asked the Minister for Education if he will give a detailed account of the basis of his statement of 20th November, 1962 that scientific examination showed that not even forty per cent. of the population of various countries would have the intellectual capacity to avail themselves of the type of secondary education to which he referred.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Secondary Education Facilities.
52.
The statement which I made on the occasion in question was —"In fact scientific tests have proved that the percentage of the population of a country that has the necessary intellectual ability to benefit from formal secondary education is unlikely to exceed 40."
Details of the experiments in this regard carried out in a number of countries are available in various publications.
53.
asked the Minister for Education if he will elaborate his recent statement of 20th November, 1962 that free secondary education, in the sense known here, was not available in any country in Western Europe.
What in this country is called secondary education is the grammar school or academic type of secondary education. The official information furnished in international publications by the various countries shows that in every Western European country there is a form of selection in relation to entry to this type of secondary education on a non-fee-paying basis.