HIE UNIVERSITY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1652, 20 January 1913, Page 7

HIE UNIVERSITY.

CHANCELLOR'S ADDRESS,

REFORMERS RIDICULED.

REBUKE FOR NOISY STUDENTS.

(By Telegraph.—Press Asaooiktion.) Auckland, January 11 Tho Cliancollor of tho University of Ncvf Zealand (Sir Robert Stout) delivered his annual address to tho Senate yesterday. Referring to tho Auckland capping cercmony report,, the ' Chancellor.'" stated i "Tliero was some disturbance created by a few of the. students towards tho close of the mooting. fho students as a whole took Jio part m the disturbance, Hitliorto I have found the Auckland students most' exemplary in their oonduot ot capping ceremonies. Thero ha's no doubt grown up m connection with University functions the notion that tho. students have the right to interrupt speakers,' and that cduittsy <loe3 not demand from them seemly behaviour at capping, ceremonies. Other Universities in - ,Australasia have, I am. informed, had great trouble in keeping order at'their public functions. I liotathat lately at tho oratorical contest . «t' \ ictoria College thero was tho same lack of courtesy displayed. The blame for such "i. i !°f things rests not wholly on th> students. In my opinion, , tho University aid not insist, as it should havodono when > disturbances, first began,, onv.proper decorum being observed. It is useless tc have public functions if no speaker can be assured ,thdt ho will' liavo a hearirigv J{ ■ tho capping ceremony is to bo continued, somo regulations should be passed penalising those students who commit thes» breaches of decorum." ,

Alterations In Degrees.- • The Chancellor then dealt at length>ith the report.of, the Professorial Conference, held in x camera, in Wellington in November» .On the ■ subjoct of allterationa in • dep?cs, thought it his duty to bring beiorc the fccnate certain matters oonnect- ' * iu' . s .report.' Unlike • the report: of the provious conference, no account was' given of the voting, and it would be cs-. • surned that tlio delegates were of onb mind. . Ho had, however, beoii informed. that such wasnot tho ease.. Tho subjects specially 1 ' remitted by-tho Renato wero—(a) Courses, tor B.A. and U.Sc. degrees, and essentially '• connected subjects; •. and (b) tho best method of giving permanent shape to tho conference; It would be seen, that so far as.tho subject marked 1 (a), was concerned, tho_ _ alterations suggested', inexisting .. statutes were' trivial.. It.' was' represented ■' by somo professors "who called themselves reformers' that the syllabus was archaic. Ilio changes suggested ■ showed, that 'tho conference had treated that criticism with contempt.... Tho. conference';' recommondod that degree of bachelor of'sciencc bo Abolished, ;That was a peculiar method of selecting a course for a'degree.- It %> was true that the report slated that tlio conference had : iii' future- T tlio «•' creation, --pi, a .;new ; degreoin ,eciencc, ibut,; judging from . the iittlo , said aoout • it,;one'• 'would ' ,'infer " that ' it, was not to bo a general science, degree, but ono of a technical 1 character. Under the existing system, continued tlio Ghanoellor, wo havo two primary degTees-D.A. nnd B.Se, In tlio B.A. degree Latin or Greek is compulsory, ' In tho B.Sc. degree four scicnco subjects are compulsory-fmathemati6s,. V physical science,'chemistry, ,an<J botany, l or, in lieu of botany, zoology' or geology'or physio- ■' logy. : Tho confercnco proposed ono dogree, but it was to bo a bifurcated degree, that is, thop> '.woiild bo <■< sB.A. 1 degreo proper, ■witK\ only ono subject,' • ajid a B,A. degree, mainly scientific. In fact, the only chango, said the Chanoollor, was tliat mathematics not being cotmpul- >. sory, a student might get a B.A, degreo for\ passing in 6ucli subjects as ho would' .. havo had to pass in tho' 8.50., 'only that three, instead of, four, scionces were required. This was a slight change to get rid of tho "archaic" nature of tlio esylla-

bus. . ■, / ;■ A "Wondorful .Remedy." I ' It had taken two years or morn of the labour and thought of tho reforming . professors to 'discover this wonderful'. ; remedy. It was not .stated what wai> to becomo of the M.Sc. degree. , If it was; given •on tho present -syllabus,\>tho pro-. V riosed B.A. syllabus being acoepted, n stu- . dont who got .the M.So. degree would know - less eoienco than was required at pre- , sent. Tho proposal was really a lowerins of, the: scienco requirements. The conference had; forwarded a proposed nmondmont of. tho syllabus for mathematical .ohauije, it-seemed to tho' Chancellor, more of names than of sub, stance. Ho.congratulated the conference - however, oil the mode,' in, which it' set ; about dealing with the syllabus,in nmthe- . maties and the syllabus in honours and ; chemistry, both .questiotjs, haying, beenreferred to experts, on. thd subjects. : Two. f proposals wero inado for altering tho mathematical , syllabus by .. University teachers in tho subject. : The; professors , wiere divided in,opinion, and a oompromiso ,was afterwards, effected, .and it is ,thiß . compromise the conference: to the Senate. The syllabus' ini honours in chemistry: was altered by two of -tho. chemical professors. 1 Tho , courso , tho •Senate had followed in the i>nst of remitting ' any proposed alteration . of tho syllabus to teachers of. tho subject- had ... been followed by tho conference, but teachers in the subject could, commum-, .< cntc direct with the Senate without tho aid of the Professorial : Conference. -All ■ tho talk about professors being better able to deal with the subjects they do not . teach than members of tho Seuato_ha<l thus been proved devoid of any solid basis of fact.. •' , Professors as Examiners.

1 Much of tho time of- U;o conferenco f scorned to have been spent, on. the sub- ~ 1 joot of who were to be examiners. Dole- • gates oonsidored■ that teae'iiers'iin eficli, ■ subject must examine in that subject, or 1 rather "responsible university teachers. ' Were there then univeiKty teachers who were not responsible P Did the words. -. ' mean professors only, or' were lcoluicis . ' included? 'If lOctiirers wchs'not included , ! then there might be^'no ' examiner in 1 Latin from Otago, University, and no ox--1 aminer 'in education' from' Victoria Co.1 lege. Would it inclu.de assistant profes- . » sors? Another suggestion was; that no, 1 questions wore to bo set. in any paper on ' a subject until they, hod been submitted . • to the; teacher of the subject. What, did • this mea,n? .Supposo. a professor objected,, 1 to a question, was it to bo disallowed? Wero students so ill-equipped for, thoeom- ' petition that. was the rulo in l life that they could not bo quostioned 'oil a subject 'tliby had studied unless their teachers approved of tho question ? They might desire to competo in tho Indian Civil Service examinations or in other .. public' examinations, military or civil, and must tho'. examines first submit tho , questions to tho . Npw Zealand professor? P.-■. Many of our yoirog mm wouldj tho Chan- , cellor hoped, bo found taking ft slioro in tho government of their country. He , supposed if they stood for popular oloc- , tion and were asked to deal with political matters, such as loans, tariff-, ,tnxa- < tion, eto,', they would bo allowed to tell tho questioners thiit their questions had not been submit ted to the profcssoi s. This suggestion • abont submitting nuestions to tho professors must havo been mado by delesates who had littlo l bouso of humour. Examinations wero, for- tho purpose Of ascertaining whether students had acquired 'knowledge'. .. Subjects wero set and books weronanied and periods on : literature and history were prescribed: why should oil examiner who asked' ft student of Greek'to translate' a passage from sot books, say, from "Plato's Apology,' • . haTO to submit tho passago to; a Greek professor? ,Wns tho student's; knowledge to bo of that slender kind in any subject that ho must dreaitTin, external exominerP If it was a wrofig.to a New Zealand student to put o. question to .him that his professor had not.' feeen, ;what priovous wrong must not tho' students of Oxford and Cambridge havo under?-mo , during past' centuries. ; Surely the (racliera of tiieso great umversilios lind been just as competent as our responsible uni-. vorslty teachers. '• , -i "According to tho resolution's of I the " conference," continued tho Chancellor, "the. professors nro not only to examine ■ their own students, but'they, are;to bo associated with entrance exalnjiu lions, without necessarily requiring fro'm llhem ■ tho labour of reading tho candidate' ,m----swors in largo numbers.! ; If it is-right tout th» tx?aoh«r should examine hiil own

students, it is surely the secondary school teaohers who should bo-associated with the ontranco examinations. Tho prin-, iiple that is to bo made applicable to University students is not, however, to bo iriado applicable to secondary school boys ajld 'girls. , Tho/. must bo. presumed to bo able to prove their knowledge by answering questions their, teachers hav6 never seen. ...How a professor can appreciate the work or ■ ability or knowlodgo, of eecondary" ;I soho6l pupils without reading all tho answers given, ia their papers I cannot-'understand! .-Destruction .of- the University. "ThV whole trend of resolutions framed by tl\o conference is to. centre all tho power and authority of .tho University in professors*" If these resolutions are adopt-, ed, tl('o ]New .Zealand,.' University;, mustcease to/.exist, and four colleges would require ito bo: constituted four separate universities.: Those of us who havo taken Borne part ,in helping to build up tho University, ! will, - ;, if; people . desiro to 'destroy the institution, willingly' yield up our.'position-. We 'live in a democracy,' and td the will., of the people. wo must^bow. I believe Ut will bo an.evil day not' only for tho Dominion, . but for higher education and.for the: teachers in when the Now Zealand University is abolished. AVe . need to preserve,every. institution that makes for, national "life., ':' When I think i.o_f ■ tlio expense wp, have ; already .incurred and tho time ;'W "hAvo wasted' in; discussing socalled reform, I begin, to wonder ifwe. will . ever' be able to grapple with tho real questions in higher that need attention. No educational system is perfect any moiq. tlian ahy..other system ;devised;oy human: Government. In the past reform > has 'not come 'from bureaucrats, arid r doubt if, through them progress -will com© us,' -and ; ill .our UDiversity■ institutions." : : ■ Mi' ■'"■■iuz -V- -j".-j'-v;.'.-