MATRICULATION AND RURAL COURSES

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 278, 18 August 1921, Page 9

MATRICULATION AND RURAL COURSES

A PROTEST FROM LEVIN CH lEF INSPECTOR UPHOLDS SCHEME An interesting phase of education cropped up at the Education Board meeting yesterday, when Mr. W. H. Field, M.P., moved that the Departmental*, approached with a request that the matriculation course be substituted for the rural course at the Levin District High School. Mr. Fiejf! said that dissatisfaction had been very generally expressed throughout the district concerning the school, and tho conditions which prevented scholars sitting for the matriculation examination.

Mr. C. I. Harkness, in seconding the motion, said that for ten years no pupil from the Levin High School had passed the matriculation examination, and as a result the parents ware sending their children elsewhere. There was a genuine desire on the part of the parents to get something that was lacking at Levin. He asserted that the rural course as given at Levin was not turning out farmers, and, whilst that was the case, there was no chance for the pupils to matriculate, as they could do pretty well anywhere else.

The chief inspector (Mr. F. Bakewell) explained that adherence to the two years’ rural course at a rural high school was a matter of regulation, and he did not think the board could get the Department to budge from those regulations. Indeed, the cry all over tho country was rather for an increase of facilities for learning farming pursuits than otherwise. Regulation 6 stated that in the case of free places in secondary and district high schools, "practical agricultural and dairy science shall be taken by every boy attending a district high school with an average attendance of not more than seventy pupils, unless adequate provision for this instruction cannot be made, or that equivalent instruction of vocational character is otherwise provided for.” The intention of the regulation was to ensure preliminary scientific instruction in the staple industries of the country and its importance had been fully realised. He did not see any chance of the board getting behind the regulation. One of the chief planks in the proposed post-prim-ary course would be instruction in agricultural and pastoral subjects, and he expected that rural district high schools would be tho first centres where sneh courses would be taken. One of the drawbacks of the present scheme was that the pupils attending the District High Schools were mainly the children or business men. If their wishes were given effect to there was little doubt that a severely commercial course would bo in demand. If tho extent of the primary course wore left to the decision of many country districts it would be stopped at eight to enable tho children to go milking or flax-cutting. The scheme was an endeavour to do justice to the vital industries of tho country. He protested against the suggestion that matriculation after two years secondary work was desirable or conformed to the true spirit of education. A four-year course at secondary work was the standard. The result of the post primary course would be to extend the secondary course still further, so that the secondary pupil would go to his university work at 18 or 19, instead of f t 1G or 17. When the post-primary course was firmly established parents would have an opportunity of selecting the special vocational course which they desired their, children to follow-. In the meantime no useful purpose would bo gained by tinkering with the present system. Mr. W. T. Grundy said that there was a simple way out. The Lavin people had only to guarantee an attendance of 70 ‘and they could git what they wanted. While admitting the strength of’ J Mr. Bakewell’s contentions, Mr. Harkness said that he was far from being satisfied with tho position. The school was not attracting the attendance it should, all because pupils could not get the facilities common to larger district high schools.

Mr. Field said it was a pity that they could do nothing to improve matters, because they could not get the attendance as things were. That condition would obtain until facilities were provided for their children to matriculate. It was the dutj of the Department to provide the same facilities at Levin as elsewhere. Perhaps if Mr. Bakewell would visit Lovin and explain the position ta the people there, as he had done at the meeting, it would make the position clearer to them. This the Chief Inspector agreed to de