§ Major COLFOXasked the First Lord of the Admiralty what steps have been taken to give to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines the advantages given to the Army by the appointment of education officers and staff, especially as regards vocational training?
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§ Mr. PARKERThe conditions of service in the Navy differ from those in the Army, and consequently the needs and opportunities in the sphere of education differ also. In considering educational schemes, it must be borne in mind that the opportunities of giving organised instruction in subjects wholly outside the naval sphere must always remain very limited; and, furthermore, that the question of vocationl training does not assume the same importance in a long service force as in a short-service Army. The chief aim of the naval educational scheme is to fit all ratings to carry out efficiently the duties required of them; and until this scheme is in successful operation, further schemes of supplementary training must remain in abeyance.