§ 5. Mr. Boydenasked the Minister of Education, in view of the 40 per cent. failure rate, representing over 3,000 failed candidates in part one of the mechanical enegineering craft practice course of the City and Guilds of London Institute examination held in 1963, if he will discuss with the examining body the type of examinaton best suited to current requirements.
§ Sir E. BoyleI share the hon. Member's concern, and discussions are already taking place with the City and Guilds of London Institute about possible modifications in this examination.
§ Mr. BoydenI am glad that the Minister is it last showing anxiety about this. Does he recollect that in the recent education debate he was very happy about the result of Cmnd. 1254? Is he aware that out of 24,000 candidates for this type of examination, as well as the one I have referred to, there were 10,000 failures. Will he say more specifically what he will do to see that there are better opportunities in technical education?
§ Sir E. BoyleThe hon. Gentleman has rather widened the question. I still believe that the 1961 White Paper has proved important. There is a particularly high failure rate in this examination, and the Advisory Committee is considering altering the method of certification in order to give a broader picture of the performance of the candidates. I shall write to the hon. Gentleman further about this matter.