§ 15. Mr. Boydenasked the Minister of Education when he expects shortage of accommodation to cease to be the limiting factor in the expansion of colleges of advanced technology.
§ Sir E. BoyleI cannot give a precise date. But plans for expansion have been going ahead well since the comment to 642 which the hon. Member refers was made in my Department's Annual Report for 1961. With the help of buildings recently provided or now under construction the colleges expect to find places next year for 12,500 full-time and sandwich students, or 20 per cent. more than this year; and plans under consideration provide for a total of 21,000 places, of which 15,000 should be available by the mid-1960s.
§ Mr. BoydenDoes not the right hon. Gentleman agree that the Government have gravely miscalculated the number of scientists and technologists required to be trained in colleges of advanced technology? Even the figure that he gives is not up to the reduced estimate of 27,000. Cannot he consider an emergency arrangement to increase the numbers in the next two or three years, rather than look as far ahead as he suggests?
§ Sir E. BoyleNew buildings are being completed at the rate of £2 million a year at present, and I expect this figure to rise. We should not underrate the importance of the expansion of these colleges of advanced technology and the effect that this is having upon standards over the whole technical college field.