§ Mr. Swinglerasked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation what facilities have been provided by the United Kingdom Government since the recommendation of the Commonwealth Education Conference published in paragraph 39 of the report, for the training of technologists, technicians, and craftsmen and persons of similar standards in commerce, accountancy, and agriculture, both in the United Kingdom and overseas.
Mr. CarrIn the United Kingdom the facilities provided for technological and technical training are the provision of places for students in universities,146W teacher training colleges, colleges of technology and technical colleges, and the award of scholarships and bursaries. The principal development since the Delhi Conference, as announced there, is the award of up to 45 bursaries a year to Commonwealth students who pursue a specially designed course of training as technical teachers. There has also been a steady expansion in the total numbers of students from Commonwealth countries receiving training in the United Kingdom, as may be seen in the following tables:
All students, including university Students at Technical Colleges 1959–60 30,880 7,660 1962–63 42,095 9,462 Details are given in the supplement to the British Council's publication, Overseas Students in Britain, copies of which have been placed in the Library.
Financial and other assistance has been made available by the United Kingdom to a number of Commonwealth and Colonial Governments and institutions to help them to expand their own facilities. My Department, and the Inter-University Council for Higher Education Overseas and the Council for Technical Education and Training for Overseas Countries with our support, provide recruitment and advisory services; among other activities, they have encouraged the formation of links between institutions overseas providing technical and technological training, and United Kingdom colleges offering similar courses. Financial assistance towards capital development has been provided through the Votes of the Commonwealth Relations and Colonial Offices, and my Department. For the Colonial territories, £800,000 has been reserved for technical education schemes from the Higher Education allocation of funds provided under the Commonwealth Development Act, 1963, and the selection of projects on which this money will be spent is now under consideration in consultation with the Governments concerned. My Department also assists in the topping-up of salaries, the expenses of visiting experts and advisers, and the supply of equipment.