NEW PLYMOUTH HIGH SCHOOL

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 221, 24 January 1911, Page 2

NEW PLYMOUTH HIGH SCHOOL

AN INDICTMENT. •'Critic" writes to the Editor us follows: Those who have interested'themselves m the work of the Xew Plymouth Hitrh ! School were doubtless niucli disappointed j at the state of affairs shown in the recently published examination results. They can scarcely, however, have been surprised. For years past there lias been a strong feeling in this district, ami even among the friends of the school, that it is utterly hopeless to expect the pupils to succeed in any of the higher public examinations, or that the standard of the woi'k of the school will rise above mediocrity. There is, unfortunately, good ground for such a feeling. If any of your readers takes the trouble to'examine the calendar of the University of Xew Zealand, he will lind that on no occasion has a pupil of the Xew _ Plymouth High School succeeded in winning a junior university scholarship. He will find also that on no occasion has any pupil of the school won a Senior National Scholarship. He will find, further, that although Taranaki scholarships of a value of"£Go per annum, and available for three years and restricted to candidates from" this province, have been offered by the University since 11)05, only two" or three pupils of the school have yet succeeded in satisfying the examiners. Moreover, the number of pupils who have passed "with credit" the Junior Scholarship examination (i.e., have obtained two-thirds of the average, marks of the first fifteen candidates) could be counted upon the fingers of one hand. If we bear in mind the facts that a junior university scholarship is usually regarded as tile highest distinction obtainable at our secondary schools, that the class of work done by the candidates for the examination is at least two years ahead of that done for matriculation, and that this work is done in the sixth form of almost every secondary school in the Dominion, surely we cannot regard the record of the New Plymouth High School with any degree of satisfaction. Of the ten junior university scholarships awarded this year, three went to Auckland, two to Dunedin, two to Oamaru, and one each to Christchureh, Timaru and Rangiora. Of this year's twenty senior national scholarships, six were won by pupils from Dunedin, five by pupils from Invereargill, while Nelson, Christchureh and Wellington each won two scholarships, and ; Oamaru, Auckland and Timaru each won one. Thus, of thirty scholarships offered to the pupils of secondary schools not one was secured by New Plymouth, or, for that matter, by a pupil in Taranaki. It will be observed that the winners reside in all parts of the Dominion, and that no preference is obtained by the larger centres. The only conclusion that can he drawn from these facts is either that pupils in the New Plymouth High School are duller than their brothers "and sisters elsewhere, or that proper tuition for these examinations is not provided at the school. The ifirst conclusion is untenable, and can be at onco disproved by noting the careers of boys from this town and district who go to schools in other towns; while that there is at least some ground for the second conclusion is shown by the observations of certain members of Parliament made in the House of Representatives when the Tarana'ki Scholarships Hill was under consideration. It was pointed out that a fund of £9OO per annum was then available for the purposes of the-c scholarships, and that in October last only two scholarships had been awarded. ' As has already been stated, the competition for these scholarships is conlincd to candidates from Taranaki province, and the standard of examination required is onlv a pass "with credit" in (he Junior Scholarship examination. Yet it was actually suggested that the standard of the examination should be lowered. If ever Taranaki received a gratuitous insult it was when a member of Parliament ] thought it was too much 4o ask from I her scholars a credit pass in return for a scholarship tenable at a University College and worth .tliO per annum. The' standard of examination should not be lowered, hut the standard of the teaching should be improved.

The results of the lower examinations, Matriculation and Junior Civil Service, are not available as yet, but the past record of the school is not very creditable even as regards these, Enough has perhaps been said to show that some marked improvement in the work of the school should he ell'eeted.

It has been the fashion to compare the results of the school with those of the Stratford District High School. This, of course, is quite unfair. The Stratford District High School is. strictly speaking, not a' secondary school at all. It is an ordinary State' school like our Central School, with a secondary department added. It is under the control of the Taranaki Education Board, and must conform to the rules and regulations of the Education Department. Yet, in spite of this, the Stratford District High School does a* good, if not better, work than the Xew Plymouth High School, irom which, owing to its status, endowments and form of government, the public have a right to expect better work than from the other. The Xew Plymouth High School is one of the twenty-four secondary schools of the Dominion. It is possessed of considerable wealth, and is governed by its own board of governors. Its energies are properly all directed to the higher education of its pupils, in return for which it exacts certain fees. Hut notwithstanding all this the school does not take its proper place as the secondary school of Taranaki, and is not very favorably regarded even in Xew Plymouth. There were at Nelson College alone last year no less than ten boys from Xew Plymouth, most of them expupils of the Xew Plymouth High School. It is not suggested 'that the work of a school should be judged entirely upon the successes of its pupils at scholarship or other examinations, but clearly these important aids to the .securing of a university education should not be altogether neglected, a- they appear to be in Xew Plymouth; and when it is found, that at no time in a. long period of years has any pupil i|iialilied for the higher scholarships, -lively ihc public is justified in asking the reason why.

"Who, then, is responsible, and what is tin? remedy; After a careful consideration of the matter, the conclusion seems inevitable that the blame must largely rest upon the Hoard.- of Governor-, past anil present. The whole control and management, of the school is vested in the board. It has control over the teaching staff, and is in a position to reonire better results. To the board has i,cen entrusted, by Act of Parliament, the sacred duty of controlling secondary education in this district, and surely the members should see to it that they are not, by their apathy or otherwise, the means of depriving any child of the priceless gift of knowledge. It. might, be well for members to bear in mind, when they indulge in tneir airy platitudes on duty and the like at breaking-tip ceremonies, to remember that they, 100. have a duty to the children, ami that, they must be responsible if any child does not get, in the way of education, what lie is entitled I to. The facts which have been stated are. or ought to be, within the knowledge of the members of the board. Will they do anything to remedy the matter? If not, nothing short of a public nictation will suffice. The members of the

board practically appoint one another. They are in theory elected by the Co-vernor-in-Couneil, but in practice the Go-vernor-in-Council elects to the board those persons whom they themselves s nominate. The public, which helps in part to pay the piper, has no voice in the election; the educational authorities of the Dominion have none, and the parents of pupils have none. In the circumi stances reform is rendered difficult, but in the cause of education difficulty should | be but to be overcome. This letter is written, therefore, in the earnest hope that soma improvement will be made at once, that the public at large will take the interest in their school which they ought to take, and that they will sec that the injustice to pupils, parents and, ultimately to the country, involved in the continuance of the present system will no longer be tolerated.