§ 17. Dr. A. Thompsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will extend the range of awards available to Scottish students wishing to undertake post-graduate study or other forms of further training in England and abroad.
§ Mr. MaclayI intend to review this matter in the light of the Report of the Committee on Grants to Students, which is expected shortly.
§ Dr. ThompsonI thank the Secretary of State for that reply, but may I ask whether he will bear in mind two very serious weaknesses of the present system of post-graduate awards which enable Scottish students to study in England or abroad? First, there are many subjects in which no awards are given. It is easy to get an award to study classics outside Scotland but very difficult—almost impossible—to get an award for medicine, science, technology or economics. The second weakness is that a student requires a first-class honours degree or a very good second in order to qualify for a post-graduate award to study in England or abroad. This excludes many people who would benefit from post-graduate work of a slightly less academic type, such as social work or teacher training.
§ Mr. MaclayI will carefully note what the hon. Member has said, but I think he will agree that we should await the Report of the Committee on Grants to Students to which I have referred.