438, 8 June 1912, Page 4

COMPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS.

The examination system, especially in the case of young children for free places, was severely criticised by.several witnesses who testified before the Education Commission at Auckland. Dealing with the subject in a general way, Mr E. K. Mulgan, chief inspector under the Auckland Board of Education, expressed himself as follows: "I have no hesitation in saying that we are an overexamined community. Children are ex-

amined &om tiie-cradle to the grave* fthci *iie result is that there is a tendency to lose sight of the real objects of education on tho part of teachers, pupils and parents. Examinations of some kind are necessary for one reason. The public must have some safeguard that the work of the schools is being carried on properly." Mr Mulgan suggested that instead of three, two term examinations should be made by the headmaster in each year. The Inspector-Gen-eral of Schools, Mr G. Hogben, expressed a desire to see the competitive system abolished as far as scholarships were concerned. He said the element of competition had an unhealthy effect upon some teachers and upon a good many parents and children, and there was undoubtedly a certain amount of hardship in the fact that some children failed to win scholarships, through the accidents of examination, or because their best qualities were not tested in the examination, while others, having received special coaching, or having a special aptitude for examination work, were successful. The awarding of scholarships should depend solely on whether the scholar had reached the standard which the State has fixed for further work in secondary schools. Tho object which he assumed should be in view was to give country children equal opportunities to those afforded to town children, and that could be done by awarding CO or 70 more scholarships, costing £4.500 per annum. The additional expenditure could be reduced by half, if the town scholarships were reduced in the manner he suggested. Tho expenditure on scholarships would be about. £12,000, instead of £9200. Mr Hogben added that a good many town parents have to make some sacrifice to keep their children at secondary schools, as they lost the wages which their children would possibly earn; but he did not think the State should sanction any sacrifice of the children in order to enablo the rest of the family to maintain itself more comfortably.