HC Deb 23 May 1977 vol 932 cc1002-3
14. Mr. Nicholas

Edwards asked the Secretary of State for Wales what action he proposes to take following publication of the CBI Report on standards of numeracy and literacy in Wales.

Mr. Barry Jones

I welcome this publication as one of many useful contributions on education in our schools. All such contributions are being borne in mind as work proceeds on the consultative document that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science and my right hon. and learned Friend hope to publish in the summer.

Mr. Edwards

Is it not highly disturbing that there should have been this sharp decline in the levels of educational attainment, so that apparently large numbers of young people are now leaving the schools without the basic skills necessary for jobs in industry and elsewhere? Will the Minister ensure that action is taken to deal with this situation, and will he tell us whether he proposes to do anything about the specific recommendations contained in this excellent report?

Mr. Barry Jones

The inquiry that I have commissioned into the examination achievements of school leavers in Wales is almost completed and it is my intention to seek the views of educational interests shortly on this matter. With regard to the specific publication, we have been grateful for it because it adds to the great debate which the Prime Minister has started and which, in part, we shall be concluding with the Green Paper published in the summer.

Mr. Roderick

Before taking any action, will my hon. Friend carefully consider the contents of the CBI Report and whether it has examined the same category of person as it had previously, since the individual expectations of our young people are so much higher today that people who would go into the kind of jobs envisaged are likely to have a different standard?

Mr. Barry Jones

I agree with my hon. Friend in all that he has said. There is a gulf between our schools and industry. We have to bridge that gulf. It is a fact that the report has in part been criticised by some of the teachers' organisations.