TECHNICAL EDUCATION.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 12910, 26 February 1906, Page 3

TECHNICAL EDUCATION.

I Sir Pullar, senior parir.tr in I PuiLu's ljyewiirhs. Penth, which h::* 'branches all over th? United K:iiijdni.i. .aud .employs 2500 hands, a man of 70 jreurs. .who was lecentiy in Auckland, told the "Herald" that he has taken interest.in technical education. He'wss one of the pioneers of technical education in Scotland, and is president of Sharp's Institution at Perth, a technical school •with several hundreds of pupils. Moreover, he recently made a donation of -£IO,OOO towards the funds of that school. He said he could not imagine that anv community could think of anythim; heiagmore valuable in an educational %y.«teni than a.grounding in technical iasrt action. It seemed to him that it was .juite .-•* important as the groundwork in readme, -writing, and arithmetic. Xo matter what a boy was to be, he would be bitter for that .groundwork. This fact was illustrated over and over again in every large .factory in.England or elsewhere; the bovs who had received a groundwork at * a imanual and technical school were the ones ••who proved the best. With a good .grounding in technical work they were .ready.to.apply and follow up their know-! ledge, and that was the head and from! •of the whole thing. Boys without that .grounding, upon entering a trade, had to I start right at the bottom, and it took a long time to bring them to that stage .when they had not to be told how to d<? everything- managers and foremen naturally preferred the boys who had received technical Straining; in fact, knowledge was ;power. Germany was taking the trade in so many branches of manufacture sin.M»ly because of the great skill of the worknitn who-v/ere trained in technical schools. In one fiun's works 5000 men were employed, and everyone was highly skilled ami technically trained. It was all nonsense to -say that the 'product's of such linns were cheaper because of cheap labour; it was nothing : of the sort, for the secret was in and high training of the men. 'who were well paid. Sir Robert Pullar is one of the trustees •of the £2.000.000 givem by Mr iVmegie to enable Scottish students "who could not afford the fees to revive the hc'ictiis of .university rraining.