The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1901. SECONDARY EDUCATION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 286, 4 December 1901, Page 2

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1901. SECONDARY EDUCATION.

A very important memorandum has lately been addressed by the InspectorGeneral to the Hon. the Minister for Education on the question of secondary education. This is a matter which touches very closely a large number of parents whose means have not permitted them to take advantage of the existing high schools to give their children the benefit of a high school course. The chief requisite of a na tional system of education is that i! should afford pupil*, from every section of the community, sn opportunity of passing from the primary to the secondary schools, and from thence to the University without cost to the parent. This, and this alone, will place the meritorious children of workers and small settlers on the same footing as those of the wealthy. Although a great deal has been done in the past, much still remains to be done, as the different branches of our educational system are not so well co-ordinatsd as they might be, and any efforts made in this direction by the Inspector-General will have the hearty support of the people generally. On a previous occasion we referred to the value of the services rendered to the colony by the Hon. the Minister for Educition, and it is very gratifying, as time goes 00, to be able to say that his selection of the present Inspector-General is being amply justified by results. This is the move pleasing because the appointment met with a good deal of adverse criticism. The memorandum now before us shows that the Inspector-General is a man of extremely broad view, and while able to appraise time-honoured systems, at their true value, is able to strike out oh broader, rno-e independent, and new lines altogether. The memorandum referred to may be i divided into three parts. In the first patt Mr Hogben briefly reviews the work done, and says that in none of the schools are there lacking signs of earnest steady work on the ptrt of the staff and pupils. There is, he thinks, a doubt whether these efforts are always wisely diucted, but he is glad to see a desire to rationalise the curriculum, and improve the methods of teaching in the secondary schools. Mr Hogben then goes on to point , out the advantage of modernising the system, and the difficulties in the way on account of the want of properly trained teachers. Hw objects however, to a slavish imitation of English, Scotch, or German systems, and says " I venture to assert that many of the defects (or what appaar to me to be defects) still observable have sprung from following too closely the methods of older countries," Mr Hogben then goes on to point out that, in his opinion, owing to the short secondary school life of New Zealand children, the system should be made more practical, and mora attention paid to the " paying point of education." He thinks it a mistake to attempt to t< acb two foreign languagei, and that if only one foreign language is taught, it should be a modern one. Mr Hogben quotes a number of weighty authorities in support of this contention, and a verv large portion of his very excellent memorandum is taken up with the ceces&ity of giving mora consideration to the question of teaching languages. Mr Hogben is phased to report that English is well tau^jh*, and in many schools is treated in an excellent manner. After some remarks on the teaching of science, and tho nece'-sity of introducing manual work in some form or other, Mr Hogben concludes this portion of his remarks thus: - "It would be idle to point out that the whole of our secondary education would be far more useful to the State if it were more catural,moie practical, and less abstract than it ia at pr.-sent, and the time has, in my opinion, come when all concerned should seriously consider the expediency of recasting, not hurriedly or inadvisedly, but after due discussion and dt liberation, the, whole framework of our higher edu- i cation. I do not fear that we shall' lose anything by bringing education into closer relation with tbe everyday experience of the pupils; for it has al-, ways seemed to me a fallaey to suppose that remot9nfss from the common facts of every day life constitutes an essential element in true culture." Mr Hogben then, in the second place, goes on to deal wi h the question of high schools, touching incidentally on the question of district high schools. In view of local cumstances, we hold over our reference to this position of his memorandum. Mr Hogben points out, in the third place, that st the end of 1900 there wers 2792 pupils enrolled in all the

necondaty schools of the colciy, besides some (it is difficult to say liow

many) in denominational and private s schools. At present 350 scholarships' are given by the Education Boaidfl, ! , about 130 of which provide board and ■ lodging, and may be regarded as ] country scholarships, the remaining ' 220 baing held by town children. The governing bodies of secondary schools give free education to 326 children, j 279 of whom are not holders of Education Board scholarships. Out of this total of 650 free pupils, 500 live in I towns and only 150 in the conntiy, : and the Inspector-Genera! aims at iindi icg a remedy for this unsatisfac oi y state of things. The returns of the Education Department show that there are 2,200 children able to appreciate the benefits of a high school training, and within reach of odo or other of the secondary schools. Assuming that th» children who pass Standard VI. with distinction in all subjects, and who are not more than 13| years of age, a-e qualified for a high school course, the Inspector General fir.de that only about 350 children per annum would be included. This would nmn providing in the two years 700 free souts in the various secondary schools. Mr Hogben proposes that the high school authorities should offV-r free education to these pupils. This < nly deals with the children from the to vns or immediate vicinity. If no f«es were charged to the3e pupils, and free raili way passes granted to such as live out- > side towns, the present scholarship ; grant would be set free for bonding | scholarships for 125 country child en. I This wauld mean in two years 250 i more for whom free places would /Jsi . hava to be provided. Mr Hogben < sti- \ mates that in all from 950 to 1000 free : seats would have to be provided, as • against 326 pupils now receiving free education in the existing secondaiy schools. If it were desirable to go further, 500 pupils per annum who fall somewhat short of the test might be admitted at half fees. Mr Hogben doss not discuss the question of finance and staffing in detail, but is of opinion that in many of the smaller high schools ' the present staff could cope with the increased work, as there is a ar at waste of teaching piwer at present. It! is needless to say that the propoial' outlined by Mr Hogben is of very great importance, promises many very desirable changes and reforms, and throws our secondary system open to the whole of the children of the eolo iy, ' The public discussion of the questi n, even, must do a vast amount of go id. Mr Hogben summarises the sche ne suggested in the following manner: "l. Free secondary education to 1000 boys and girls (500 per annum). 2. Secondary education on payment of > half fees to 1000 boys aod girls (500 per • annum),

3. Continuation exhibitions to boys or girls selected by further test from those who have been in 1 and 2. 4. Boarding scholarships for 250 (125 per annum) in 1 and 3.

5. A degree of free secondary edocatien to 700 boys and girls in district high schools. Five his already been adopted. It is not, I consider, a disadvantage that the scheme could be iatraducel a step at a time. I am indebted for the idea to ihe Paris Scheme or Municipal Bursaries, which has been, I believe, for many years in successful operation; the details, however, are my own. All the above figuresare necessarily rou ,'h, but some of the most important are founded on returns recently sent into the Department by the Boards of Education, who are to be thanked for the inquiries made by them and generally for the care exercised in dr. tying up the returns. As increased facilities are beinsr given for technical instruction the demand for secoidary education other than, teohnical will necessarily be kept from growing toorapi lly beyond tbe bounds ofsach a reasonable expenditure as I have indicated above."