§ Mr. MOSLEYasked the President of the Boad of Education whether his attention has been called by the principal of the Battersea Polytechnic to the case of two engineering students, i.e., A. Hooker, award No. 19,061, and K. E. Kaine, award No. 17,499, at that institution who were granted assistance under the Board of Education scheme for the higher education of ex-service men for an approximate period of three sessions; whether he is aware that it is impossible in that period to obtain a diploma, without which there is no chance of obtaining an appointment; and whether, having regard to these facts, he can see his way to extending assistance to these students 1800W so as to enable them to become qualified in their profession?
Mr. WOOD:The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The Board's records do not bear out the contention that the Diploma cannot be obtained in less than a four-year course. The normal period of assistance granted to engineering students at the Battersea Polytechnic has been three years, and a number of assisted students have secured the Diploma and the University Degree within that period. The Board's commitments under the scheme for the higher education of ex-service students have already considerably exceeded the original estimate, and in these circumstances I regret that I do not feel justified in extending the period of the award for which the student originally applied and for which he was recommended by the university authorities.