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Kinsella says can't tell what failure is

By Tony Jaques, NZSPA

"I don't think anyone can say what is failure at university," said the Minister of Education, Mr Kinsella, at Victoria recently. "I don't regard those who miss units as failures. They benefit themselves and their country. Even those who have passed two or three subjects are of use to the community so long as they have enough drive and stability to make use of their training."

"This year in Parliament I hope, to bring down a bill to provide for a Vocational Training Council. This council would tie together educational facilities and the needs of industry. It would be a link between technical institutes and technical education generally, and industry and commerce," he said.

"Today more and more business seem to be requiring graduates for their executive staff, and this is the way it should be," said the Minister.

"Up to a few years ago the universities could have been said to have had a monopoly over tertiary education. As a result they sometimes had to extend their courses downwards and I don't know if this was good for them."

"Technical institutes are new in this country," he said "But I would say that they will be a major force as far as the future is concerned."

"The technical institutes will develope closer and closer to the universities themselves, We already have this with the Engineering School at Canterbury which can in part provide cross-credited units to the University."

"In the coming years we will have an increase in the cross-recognition of work done in these two institutions," said Mr Kinsella.

"The Central Institute of Technology will deal with technical education at a very high level of university education, and they will eventually develope into Universities of Technology."

"Technical institutes are at the stage now that universities were 30 years ago. with a huge number of part-time students. They will develope in the same way and the percentage of full-timers will grow and grow.

"The greatest possible development we can see ahead of us is the tremendous growth in all forms of tertiary education," he said. "It will be spent on university buildings alone. Last year university education cost about $36 million. I am sure that this is going to grow even more; the needs of higher education are not going to remain static.

"Technical institutes are growing at an even faster rate," said Mr Kinsella "because the technologist and technician is required to a greater extent in this economy. In other countries the load is largely taken off professional men by technologists and techicians who are educated to just below professional standard."

Asked whether he thought university salaries should be raised to parity with Australia Mr Kinsella said "I would like to see New Zealand University staff salaries increased. This is under discussion between myself and the University Grants Committee at the moment. It is a subject to which I am very sympathetic. I don't know however if we will be able to raise them to parity."