ADULT EDUCATION

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22507, 15 September 1938, Page 12

ADULT EDUCATION

BILL PASSED BY THE HOUSE VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS PRAISED [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.! WELLINGTON. September 14. High praise for the voluntary efforts cf organisations and individuals interested in adult education was expressed by the Minister for Education (the Hon. P. Fraser), in moving the committal of the Education Amendment Bill in the House of Representatives to-night. “We have something that ought to be assisted to the fullest, and the establishment of fee Council of Adult Education, through this bill, is an attempt to take advantage of, to co-ordinate, and finance this fine spirit of voluntary effort,” said the Minister. “Those in touch with the work, and also many others, realise what a wonderful awakening of interest there has been in culture in this country,” said the Minister. “This has been particularly marked among young farmers, and among women in the country. The time has come to recognise this movement by including it in the education system, and to allocate money to further it.”

Mr Fraser referred to the large amount of study that had been given by New Zealand educationists to overseas systems of adult education. New Zealanders had travelled to many countries with this idea specially in view.

“What we really need.” said the Minister, “is some experimentation to And out what form our adult education system should take. It is actually impossible to pick up . overseas some system that might be applied to New Zealand, without great modification, because conditions of life in overseas countries vary so greatly among the different countries, and are not comparable with conditions here. It should be possible to evolve a system of our own that will be adapted completely to our own conditions.” Mr Fraser gave a general description of the bill, and concluded by saying that it ! was an exceedingly modest measure compared with the measure that he had hoped to be able to bring down this session. He had not given up hope, however, and would probably introduce the larger measure nov+ cpcci CvUi Mr S. G. Smith (National New Plymouth) said that the Minister could not be blamed because the larger bill did not appear this session. Some consolidation of the amendments to the Education Act of 1914 was urgently required, because at present the intricacies of the legislation were beyond the powers of understanding of any except the most highly skilled lawyers who had specialised in the subject. The bill was passed.