H—39

262. There is, unfortunately, no common standard whereby the quality or ability of students entering University for the first time may be judged. The Committee therefore endeavoured to approach the general problem by a comparison of the wastage of students from engineering courses with the wastage from all courses. The following table makes this comparison :

Table K—Examination Wastage for B.E. Candidates Compared With Wastage in All Degree and Diploma Courses

263. These figures indicate that the engineering students are more successful than the average University student. Question (ii) can be answered in part, then, by stating that the standard of entrants to degree courses in engineering is considered satisfactory. 264. You have asked also in this question whether the present standard of entrants to diploma courses in engineering is satisfactory. The Committee has interpreted this as referring to any non-degree courses. There is at present nothing similar to the diploma courses recommended in Section 12. The principal courses existing are those leading to membership of one or other of the British Institutions of Engineers. The minimum standard of entry to these examinations is lower than the University Entrance Examination, which is the lowest standard acceptable to the Committee. The complementary answer to Question (ii), then, is that the present standard of entrants to diploma courses in engineering is not satisfactory. Question (Hi) :To what extent, if any, should instruction in professional engineering subjects be provided in the technical schools ? 265. The answer to this question will be found in Sections 9, 11, and 12. While there is a weight of evidence that ultimately all civil and electrical engineers, at least, should be graduates, the Committee realizes that for some years it will still be necessary to train a proportion of professional engineers by means of courses leading towards diplomas in professional engineering. It will therefore be necessary to provide facilities for instruction in the subjects of these examinations in certain of the technical schools. 266. The Committee is of the opinion that complete facilities should be provided at the technical schools at Auckland, Wellington, Hutt Valley, Christchurch, and Dunedin if they are not at present available, and for the first two years of the diploma course at any other centre which may be approved for the purpose. Question (iv) : Are the present facilities (staffing, accommodation, and equipment) at the University colleges or at the technical schools sufficient for the numbers of students offering ? and, — Question (v) : If the answer to (iv) is in the negative, what improvements are required ?

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— 1945. 1946. 1947. All Courses. B.E. All Courses. B.E. All Courses. B.E. Total number of candidates .. 6,937 336 9,705 537 10,060 604 Total number successful 5,580 275 7,592 455 8,001 525 Total number unsuccessful .. 1,357 61 2,113 82 2,059 79 Percentage unsuccessful 19 18 22 15 20 13