UNIVERSITY MEN FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE
lii the controversy between Dr. Hight, chairman of the University Academic Board, and the Public Service Commissioner (Mr. Verschatfelt), the main issue seems to be whether a cadet joining the New Zealand Public Service and later raising his academic status' by taking a university degree should not be considered to have qualifications as good as (if not better than) those of a university man specially trained for some department of administration, and brought into the service from outside. The Public Service man would have the advantage ot practical experience of departmental routine. . r ■ { There are cases, however, when the requisite qualifications lor a particular post cannot be found within the service. lhe obvious thing to do then is to look elsewhere, and this, Mr. Verschaffelt points out, is what is invariably done. Examining more closely Di . Hight s case, it is evident that what he has in his mind is a class of appointment for which no specialised training is available in the Public Service, but which could, and should, be provided by the university. He retei especially to the art of government and administration, and the increasing need for a higher degree of efficiency in view of the important changes which have taken place, and are taking place, to add tresn complexities to the conduct of affairs. This need, it. should be pomtec. , out, has been recognised in principle, and to a limited extent inpractice, by the Government in appointments to the secretariat ot the Minister of Finance. Whether there are men of equal qualifications who could have been appointed to these positions from within the Public Service is another question. ■, The practice needs to be safeguarded lest it be carried to the point of creating unrest in the service, which has gained consideiably in prestige and efficiency since the institution by the Reform Government under Mr. Massey of the system of promotion by merit on the principle of a fair field and no favour. If we agree that the Public Service system falls short of providing the kind of material Dr. Hight has in mind, then we must also agree that better facilities should be granted the best type of State official to take special courses oi training. And, as Dr. Hight implies, better provision should be made, by the university itself to furnish these courses. . Mr. Verschaffelt s reference to the democratic principle involved is entirely beside the point. The principle of the system is, or should be, efficiency. iw this connection the standard might be raised appreciably by a closei connection between the Public Service and the university on the lines indicated, and the calibre of the personnel improved commensurately.
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Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 106, 29 January 1935, Page 8
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450UNIVERSITY MEN FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 106, 29 January 1935, Page 8
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