§ Mr. Willeyasked the Minister of Education whether he will make a statement on the report of the National Institute of Education on its inquiry into accommodation and staffs for adult education.
§ Sir E. BoyleI commended this report last July to the attention of local education authorities and asked them to consider its proposals for reviewing accommodation facilities and improving staff arrangements, and also to bear in mind the claims of voluntary colleges providing short residential courses.
I did not feel able to accept the proposal of the Workers' Educational Association that my grants should cover 90 per cent. of the teaching costs of their districts; but grants have been provided to enable responsible bodies to appoint 15 additional full-time tutors and improve the rates of fees for part-time tutors. I have also given the National Institute an additional grant of £500 towards the cost of its further inquiry 113W into the recruitment, training and status of staff employed in adult education.
Owing to the overriding needs of schools, technical further education, teacher training and the youth service, I could not find places for adult education projects in major building programmes for 1964–65, but 44 small projects for improving the evening use of secondary schools by adults have been included in school building programmes for that year. I have also arranged to phase over about three years from 1965–66 the starts of four projects proposed by voluntary colleges providing long residential courses; details were given in my answer to the hon. Member for Fife, West, (Mr. W. Hamilton) on 16th January.