Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-07-07
BY GEORGE w. CAKES
Contributing Writer


Contributing Writer
Congress is likely to enact in
this session the first major re-
vision and important expansion
in federally aided vocational
education in II years, On June
10, the House Committee on Edu-
cation and Labor reported the
Perkins bill, whose detectives have
bipartisan support, and Senate
hearings will resume early in
August.
AS President Kennedy stressed
In his June 10 civil rights mes
sage, improved and enlarged vo-
cational education programs are
essential to open up more job
opportunities for Negro workers
and thus reduce racial conflict.
More widespread vocational
training is also vital in attacking
the serious problems of unemploy-
ment, Juvenile delinquency and
school dropouts.
The Job Seekers
Labor Department officials point
out that during the next two
and a half years about mil
lion new young workers who will
not enter college will be looking
for jobs-three out Of every four
who will enter the labor force.
Last year one out of every four
non-white teen-agerS was unem-
ployed in comparison to one out
of eight white teen-agers.
Twenty-Five per cent Of young
Negroes between Is and 81 who
are not in school are unemployed.
Commenting on these facts, Rep
resentative Edith Green of the
House Education and Labor Com
mittee said: Good vocational
education in our large cities is
the best possible way to help teen
age kids find useful employment
and reduce Juvenile delinquency"
Sixty-seven per cent of voca-
tional graduates get employment
and another II per cent go on
to further schooling.
The rising tide of college-bound
high school students has obscured
the fact that about half do not
continue their education beyond
the 18th grade. Yet only one-fifth
of these 5 million high school
students who will not seek higher
education are enrolled in a fede-
rally aided vocational training
program. Oess than two-thirdS of
the Nations high schools offer
such courses) Another 2 million
adults and out-of-School youth
participate in part-time or eve
ming classes. Many students, how
ever, take business or commercial
courses that are not federally
assisted.
1t Beeon Under Wilson
Vocational education has been
supported by Federal funds ever
since 1917 when Woodrow Wilson
signed the Smith-Hughes Act to
train workers in agriculture, trade,
industry and home economics.
Congress has currently appro-
priated $57 million for the pro-
gram which States and local COM
munities have matched more than
five times. Nearly all Federal
money is used for payment of
salaries and training for 1880
teachers and supervisors in voca-
tional education, Of whom 1,247
are in Virginia, A in Maryland
and 81 in the District of Columbia.
For several years the Federal
Governments vocational educa-
ton program has been severely
criticized because 1t is geared too
much to an economy that has
radically altered since its incep-
ton and so is not directed enough
to the present job market.
In 1861, Mr.. Kennedy appointed
a panel of conSultantS to examine
the program. Its report, published
in May has formed much of the
basis for the new proposals.
A Need to Reshope Farm Program
Twenty-one per cent of voca-
tionally oriented high school stu
dents (463, 900 in 1861 take
courses in agriculture even
though less than half of these
graduates actually enter farming.
This program, particularly popu-
lar in the Southern States where
half of all farmers are located,
has been operating largely on the
assumption that the small farm
can pay. However, Department of
Agriculture officials take the view
that the marked trend of workers
from the farm to the cities, where
wages are more than doubled,
proves the need to reshape this
activity.
Agriculture officials claim that