AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 298, 10 September 1920, Page 7

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION

ESTABLISHMENT OF FARM SCHOOLS. Agricultural education was one of tiie matters discussed at yesterday's sitting of the conference of directors and supervisors and representatives of boards of managers of technical schools. The conference placed on rocord its opinion that it was the duty of the Education Department to provide for primary, secondary, and technical schools a definite science training with an agricultural bias, and that ■it should be the duty of the Department of Agriculture to provide for those who require practical farm training. Tho conference also expressed tho opinion that any • area of agricltural land in excess of five acres was not necessary to demonstrate essential scientific principles. Tho agricltnral committee recommended that the Minister of Agriculture be urged to establish farm schools in tho closest possible vicinity of technical or socondarv schools, and in any other part of the country where tho demand for practical farm training for boys justifies such establishment?; and, that at such farm schools, in to traininsr in all branches of practical farm work, instruction should bo given in English, history, and civics on general lines, and in elementary science and mathematics bearing directly on farm work, and in subjects such as farm carpentevy, saddlery, and concrete work and ironwork. In the event of the Department' of Agriculture not being in tho position to establish farm schools at once in any particular locality, tho conimitteo recommended "that areas within a radius of fivo miles of ft technical high school should bo obtained by lease, tho rent to be mot by grants of J3250 each from the Education and Agriculture Departments, and any sum not loss than ,£l5O to bo contributed by local bodieß and farmers' associations. Tlio controlling board, it was suggested, should consistoorf r representatives of all farmers' associations, technical hisli school boards, and the Agricultural and Education Departments. In admitting students to farm schools preference should bo given to those who had satisfactorily completed at least a two years' courso in agricultural scienco at a secondary or a technical school. Tho committee also recommended that tlio Minister of Agricnlturo should bo urged to appoint officers to organise fjoys' and girls' agricultural clubs similar to those doinjr valuable work in increasing production in Canada. The recommendations of tho cominiti tee wore adopted.