CHEMISTRY PAPER TOO DIFFICULT, TEACHERS STATE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18936, 5 December 1929, Page 8

CHEMISTRY PAPER TOO DIFFICULT, TEACHERS STATE.

COMPLAINTS ARE MADE ABOUT MATRIC. EXAM (Special to the “Star.”) # WANGANUI, December d. There is considerable indignation in Wanganui among parents, teachers and candidates for the matriculation examination, regarding the nature of the chemistry paper set for yesterday. Those competent to speak with authority on the matter state emphatically that it .would be a fair test for a B.Sc. examination, but in some sections was well beyond the reach of three-year course pupils. This is emphasised by the fact that at the examination yesterday a number of candidates, after having a go at the paper for half an hour or so, tossed it in, while others plodded on till the end of the allotted time. Teachers, whose pupils during the last two years obtained 18 to 20 per cent above the New Zealand average have no hesitation in stating that such a difficult paper should not have been set. A number of parents who have to bear the expense of keeping their pupils at secondary schools until they matriculate are also very concerned about the matter should this paper be the means of becoming the difference between success and failure in the examination. The results will be awaited with interest, and judging by the present comment, parents will have quite a lot to say about the matter to the Minister of Education at a later date.