On 04/07/2016 03:37 PM, Paul Boddie wrote:
<snip>

> As soon as you have to make time for such unexpected extra tuition, that two-
> day course starts to feel really short. Indeed, I started to understand why
> universities sometimes complain about the skills of new students, although in
> this case it was a university dealing with its own students.

Yeah, this is where the one-size-fits-all education model really breaks
down.  Students on a more technical track are going to require exposure
to devices and software beyond the "industry standard" for users, and
any attempt to enforce the user-only model through primary education
only shifts the burden to the secondary educational institutions.

The real issue becomes getting the educational authorities to understand
that additional technical education of a minority of the student
population is required.  This is further hindered by the fact that
governmental bodies are generally comprised of non-technical people who
are primarily catering to non-technical constituents -- it is often
easier to ignore the shift of burden for such a small minority than to
actually address the issue at hand.

Just my $0.02. :-)