§ Mr. Leadbitterasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proposals he has in the field of computer educational policy to establish training programmes to meet the manpower requirements of the expanding computer industry.
§ Mr. Edward ShortAn extensive range of computer education courses has been established in the technical colleges. I will send my hon. Friend a recent Departmental Bulletin giving details of these and where they are to be found. Training programmes also continue to be provided on a large scale by computer manufacturers and users.
§ Mr. Hector Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many pupils in schools under his authority study computers and other modern business developments; and what facilities he provides by way of industrial scholarships to enable those pupils to secure jobs when they finish their courses
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsInformation about numbers of pupils studying particular subjects is not available in my Department. I understand however that an increasing number of pupils have access to computers and business studies are being developed in a number of schools. Experiments in the linked use of a computer between schools and institutions of higher education are going ahead in several areas. The Department of Education does not award industrial scholarships, but awards for first152W degrees in these subjects are offered by local authorities; and a number are made by business concerns.