XN000022-1976-04-07 — Page 35

Wednesday, April 7, 1976

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While the Education Department had undertaken to provide locos in

Forms

4 and 5 in the public sector for 40 per cent of the 15-16 age group for

those most capable of benefiting, the Director said it was also important to

provide the right kind of vocationally oriented education or training for

the substantial proportion of Form 3 leavers who obtained employment but whe

wanted to advance themselves through educational means,

"Here again the further development of the technical institutes and

the need to make them attractive and exciting places spring to mind.

Much thought is being given to this whole area in considering the

scale, nature and degree of selectivity which we should apply to the education

to be provided in the public after Form 3," Mr. Topley said.

The Director stated that one of his long-term tasks as to make

adequate provision for teachers.

We have always recognised that the backbone of the educational system

must be the body of trained teachers working in it and over the years very

substantial efforts have been made to build and staff Colleges of Education

and to provide the appropriate number of teachers to man the system," he said.

Although steps were taken in 1972 to calculate the right output of

teachers to meet the secondary expansion programme, what was rot Inown at the

time was precisely how the expansion was to be effected.

"Now it is plain that our initial, I repeat initial thrust must be

through the buying of places in private schools we are faced with a real

difficulty," Mr. Topley said.

The number of