OUR UNIVERSITY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 827, 27 May 1910, Page 8

OUR UNIVERSITY.

- THE ACITATION FOR REFORM. i PUBLIC MEETING TO BE HELD. ! I (Bγ SoCIIATIiS.) I On Tuesday evening next, a public i meeting of those interested in the ques--1 tiou of university reform is to bo held I at tlio Town Hall; the Mayor, and pro- ! mineut citizens, will be present, as well .is members of the professoriate of Vic- ; toria. College, and representatives of other educational institutions in tho . city; those educationists who have been ; actively assisting in the local agitation t for university reform will state their , views, free discussion will le invited, ] and proposals for the institution of , a thorough investigation of the whole question submitted for consideration. This agitation for university reform dates back ow a considerable period, but up till last year there had been no organised attack on the present system, though certain aspects of the work of the A T ew Zealand University had been tho subject of individual criticism from time to time. In September last, certain correspondence which appeared in The Dominion \ed to an inquiry, with the object of ascertaining: (a) To what extent, as defined by a concensus of expert opinion, tho university system was weak; and, (b) In what direction the path to relonn should lie. Tho inquiry elicited a mass of interesting and suggestive opinion, in which the present system was severely criticised local educationists, generally speaking, seemed to be agreed: 1. That the principal weakness in our university arose from the fact tha.o the system of English examination in vogue was responsible for: (a) Tho limitation of the NewZealand University session to slightly over five months in tho year. (b) The restriction of university education to British methods and ideals, and, consequently, the depreciation of the status of tho New Zealand professoriate- and the . limiting,, of their originality in teaching methods and ideals. (o) The exaggerated importance which had become attached to the . degree examination, and had obscured tho all-important question of training; and, (d) The divorcing of the teach- ' . ing and examining functions. 2. That tho method of selecting by advertisement only tho teaching- staffs of tho university colleges was profoundly unsatisfactory. 3. That a system of university government which excluded a professor from a seat on the College Council denied him a voice in tho administration of tho college. 4. That the present constitution of tho university, which was original'y due, and is still due, to the geographical necessities of tho country, was responsible for tho existence of a university collego at each of the four centres, each "steadily developing individual tone, colour, and ideals," yet forced into a common groove; that a centralised teaching university—as at ' Melbourne —absolutely independent, and following its own scheme of development, was impossible in New Zealand; that the only logical solution of the difficulties imposed by tho geographical circumstances' of tho. country was tho creation of four separate universities, each legislating for, and examining for, its own degrees—a solution, for reasons of finance, impossible of adoption, it. was contended, for many years at any rate. / From ■ these elemental weaknesses, there had como into existence, inevitably, a great many others, need not bo recapitulated hero. Suffice it to say that adequate evidence was adduced by tho inquiry to make out a case for consideration. Inquiry, however, failed to elicit anything of a practical nature with regard to tho second point of reference—"ln wlint direction lies the path to reform?" 'The criticism which has been directed at our university system has been severe. The examination system, the constitution of tho university, its administration, and so forth have been shown to be not incapable of improvement, but-no plans and specifications for reform have been submitted. It has been stated that the main object of tho agitation for reform has been to carry, if possible, tho conviction that tho present university system is bad, to bring about a thorough investigation by a commission of inquiry which will hear evidence and draw conclusions, and so have the way for a reconstruction of the system based upou the findings of tho commission. Is that sufficiently tangible as a beginning? It has been contended that tho university of Now Zealand is not an active force in the life of tho community. How is it, then, to be vitalised? The reformers say the professors in New Zealand should be allowed to examine their students. What methods of examination have suggested themselves to the advocates of this policy? Tho basis of representation on. tho administrative bodies connected with the work of'the university it is urged, is bad. Suppose, for argument's sake, that it is bad. -What basis of examinations should be substituted? These arc all practical questions; just the kind of questio.i a member of the general public might offer for elucidation at the mooting on Tuesday evening, and to wliich ho would expect a reply. "What reforms should be carried out, and how," should bo the main question of the evening.