The CM educational guide —a pioneer effort
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THE Commercial Motor Educational Guide (CM July 10) to courses in road transport at local authority colleges and universities should prove an invaluaable aid to students, transport educationists and administrators. It has been an enormous task for David Lowe and the CM staff to compile and, although there are limitations in the list, it is an up-to-date, comprehensive guide. Moreover, it is the first I have ever seen published embracing the whole of Great Britain.
From time to time institutes and other providers have circulated lists of centres where these courses are normally held. But they are usually inadequate guides as the task of gaining current information is seldom undertaken. Using one of these guides, recently. I was surprised to note two colleges appearing as apparently offering transport courses. On inquiry from the colleges I learned that one had run a course 10 years ago but was not prepared to repeat the experiment, while the other pointed out that the one course they had ever advertised in 1965 received no enrolments whatsoever! Occasionally, Regional Advisory Councils for Higher Technological Education will produce details of transport courses in their areas, but they do not normally give a list which has a
specific road transport emphasis.
Thus the Guide has a unique quality and i do hope it will be given an enthusiastic reception so that the work of revision can go on with the production of a fresh guide each year. Of the greatest importance is that the Guide has tried to piece together courses leading to the awards of no fewer than six institutes: it reviews management education in transport and other relevant courses which follow the examination schemes of the City and Guilds and National Certificates. Thus. both the traffic and engineering facets of road transport are brought together so that a composite picture can be gained.
I should have liked this picture to have been in rather sharper focus but there are difficulties in a pioneer venture of this kind. Information is needed about which options are taken in the final examinations of the Institutes of Transport and Traffic Administration, how many of these colleges promote the road passenger and road goods sections? From general knowledge. I know that where the finals of the Institute of Transport are noted, there is a clear probability that another transport media will be studied unless the centre is in one of the large conurbations where most choices are available. On the other hand, no research needed to realize where references are mac to the RSA Diploma in Road Transpc Subjects that it is the road passenger optic which will be organized as road goo( students in this Diploma make up a palt proportion of the total activity.
If it were possible. I would hope that follow-up could be made to see exactly he many courses advertised as taking place the session 1970/71 actually saw the light day and remained viable. Colleges a inherently over-optimistic about tht provision, and correspondents frequent berrioan to me that they have been It stranded by courses in an area beil cancelled owing to a lack of sufficie numbers attending in given classes. Thus, tl Guide has inserted a cautionary noterequired"--a4ainst certain courses whe there is a doubt as to whether there will be adequate enrolment.
The picture, however, is abundantly deal: regard to the general distribution of courst The Guide clearly shows many severe gaps provision in many areas, a problem which will review next week.