1899 - Royal Commission on Technical Education (1899 - 1901)

From
1899
To
1901
Alternative Names
  • The Fink Commission (also known as)
Summary

The Royal Commission on Technical Education was established in 1899 and chaired by Theodore Fink (Archibald, 2017, p. 168).

Details

According to Murray-Smith and Dare (1987, p. 67), 'in its final report the Fink Commission surveyed the history, standards and problems of virtually every Victorian technical school, finding fault not so much with individual schools as with the system or, rather, the absence of a system'. The Commission 'recommended continuation schools to act as a bridge to the technical schools, the abrogation of local control of technical schools and the creation of a Technical Instruction Branch of the Education Department, under a Director'. The recommendations did not result in immediate changes, however, Frank Tate was appointed as Victoria's first Director of Education in 1902.

Regarding the Working Men's College, the Final Report of the Royal Commission recommended that the directors of the College - in addition to the director of the Ballarat School of Mines - be paid by the government, and that all remaining local councils be abolished. It was found that the College's buildings were inadequate, and that building expenditure not well thought out. In addition, the Commission reported that government funding for the College 'had been "entirely inadequate", and that the Working Men's College, as the principal technical college of the State, had to be efficiently administered and supported by the government' (Murray-Smith and Dare, 1987, p. 69).

Sources used to compile this entry: Archibald, Barry Lachlan, 'A History of Inspection in Victorian Colonial/State Government Schools: 1852-2012', PhD thesis, Charles Stury University, May 2017. Also available at https://researchoutput.csu.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/75667939/Barry_Archibald_Thesis.pdf; Murray-Smith, Stephen and Dare, Anthony John, The Tech: A Centenary History of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Hyland House Publishing Pty Limited, South Yarra, Victoria, 1987.

Published Resources

Books

  • Murray-Smith, Stephen and Dare, Anthony John, The Tech: A Centenary History of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Hyland House Publishing Pty Limited, South Yarra, Victoria, 1987. Details

Reports

Theses

Online Resources

Created: 1 December 2021, Last modified: 10 December 2024