AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 June 1918, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.

HRIMARY OR SECONDARY SUBJECT? A discussion took place yesterday at the annual conference of theTaranak? School Committees' Association, on the question of compulsory instruction in scientific agriculture. In moving that in order to encourage scientific training .in' agriculture, the Education Departnknt be asked to make the subject compulsory, to include it in the pass subjects for proficiency examinations, and in order' that the teaching may be uniform, the Department be asked to prepare and issue free suitable text books on agriculture, covering the I work of each standard, Mrs. Cuthbert said that the subjeot should be made a pass subject in all the schools. The amount of waste that went on in farming work, even in Tafcmaki, represented a considerable sum of money, whysh could be saved if the children were given definite scientific instruction in agriculture. The boys who afterwards became farmers would then know the proper way to go about their work, and great , economies could be effected. The speaker stated that many Taranki fanners spent a lot of money in purchasing manures in the dearest markets, and neglected to use those close at hand, which were much cheaper. Mr. Benton, who seconded the motion, remarked that New Zealand was said to be behind the times in the matter of fanning, and was as yet only scratching on the surface of the subject. All farmers were not in a sufficiently strong financial position to farm on scientific lines, and the Board of Agriculture seemed not to have done wliat it was hoped would be accomplished in the matter of getting into touch with farmers through their organisations apd helping them. He thought boys in the sixth standard should be given an opportunity to gain a scientific knowledge of agricultural work. Mr. Klenner said he considered the question was one of secondary education, I the primary object of which was to fit a boy for any chosen vacation. , At tie invitation of the chairman, Mr. J Morton spoke on the question. He did not altogether agree with the motion, I as it did not sufficiently discriminate as to the age at which such work should I>e taken. Uniformity, as far as possible, was desirable, but when and how to make the subject compulsory was a difficulty. He then referred to the work of the Agricultural Department, both in schools andiamongst fanners. The Education Board of Taranaki was looking ahead in the matter also, and the work of the Stratford model farm would be a great help. It was only recently that agriculture had been made an optional subject in the matriculation examination. Technical schools naturally gave a good deal of attention to the subject, and the local school was doing good work, in which the board was assisting ,it very materially. It oould not, therefore, be urged that the Dominion was not doing anything for the subject. The principle followed with regard to primary education was to give the children an all-round foundational education and not a vocational course. He doubted the possibility of putting compulsory agricultural education* into effect, as the conditions in many schools were so different. In the schools where there was only a single teacher he thought it wbnld be quite impossible. Mr. Garcia suggested that the remit should be amended in the direction of urging the Government to provide, free of cost, texfcJbooks on the subject as an enlargement of the School Journal. Mr. Trimble, who believed in teaching the subject, said the primr schools were not the place for teach'-" vocational subjects. Children nowart: ■ s passed through the .primary school at such a young age that the teaching' of agriculture was out of the question. He thought that facilities should be given to those wanting to go on the land to take up the study of agriculture. He net think a uniform text-tack for <0» w*a prsc-

ticalble—not even for the whole of Taranaki—because conditions varied so much. Ultimately, oil the suggestion of the chairman, leave was granted to the mover to withdraw the motion. Mrs. Cutfcbert then moved, and Mr. Duckworth seconded, that this conference affirms the necessity for increased attention being paid to the scientific side of agricultural school training, and that the question of making suitable representation to the department be left to the incoming executive to deal with.—The motion was carried unanimously.