Commonwealth Conference Educational Initiatives (Hansard, 16 July 1986)

§ Lord Gladwyn
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
The Question was as follows: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to further the "innovative measures in the education field" proposed at the Commonwealth Conference of Prime Ministers at their recent meeting in Nassau.

§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Young)
My Lords, we have agreed to finance a consultancy commissioned by the Commonwealth Secretariat to examine distance learning within the Commonwealth and identify areas for new initiatives.

§ Lord Gladwyn
My Lords, I suppose I must thank the noble Baroness for a moderately satisfactory reply. Would she not, however, agree that of the many innovative measures, as they are called, agreed in Nassau—there were, I think, no less than eight—only a few are now being vigorously pursued? Would the noble Baroness also agree that at the moment when the Commonwealth seems to be in some danger of disintegration it is all the more important to proceed with measures which, even if they may not be of the first importance, are designed in the long run to encourage greater unity among Commonwealth members?
More specifically, could the noble Baroness tell us something more about a project in which I have rather a special interest, namely, distance education? These are special programmes devoted to broadcast instruction in elementary procedures and the English language which are received by transistor radios in various outlying parts of the world.

§ Baroness Young
My Lords, I am sorry that the noble Lord should feel that I did not answer his Question. It seemed to me that I had given him an Answer precisely to the Question which he had asked. But perhaps I might confirm that the scope of the consultancy programme is wide. It will report on open learning facilities already in existence throughout the Commonwealth operating at national, regional and international levels; higher, further and continuing education facilities will be examined; the range of actual and potential beneficiaries and methods and structures of organisations will be covered, and the consultants will also identify potential areas for new initiatives. So far as open and distance learning is concerned, I share the noble Lord's interest in this matter. Much is going on. The Open University is in the forefront of the development of distance learning and has more students than ever before, while the Open Tech programme has funded no fewer than 140 projects to develop open learning materials and services.

Lord Oram
My Lords, can the noble Baroness say what money is involved in the provision of the survey?

§ Baroness Young
My Lords, we expect the cost to be approximately £90,000.

Lord Oram
Then, my Lords, can that initiative not be described in the same way that the Prime Minister described her concessions about sanctions at Nassau; namely, is it not teeny weeny?

§ Baroness Young
No, my Lords.

§ Lord Beloff
My Lords, does my noble friend the Minister agree that there is very considerable indignation in this country at the blackmailing of Her Majesty's Government by certain Commonwealth 904 Governments in withdrawing from the Edinburgh Games, and that this is hardly the moment to press this country to make further expenditure on these matters?

§ Baroness Young
My Lords, I think my noble friend will understand that the point that he raises is one which is wide of the Question on the Order Paper. What I have indicated on the Question which is before us is that we are contributing to what we believe to be something which will be of value to a great many young people throughout the Commonwealth.

§ Lord Alport
My Lords, is my noble friend aware that there are a very great many people in this country who are deeply concerned with the continuing unity of the Commonwealth, and wish that everything could be done by Her Majesty's Government to ensure that, whatever may be the difficulties with which they are faced, that unity continues in the future?

§ Lord Glenamara
My Lords, will the noble Baroness agree that the Open University, which she has already mentioned, with its wonderful techniques and material, combined with modern satellite telecommunications, could transform educational development in the third world, including the Commonwealth?

§ Baroness Young
Yes, my Lords. I am quite certain that there is a very great deal that can be learned from these new techniques. My understanding of the position is that the new consultancy which is to be set up will be able to explore how these techniques might be used, as well as identifying what is being done at the present time.

§ Lord Cledwyn of Penrhos
My Lords, will the noble Baroness be kind enough to answer the very important question put to her by her noble friend Lord Alport?

§ Baroness Young
My Lords, I do not think that this is a time for having a major debate about the Commonwealth. I would say to my noble friend that I think that the point that he raised is wide of the Question on the Order Paper.

Baroness Vickers
My Lords, may I go back to the Question on the Order Paper? Will the noble Baroness the Minister state whether the split-site and split-level courses for specialised studies are proving useful, especially for students away from their home countries?

§ Baroness Young
Yes, my Lords. Split-site courses are already encouraged under the aid programme, wherever this is appropriate and viable. In many cases where permission is given for students to work at PhD level under the aid programme, agreement from the ODA is conditional on split-site study.

§ Lord Bottomley
My Lords, will the Minister agree that the intemperate remarks by the noble Lord, Lord Beloff, in no way represent the view of the Government, and certainly not the view of the majority of Members of this noble House?

§ Baroness Young
My Lords, I think that every Member of your Lordships' House is perfectly entitled, about all these matters, to express views which are deeply held. My only concern is that we should keep to matters on the Order Paper.

§ Lord Ritchie of Dundee
My Lords, if we may return to what we were discussing earlier, may I ask the Minister how much exchange of information exists within Commonwealth countries as to courses and resources that exist in other Commonwealth countries?

§ Baroness Young
My Lords, I do not believe that I can give the noble Lord a precise answer to the question he has asked, because I understand that one of the functions of this consultancy will be to identify what open learning facilities are currently available. But if he is thinking of the sort of problems that are raised by exchanges throughout the Commonwealth on equivalence of qualifications and so on, that is a very complex matter and I am not sure that there is a detailed breakdown of the figures.

§ Lord Ritchie of Dundee
My Lords, I was seeking information on how much accurate knowledge is disseminated throughout the Commonwealth of what is currently available in other parts of the Commonwealth.

§ Baroness Young
My Lords, if the noble Lord has in mind precise courses in different countries of the Commonwealth, then, so far as British institutions are concerned, the knowledge of these is available and, to the best of my knowledge, is distributed quite widely through British Missions, through the British Council and through the ODA overseas. But if the noble Lord has a specific point in mind, then if he will let me know I will, of course, write to him about it.