THE MATRICULATION TEST

Taranaki Daily News, 16 May 1930, Page 13

THE MATRICULATION TEST

“ILLUSIONARY HALLMARK.” TIME AND EFORT WASTED. “One cannot but feel that until our curriculum is freed from, the dominating influence of the matriculation examination there is little hope that the study of real things will receive the support that it should from many of the children,” said Mr. W. Fraser (Hamilton), president of the New Zealand Technical School Teachers’ Association, in his address to the conference which opened at Wellington on Tuesday. Speaking in support of the widening of the post primary curriculum, Mr. Fraser said that no attempt to give the education system a more practical bent would be successful which did not do something to remove the matriculation examination from the pedestal on which it stood in New Zealand. “Parents are obsessed with the idea that their children can get nowhere unless they matriculate,” he said. ‘‘Employers demand matriculation as a standard of general education. Government departments in many cases require matriculation as a stepping stone to promotion. “We find the Accountants’ Society priding itself that it was raising the status of its examination by discarding the accountants’ preliminary and adopting matriculation- as its entrance examination. The university authorities cannot be reproached. They, are entitled to institute any entrance examination which suits their requirements. V. hat does concern us is the enormous amount of time and effort that is being wasted in pursuit of the illusionary belief that matriculation is tho hallmark of a general education. “A study of the destination of 10,000 pupils who left post primary schools in 1928 shows that 2% per cent, went direct to tho university, another 5%. per cent, tok up teaching and of these the majority probably received some university training.. Add 2 per cent..for those who went in for law and commerce ar.d who were likely to attend the univeisity and we find that about 1000 out of 10,000 pupils really required the’ university entrance examination. Let us • ook elsewhere and wo find that in the same year no less than 5524 candidates sat for matriculation. Of these 1824 passed, approximately 33 per cent. “Take into consideration also the number who started their post primary education in 1924 or 1925 with matriculation in view and who fell out by the way and one can realise tho appalling dissipation of effort that matriculation is producing in this country. Tho whole truth of the matter is that the university entrance has acquired a false prestige as a leaving certificate representing a certain'standard of education. Hie time seems ripe for the institution by the department of a leaving certificate of a similar standard but suitable for all types of schools. “To make this effective and t> destroy tho use of matriculation for this purpose it might be necessary to persuade tho university authorities to allow credit in tho university entrance examination only to those who guarantee to make use of a pass in this examinal.mn for the purpose for which it is intended. That tho department is capable of drafting a programme of work suitable for all types of schools is evident from perusal of the courses laid down for the Intermediate Certificate and Public Service Entrance Examination.”