HOW interesting that evening classes in East Lancashire are to be scrutinised by the Adult Learning Inspectorate to see whether they entail a good standard of teaching and are value for money.

No doubt standards are high, but in what? -- when such non-vocational subjects as origami, oriental cookery and belly dancing are on offer nowadays.

It seems to me that our further educational industry ought in many instances to drop the pretence that it dwells in the academic world and should admit it has entered the amusement business.

The aim being, of course, to put backsides on seats in order to attract revenue while at the same time fostering the delusion that our society is becoming better and better educated.

Belly dancing, I ask you!

Fine, as long as the participants are paying the full whack in fees and the poor old taxpayer is not subsidising both their evenings' wobbling about for fun and the notion that the government's flagship education policy is on course.

But can we be sure when, only recently, a women's group was writing to this newspaper to thank Blackburn with Darwen Council for assisting them to enjoy learning Arabic dancing? I mean, does it make you happy that your taxes might be spent on such value-for-money necessities?