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Alas, the evening course still holds sway

4th October 1968, Page 64
4th October 1968
Page 64
Page 64, 4th October 1968 — Alas, the evening course still holds sway
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

LOOKING through a great many college prospectuses for the coming winter session, I could not help feeling depressed about the slow progress of day-time courses in transport. The evening class still holds sway from Glasgow to Plymouth. True, there are some day-release courses at most of the major colleges but they still form a pitifully small proportion of the total of transport courses.

Why is this? The importance and desirability of day-release courses have been stressed since the 1944 Education Act. While there was a great deal of lip-service given to the idea by many employers, few took up the cause enthusiastically, with the result that promoters and organizers of day courses had little support. Admittedly, there have been some firm steps forward particularly for the younger employees. Day release is a well-established practice for those between 16 and 18 and has been extended significantly to those of 18 to 21 and even to 23.

But the overwhelming predominance of the evening class remains. The Road Transport Industry Training Board appeared to hold the key to a flourishing day-time course provision when it stepped up its grants last spring but the results have so far been disappointing. It may well be that too many organizers of courses are chary of launching out into day-release activities while some have, quite frankly, become hardened cynics about the activity. It is also true that a number of road passenger and goods managers have not fully grasped the significance of the new grant structure—certainly one of the hardest tasks the RTITB faces is to see that current levy /grant information gets through to all employers. I fear that these reasons are relatively superficial; they are not the real roots of the problem. Too many employers accept the RTITB levy as a "tax", and are seemingly prepared to pay while making little or no effort to place employees in any course of training. Further, all too prevalent is the backwoods slogan—"I had it rough, so shall you—I slogged away in the evenings, why should I arrange for you to have it 'easy' in day-time courses?" Even worse, there is the puritanical attitude which main tains that taking evening courses in spare time is wholly good in that it tests determination and self-denial. Some employers will go on and become lyrical about the alleged comradeship of the evening class which they feel would be destroyed by a day-time course.

These arguments must be completely dismissed. The facts of evening class life are quite brutal. A student begins with the disadvantage of being tired and less receptive after a day's work—and the same is true of the great body of part-time lecturers in transport subjects. The evening student, Moreover, is usually faced with a long journey both to a class and afterwards to his home. Time also only permits the scantiest of meals—often a single cup of tea. There is a tendency to label the evening student as "second • class" with the unfortunate old tag of "pursuing a course at night school" often added.

This is surely not good enough for an industry as large and as important as road transport. The educational plans and the financial arrangements are such that dayrelease courses could forge ahead with great speed. I would like to look forward to the evening class being the exception rather than the rule within a few years. At the moment this is a pious hope until the difficult surgery involving a change of heart on the part of many employers can be completed.

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Locations: Glasgow, Plymouth

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