asked the Minister for Education (a) whether his attention has been directed to the course of education prescribed for the qualification of ACA; (b) whether he is satisfied that the urgent need of the country for qualified accountants is adequately catered for educationally; (c) whether he is aware that at the most recent final examination for Part 5 of the ACA over 85 per cent of the candidates failed to qualify; and (d) whether in the light of these considerations he will discuss with the council of the professional body responsible the educational implications of these matters.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Accountancy Courses.
46.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants is an autonomous body and I have no formal function in relation to it.
I understand, however, that the institute is formulation a scheme for the development of the accountancy profession in Ireland. This is part of a joint effort with the other major accountancy bodies. The institute hopes thereby to establish closer links between all the bodies concerned and to standards training procedures and educational requirements. In this context preliminary discussions have taken place between representatives of the institute and my Department regarding the entry and other educational requirements of the institute.
I may add with regard to the results in Part 5 of the ACA examination held in December, 1968 that the institute is itself very concerned at the high failure rate at this examination and is endeavouring to ascertain the causes for it.
I wish to declare, Sir, a qualified personal interest in that my own son was recently a successful candidate at the examination in question and so was not involved. Does the Minister not agree with me that a professional course for a profession on which young Irishmen and young Irish-women are invited to embark must be a badly-administered course in the light of the following very approximate figures showing the percentage of passes in the different years of this five-year course? The percentage of passes in the first year is 87; in the second year 63; in the third year 49; in the fourth year 32 and in the fifth year 13. Surely those figures must make one wonder if it is a badly administered course, bearing in mind that it carries a young man or a woman into his or her 23rd or 24th year before they are confronted with an educational hurdle which, ultimately, may be insurmountable for them? This is combined with the fact that there is paid employment for unqualified persons who have done their articles in this profession. Will the Minister give this matter close consideration so as to provide that the educational course will be reformed in order to eliminate, at the early stages, unsuitable candidates and to direct them into other channels instead of keeping them until their 23rd or 24th year and then repeatedly ploughing them until, eventually, they go out into life without qualification of any kind?
This arose because of a very laudable desire on the part of the institute to raise standards but, at the same time as Deputy Dillon, I also was concerned about the progression downwards with regard to failure rates. That is why people in my Department and in the institute have come together to ascertain the situation and to try to evolve a more rational system of examination.
Will the Minister concern himself to secure a more rational educational procedure in this faculty?
We are on that, in discussions.
I am much obliged.
It might very readily provide a pool of cheap labour with these unqualified accountants being just plain glorified clerks in offices.
I doubt if that is a valid charge. It is just an obscurantist approach to an educational problem.
It is happening regularly.
No. Something went wrong. We are trying to iron it out at present.