University Degrees for Patrol Officers?

Patrol Officers?

Raising the Academic Status of the Mosman School

Letter to the Editor RECENT changes in the composition of the Council of the School of Pacific Administration, in Sydney, which is training recruits to the Papua-New Guinea administrative service, should place the School’s affairs in sound hands.

The new Chairman is Professor R. C.

Mills, one of Australia’s leading academic and educational authorities, who is in charge of the Commonwealth Office of Education, which is apparently to have some say in School affairs. Territorians will watch the future progress of the School with interest, for it is anticipated that its new council will keep a close check on academic standards and effi ciency.

As it is the professed ambition of some members of the School’s staff to have its courses given “degree status” in the new National University at Canberra, and as the first two-year course, just commenced, is an obvious stepping stone to such an ambition, the School’s academic standards and staffing merit close study—not only because there is any great likelihood that the National University will offer cheap degrees, but because such ambitions indi cate that perhaps the School is being rated too highly bv its staff and its sup porters.

The principle of pre-vocational training for Administrative personnel is sound and a degree course at a University would doubtless be valuable, for Univer sities do not award degrees cheaply. It does not follow, however, that it would be desirable, or even possible, for a Uni versity to take over the present School set-up and recognise its courses as degree courses.

There are two alternatives available; the establishment of a University course administered by a University on its own terms, or the establishment of an inde pendent school sponsored by the Admin istration on the Administration’s own terms.

If a University were to undertake the provision of a suitable course for Admin istrative personnel its scope would very probably be wider, the teaching would not be specifically directed to the vocational purpose, and the academic standards re quired would have to conform with those operating throughout Australian univer sities; staff would have to measure up to University staff requirements and it is possible that under these conditions the parties interested would not want “de gree status” so ardently. And it is even possible that the proportion of recruits capable of passing a degree course would be small.

All that is required to make the present school an efficient administrative asset is an improvement in the quality of the staffing, firmer direction from a compe tent council, and the removal of its un warranted complacency about its own standards. Several of the staff are very competent persons; but some of them are youngsters who appear to have no quali fications in what is, after all, a highly specialised field.

The notion that the school, as at pres ent constituted, could award university degrees seems to be a pipe-dream of some of its associates. Those interested in preserving academic standards should see to that. As a private teaching organi sation, however, the school could possibly be more specifically useful.

I am, etc.,

University

Port. Moresby, November 20.