Manifesto 'not feasible’

Press, 17 July 1979, Page 4

Manifesto 'not feasible’

PA Wellington ( The National Party j manifesto to “secondI chance" education is not I feasible in the present economic climate, the Nat- ■ ional Youth Council has i been told. The council's president, I Ms Sue Parker, quoted the j Min ."ter of Education (Mr ( Wellington) as saying i study grants for secondary ! school returnees definitely

would not be provided by this Government. She said: "The council was most unhappy with Mr Wellington's response to the council’s submission on employment and education.'' During the meeting Mr Wellington had restated the priority given to careers education but had not been able to give details. In a paper called “Trant

sition from School to Work” the council drew attention to the inadequacies of the education system, which had been highlighted by the youth unemployment crisis. The report focused particularly on the problems of the early school-leaver with few formal qualifications. It recommended extensions of all work-re-lated programmes for all ) secondary school pupils and a broad definition of careers education in the school carriculum. “It was clear Mr Wellington had not grasped the importance of a | trained and educated I youth population in our i future social and economic i development.

“It is our firm belief that in a time of economic recession it is more crucial than ever to maintain and extend our educational resources,” she said.