TECHNICAL EDUCATION

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2894, 5 October 1916, Page 6

TECHNICAL EDUCATION

EXTENSION OF SCHOOL AGE SUGGESTIONS BY SOME EMPLOYERS ■ Tho suggestion that the school age should bo extendod, in order that all children may havo a two years' compulsory course in either a secondary school or a technical school, does not havo tho approval of all employers. Tho 'value of higher education, and especially of technical instruction, to employers and employees aliko, is generally admitted, but there appears to ho a feeling in tho factories and workshops that it would ba a mistako to delay tho ontry of tho boys into the practical branches of their future callings. "I'think it is a mistako to bolicvo I that boys can bo taught their trades in technical schools," said one employer yesterday to ' a Dominion reporter. "I admit that the technical classes have done very good work in somo directions, and that lads who start work in the trades with some technical knowledge acquired at school havo an advantage. But technical instruction, as a part of tho ordinary education system, can ho overdone. My idea is to. put a boy into tho workshop as soon as possible, that is, after ho has got through tho primary course, and then, let him attend .technical classes duriug his apprenticeship, when he can combine theory and, practice. Provision has boon made for this arrangement hy the Wellington Technical Education Board, with its night classes, and from my observation £ho results are good. Naturally a great deal defends upon the boy himself. If ho will not tako advantage of tho opportunities for stady and is irregular in his attendance at the classes; ho does not mako. progress. But a boy of that kind probably would not do much good for' himself during a compulsory technical course in a day school." A, point to be mentioned, in this connection, is-that the technical classes do not always receive their full sharo of the most ablo boys.' The tendency of the primary school system is .to direct the brightest scholars into academic coiltses of work through the secondary schools, since. the olomentary and other teachers wish to retain thei pupils who will pass examinations or and so reflect credit upon, the school concerned. "Lads who aro not looked upon as good enough to take. scholarship are often considered to bo suitable only for technical schools," says ono authority. "While it is undoubted that many boys who havo no bent towards classical or literary studies may do excellent work in scientifio or technical subjects, and other lads to whom tho secondary work does not appeal may hecomo excellent craftsmen, yet no technical school can do the best work if it is to deal with the culls of:the elementary schools." This matter lias received tho attention of members of tho Council of-Education, but the now regulations governing tlip issue of of proficiency and of competency do not appear likely to correct the tendency.

One of the problems of technical education under the present system is how to induce apprentices and other lads engaged in trades to study earnestly and attend their night, or part-time classes/ regularly. "Experience has shown that the difficulty can bo solved by registration," said one employer in referring to this point. "If skilled workers woro to show proficiency, as doctors, lawyers' and architects must do, before they were allowed to practice their wades, then proper study would be a matter of course. It is necessary in Now Zealand for a. plumber to obtain' a license before he can ■ undertake plumbing work, arid in order to get his license ho must studyand pass examinations, practical and theoretical. His license may bo cancelled if his; work proves to bo ineffiA similar system h'a's been adopted in Victoria, and tie result in both countries has been to secure improved' work and raiso tho status of the men engaged in the plumbing trade. Tho-registration schomo is really on the lines laid down by the ancient guilds, which owed much of their power to thfe stops they- took to ensure the efficiency of their members."