TECHNICAL EDUCATION

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 298, 5 September 1918, Page 6

TECHNICAL EDUCATION

PLAIN TALK FROM THE MINISTER

NEED FOR TRADE INSTRUCTION

CAPITATION SYSTEM TO BE

REVIEWED

Somo plain talk about defects in the | technical education scheme now in j operation was given to the directors yf technical schools, now in touferenco» 1 bv tho lion. J. A. Ilana.-i (Minister of Education), in an 11 address to the conference yesterday. The Minister thanked the conference i for tho invitation extended to him to be present. He said that his disability was not that lie had too few advisers, but that he had too many advisors, "ho primary school teachers held certain very strong views against oarly special- , isation. They objected to differentiation before the age of 14 years, and in that respect they were in conflict with tho teehical teachers' views, flie secondary school teachers were m conflict with both sets of teachers. As regards the syllabus, ho had urged that the number of subjects should be reduced in order to get thoroughness. But primary school teachers and inspectors when appealed to said that the sy labus was satisfactory. So it ivas with the courses of instruction in the secondary schools and the University His idea was that it would be for the good of the general education system ll there wore occasional meetings of university secondarv, and technical teachers, m order that all should get a genera idea of tho system as a whole. Tliero should bo loss 'of the watertight compartment arrangement. _ , For the control of the Department, were needed men who were not only scholars, but who bad a good fund ot , experience, who had business capacity and power o* organisation. It was necessary to have regard first aml a - ways to financs. The people of New Zealand did not grmke money for education, but they would always demand value for their money. Technical education had not been loi g in existence in New /eA awl. * w fl new phase of work demanded by those who required a more training. Conditions had been allowed to grow up which colled lor review. Ho was not sure that' there had not been waste. We had not yet properly defined the terms "high schoo and "technical high school. .Par \ cause of the lack of exact definitions thero were complaints about ovei lapcine. Ho would like to see more attention given to industrial educaion and this was necessary if the country was to make its proper pi ogress. His wbh was to strengthen this side of technical school work He did not blame the directois schools. There , was a rush now to clerical and unskilled occupations Be feared that we wero not giymg irthe technical schools enough attention to workshop practice m tho trade classes In some schools too much attention was given to theory and not ei o gh to practical band i'",i complaints to this effect, and they had been sustained by 'p't tions. He knew the difficulty of getting suitable instructors for these industrial classes. Technical school teachers ought to be trained, and lie would like to seo the conference make some recommendation about the training o technical teachers. This defect was not singular among technical school teachers. It applied to primary teachers, and with greater force to secondary teachers. , ,i Ho was strong impressed with the need for continued education, and lie had been asked many times to give effect to proposals made._ Tho conference had made some proposals tor compulsory continuation. classes. . But he was under the necessity o'f considering the practical side of those proposals. It they were accepted they could not be made operative in some towns. Ihe schools in existence would not no d the classes, and some of them could not be enlarged on their present sites. Without teachers no reforms could come. It was useless for people to ask him for smaller classes, and so on, if his teachers were to.be taken for military service. It was easy to advocate reforms in tho Press or on the platform, but in the legislative arena it was not so easy to carry through reforms. He did ,-not. propose to discuss the objections to continuation classes in the day-time. It would bo contended that this system would hit the small employer. And tho parents would complain if in consequence tbe wages of youths were reduced on account of time lost. Some suggested that the Government should make np the loss of wages. That was a matter of opinion. . , , The question of reorganisation m education was likewise riot easy. Local controlling authorities had wide pow--1 ers, with which the Minister could not interfere without legislation. To get needed reforms interference wit'h somo bodies would be recessary, but. there would be objection from those

bodies. He considered that his first duty was to attend to primary education—the only education the majority of children obtained. Ho had investigated tho matter of capitation, and he wishedto say frankly, he was far from satisfied. There must be some alteration. There had been in tho country an institution which received, nearly £800 in 'respect of free, pupils who did not exist. In other words, the register had been falsified. About this matter he might have much to say later. Possibly lie would have to condemn very strongly certain conditions which he had found in existence. More money would have to be found for education, but to provide for all tlie reforms' demanded would re•quire a sum which no Cabinet could think of voting. The question of local taxation for education needs might yet be raised. • His own opinion wns that the burden 'was more fairly distributed when the Government found the bulk of the money. He did not consider the salaries system for technical teachers satisfactory. Alteration of the capitation system, which was imperative, would interfere with the salaries of some teachers, and there would be an outcry from those teachers. But public interest would have to come first. . More supervision would have to be exercised over technical education, and an ofliccr in charge of it would have to be appointed. He was very anxious to see agricultural education developed.

Ho was in complete agreement with the conference as to the need for physical culture at technical schools, and in future he would insist 011 a sufficiently spacious sito for a school to provide lor physical 'culture. Ho had found that boys went to technical schools, took up, say, ail engineering cpursc for a year, and then left to drive a baker's cart or to £.0 into some other blind-alloy occupation 1 "That," he said, "isMio good to me. I am not going to find money for that, sort of thing." The Minister said that trade classes for industrial training must have more attention at technical schools. He wotdd be very glad to have from the conference recommendations as to courses of training for trades. Tho Minister said he had told frankly his opinions and his difficulties, but ho would welcome from the conference.