OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 179, 18 April 1918, Page 6

OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM

SIGNS OF HEALTHY DISSATISFACTION. J Tho following circular letter was Tend before the Central Chamber of Com- | nierce last evening:— j "I am directed by the New Zealand i Educational institute to request that the serious consideration, of your members be given to the need jor improvements ill the education system of tho Dominion, The ability of our country to maintain its position as a nation among nations depends upon ;he •:haracter and efficiency, civic as well ns industrial, ot its people. Ffficiency depends on education. Tho demands made upon the individual alike by civic responsibilities and industrial organisation ard compe- I tition become greater year by year, but there has not been a corresponding addition to the educational equipment necessary to the meeting of these demands. • "Education moans much more to-day than it did even in the near past. We know that to learn well the child, and to work well the adult, must be in good health and be placed in healthful surroundings; that to perform lis civic duties well the citizen must bs well taught; and that to perform his industrial -task well the worker :nust be well trained/' Social stability and national prosperity depend equally on both. "To the end that ttuse conditions may bt' met the N.Z.E.I. invites the co-opera-tion of all social organisations in tho Dominion that are concerned with any of the varied aspects of educational work olid progress, in prossinjr on tho National Government tho paramount necessity of. making better provision for the education of the nation's future citizens, the preservation of the health of the nation's children, and the training of the nation's youthful workers. The civic education that is to resist the forces of internal disruption and to secure the bringing out of the best intelligence of the people for the service of the community, and the technical training that is to enablo our people to hold tbiir own in the tierce competition that will arise in the Jiear future, cannot bo left till 'after the ivar.' It is in the brains and bodies of Hie people that the real wealth of t'e nation exists, and education means the training and using of the brains nnd the developing of the bodies. It is on the above grounds that the institute solicits assistance in moving the Government to strengthen the education system in some of its weakest parts." In connection with the above lettf-r the chairman (Mr. C. M. Luke) moved: "That this meeting of the. executive of the Wellington Central Chamber of Commerce is of the opinion that steps should be taken to urge upon the Government the absolute necessity of improving the condition under which our national system of education is carried on, both as regards technical, in some centres, and our primary snd secondary systems generally throughout the Dominion, and that the 'Government make provision for improvements and extensions necessary to enable the ration successfully to cope with after-war conditions." In seconding the motion, Mr. Thos. Forsyth, said that they ought to do their best to assist the Educational In-H-it»r» !'i t l '" lnaUi-r, •'•?••. 'Ie Mentioned, by which its members did not seek to benefit themselves. The resolution, which was carried unanimously, will be forwarded to the Prime Minister, the Minister of_ Finance, and the Minister of Education.