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Salient: Victoria University of Wellington Students' Newspaper. Vol. 32, No. 1. 1969.

Need For Ed. Changes

page 12

Need For Ed. Changes

The introduction of Junior or Community Colleges, the abolition of School Certificate, and a V.S.A. type organisation through which university students and others could render service to the community were recommended by Mr. P. Amos, Labour M.P. for Manurewa, at Curious Cove.

Mr Amos also advocated an educational tax and a system of special Government loans for educational purposes.

"I see a real need for colleges offering two or three-year courses, taking over the task of providing for upper sixth forms, which are quite inadequately served in an increasing number of secondary schools, plus a higher level of general education." said Mr Amos.

During their time at the Community college the students would have opportunities to decide whether they should embark on an honours degree at university, train at an institute of advanced technology or simply specialise further at the Junior College level.

Mr Amos said the Junior Colleges could take over the training of technicians such as accountants, pharmacists and the like.

"They will be required not only in the metropolitan areas but also in the provincial cities. Mr Amos outlined a number of implications of his proposals.

He said there would be a considerable increase in the numbers of young people going on to higher full time education.

"For this reason," he said. "the scheme would not recommend itself to someone with the accountant's view of education."

"The second implication is the need for approximately thirty new educational building complexes throughout New Zealand."

"There will also be a need for more trained teachers, and finally a very substantial escalation in the educational vote."

Mr Amos suggested this could be offset by savings in other areas of public expenditure.

"There could scarcely by anything revolutionary about earmarking a larger proportion of the annual budget for education."

"Certain people are asking whether the right people are entering university and are querying the annual "wastage" of 10 million dollars" give or take 5 million or so" one said, throught ailure of units at university," said Mr Amos.

"The accountants view is that man exists to serve an economy."

"In my view an economy should provide for man."

"We need vastly increased counselling services, better facilities for research, and a system of providing university grants on a better basis."

"The recent expressions of alarm at the disparity between salaries paid to university lecturers here and those in Australia seems to me to be quite reasonable.

Mr Amos said there was a world market for academics and while it may be impossible and unnecessary to match American salaries, we must approach parity with them.

"Restricting the university's role in the name of the economy is a particularly shortsighted approach to the problem."

"Statements like "accrediting permits too many inadequate students to get U.E." and "When Auckland reaches 10,000 students we will have to reassess the free entry principle." said Mr Amos." to be preparatory to moves to introduce some means of restricting entry by coercive methods."

Suggestions that the failure rate may be too high were termed "insidious".

"This is a shabby alternative to providing adequate facilities for university study, and alternative opportunities for able young people to do full-time study at other full-time tertiary institutions better suited to their needs and aspirations."

Mr Amos said the School Certificate system "that great inhibiter of the secondary school system" had outlived its usefulness.

"If it can be replaced with a series of graded performance or achievement certificates at the end of one's secondary career, then it should be possible for schools to carry out their real task."

"This is." said Mr Amos," the provision of a broad general education for all pupils, while at the same time providing opportunities for the more able to be extended intellectually."

Referring to the community service scheme. Mr Amos said that New Zealand was sadly in need of a sense of nationhood and of offering challenging services for its youth.

"For too long we have been immersed in a kind of national lethargy with little real sense of purpose and certainly without [unclear: dynamic]."

"If all or almost all of our youth were called upon [unclear: to]Ve a period of service to New Zealand or to those countries which come within our sphere of influence, primarily the nations of the South Pacific, we as a society would receive tremendous benefit, both in the material sense and in the sense of building an integrated coherent sense of nationhood where everyone would be recognised by their individual worth."

Muldoon . . . university ire

Muldoon . . . university ire

A Behind the scenes look at activity in preparation for the S.C.M. bookstall • Story, page 10..

A Behind the scenes look at activity in preparation for the S.C.M. bookstall • Story, page 10..