Conant Predicts Education Crises As Births Mount

President Conant predicted last night that an increase in the schol age population by 50 percent will intensify the debate over high school and college education.

Speaking at the University of Virginia, Conant declared that "the nature of schools and colleges best suited to serve a modern democracy by providing instruction to boys and girls from 12 to 20 is still a matter of debate. This debate will be intensified by changes in the school population that will soon be upon us."

Delivering the first of three Page-Barbour Lectures on "Education and Liberty: The Role of the Schols in a Modern Democracy," Conant noted that the bulging birth rate between 1940 and 1950 has produced "about 50 percent more children under six years of age than there are between 10 and 16.

"Without in the least minimizing the significance of elementary education," Conant said, "I suggest that our most serious problems will arise when the secondary schools begin to feel the impact of the increased birth rate."

Comparing the educational systems of various English speaking nations. Conant declared that "both in terms of the length of advanced education and the percentage of potential students involved. American higher education is unique."