The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1910. PROPOSED ABOLITION OF SCHOLARSHIPS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2741, 21 February 1910, Page 4

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1910. PROPOSED ABOLITION OF SCHOLARSHIPS.

Une or me most- interesting discussions which took place at the recent educational conference in Wellington centred around the following motion: That all junior National and Eduaction Board scholarships be abolished, but- that sufficient travelling expenses and boarding allowances lie made to those pupils attending secondary schools from a distance or oblig- • ed to live away from home. The motion was introduced by Mr R. H. Holmes, of Hawke’s Bay and was responsible for an animated debate. The Inspector-General, Air G. llogben, said he did not see why, when they were offering free places, they wanted money for scholarships. He could not see the use of scholarship competitions, nor why it was necessary to give scholarship money to pupils who lived at home. If there was money for fifty more scholarships it would be possible to give free board to every pupil in the country who was qualified to get a free palace in the same way as those got itwho lived in the town. In this way the country pupil could be put on an entire equality with the others. The question really was whether the money should not he restricted to those who actually wanted it for maintenance away from home. Apparently the majority of the representatives present agreed with this view, for the motion, was carried, hut there are, nevertheless, two sides to the question. To carry the resolution into effect spells the extinction of competitive examinations, find this is by no means desirable. It i s true that in the past the whole system of education has been sacrificed to this one basic- feature very much to the detriment of all concerned. Teachers have been almost entirely judged .by the proportion of their scholars who could -pass a fixed test prescribed by the Board’s examiners and with their positions dependent upon the results they have naturally devoted themeslves almost entirely to securing “passes.” To this end they have strained every nerve to cram the child-mind with the facts that would be searched for in the fateful examination. The system was obviously wrong, for on the one hand it had the effect of inducing many inspectors to frame their papers in such a way that they were mere memory tests and on the other hand teachers were prone to regard the child mind as a sort of sponge which might be made to absorb a certain quantity of liquid facts that could by judicious pressure, be squeezed out again on examination day, leaving the human sponge mentally dry. In recent years the evils of this method have been recognised, and while examinations have not been entirely abolished they are not given nearly so much importance as heretofore: The fact, however, that education by competition is a principle that can be subjected to abuse is no reason for its entire abolition. Almost every branch of life is permeated witli the spirit of emulation and it is only a reasonable recognition of this fact which induces the State to offer substantial rewards to those -who achieve the best results under outgeneral system of education. It seems to us that without such incentives -and such -wholesome rivalry the standard of efficiency is liable to- deteriorate. By

all means make it easier for country

.pupils to obtain secondary education, but in so doing wo should hesitate before .abolishing the competitive examinations which in the past have spurred both teachers and scholars to their utmost achievement.