Technological Education in Great Britain

Abstract

NUMEROUS documents and articles have discussed the difficult problem of technological education in Great Britain, and it is remarkable that few contributions have appeared from the technical colleges. Indeed, some statements betray a complete ignorance of what is being done in major colleges of technology. At the conference held in the Royal Society's rooms on March 27 (see Nature, April 22, p. 627), the views of only one principal of a technical college are mentioned, whereas many associated with the universities are quoted. It is this omission that has prompted me to write this letter. In a leading article in Nature of May 13, p. 737, it is stated that “the question of higher technological education lies right outside the field of technical colleges in general, as at present constituted. Their function is essentially the provision of the vastly greater number of technicians which industry also requires; and to equip and staff them essentially for the training of technologists would impede the performance of their primary function.”