R.A.F. TRAINING
Stx,—May I take the liberty of complimenting you on making public the expression of views on the R.A.F. Education Scheme. Such a dissection cannot fail to have a beneficial effect and may well forestall a post-mortem. Since I am perforce committed to the implementation of the E.V.T. Scheme I would like to make a few observations on R.A.F. education drawn from first-hand experience over the past four years. In justice to the Air Ministry it should be mentioned that the R.A.F. General Education Scheme, now merged into the Educational and Vocational Training Scheme, represented one aspect only of educational activity during the war. The efficiency of the service as a fighting force is in no small measure due to the excellence of the instruction given in the Initial Training Wings and Technical Schools. How far this in turn was due to the wisdom of the higher administration or to the professional ethic of the instructors I cannot say—doubtless each made a contribution.
The General Education Scheme, however, was designed to provide training and facilities for education directed towards Service requirements and the needs of students pursuing interrupted studies. Its functions seemed to become too closely associated with recreational and purely welfare activities. The official mind was very properly concerned with morale, but it forgot that " Recreations are not education." Much publicity was given to News Rooms, wall displays, and " In Town To-Night" activities, but little was provided for the serious student. Bread and circuses satisfy some, but not all.
There has been a remarkable quickening of interest in education among all ranks since V.E. day. The Service man with an eye on the future has become increasingly conscious of the value of training. He lays special emphasis on the utilitarian aspect. He is a shrewd judge of values, and will not be easily deceived by sops. It is essential, therefore, that the training provided must be of high quality even if restricted in scope. The effort made and the standard attained must be rewarded by some measure of academic or public recognition. It seems quite certain that a grandiose scheme, conceived at Olympian heights, over-advertised, given to facile promises and ambitious projects which can obviously not be, implemented, will not only do a disservice to the cause of education but must inevitably lead to disillusionment and cynicism. It would seem that the E.V.T. Scheme must be made to flourish on a series of improvisations in respect of instructors, equipment and facilities.
In respect of the status of Education Officers I can only endorse the statements of your correspondent "Ex-Education Officer." Their cause has been championed repeatedly by representatives of the universities and of education in the House, but their last state is worse than the first. What of the future? It should be obvious that a fighting service, whose efficiency is so largely dependent on the quality of its technical training, can scarcely hope to attract the best men to its educational service by arbitrarily classifying the present members as civil servants so as to be able to retain them sine die.—Yours faithfully, " EDUCATION OFFICER."
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