§ 37. Mrs. Hartasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Commonwealth Education Conference which the Minister for Overseas Development attended recently.
§ Mr. WoodTwenty-nine Commonwealth countries sent representatives to the conference, which undoubtedly strengthened the educational links between us. Excellent administrative arrangements were made by the Australian Government and the Commonwealth Secretariat.
The British delegation, which was ably led by Lord Garner, when I was not present, included representatives from five dependent territories and made a substantial contribution to the work of all the committees of the conference. It was able to announce a number of new initiatives in our educational aid policy, which were well received.
The report of the conference will be issued as a White Paper.
§ Mrs. HartI am delighted to hear that the Report will be issued as a White Paper, but can the right hon. Gentleman tell us how far non-traditional methods of education possibly suitable for use in developing countries were considered, and how far the conference was concerned primarily with traditional methods, with curricula and with higher education?
§ Mr. WoodThere were important discussions about the whole field of out-of-school training. It would take too long to go into detail now, but I will readily write to the right hon. Lady about it, if I may.