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and allocation procedures and the problems arising therefrom is
contained in appendix C.
2.35 General and technical education
It has only been in the
last decade or so that the general public has begun to understand
the purposes of technical education in schools and consequently
there has been a marked reluctance to accept it as a viable and
equal alternative to the 'academic' education on which the public
places such value. This has led to a certain tension in the
development of senior secondary education in that the existing
policy (1978 White Paper) to limit the number of full-time public-
sector school places for the 15-year-old population is regarded
by some as unacceptable. However, an increase in the number of
places could undermine the development of the technical institutes,
which under the same policy provide both full-time and part-time
places for Form III leavers related to economic demand and the needs
of industry. This situation reflects the statement in the White
Paper that "the number of subsidised senior secondary places available
in 1981 may be sufficient to meet the full demand from students
for whom a senior secondary course is suitable and who wish to remain
in full-time school education, rather than to pursue other alternatives".
The difficulty lies in convincing parents that not all children are
suitable for senior secondary education, and it remains to be seen
whether full demand will in fact be met by the public sector or
whether private schools will continue to flourish at this level.
(In September 1980 private schools provided 61 per cent of all
Form IV places and 67 per cent of all Form V places.)
It is true that there has been a marked recent increase
in demand for prevocational school places, representing perhaps a
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