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discrimination in the provision of staff and resources to favour
particular groups of pupils? If there is resistance on the part of
some schools to admitting the less able in significant numbers, should
the development of an elite private sector be encouraged in order to
provide a viable alternative to the public sector for those willing to
pay high fees in return for academic standards? Should major initiatives
be taken in curriculum development to provide forms of education to
which children will respond positively, whatever their level of ability?
What contribution is teacher education able to make, given that most
existing teachers (and, for that matter, educational administrators,
lecturers and inspectors) are themselves products of an academically-
oriented system?
Educational priorities
8.17
As a matter either of necessity or of policy priority major
educational developments over the past few decades have tended to be
sectorally-based and from time to time progress on different fronts has
been somewhat out of phase. With a nine-year basic school course now
established, questions need to be asked about the priorities to be
accorded to different aspects of educational development, having regard
to the returns from the money and effort invested in different sectors.
Should resources be spread evenly (apart from obvious areas such as
special education where more generous provision is a necessity) or
should priority still be given to strengthening specific sectors at the
risk of (or in spite of) continuing imbalance? The view has been taken
that forms of academic education are still strongly favoured because
alternative forms are less attractive. Should we make these alternatives
more attractive by allocating more resources to their development?
Given
a choice between senior secondary education and a place in a technical
institute, most pupils will opt for the senior secondary place, whatever
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