Adults 'also benefit from learning'

It is damaging to assume that people can only be educated during their first twenty years of life, an interesting article in the Financial Times has claimed.

Michael Schrage, a visiting fellow at Imperial College London, acknowledged that it can be easier to teach youngsters than grown-ups, after all, children are "fantastic little learning machines".

However, he reflected that the web has allowed adults to grab learning opportunities they did not previously have access to and to develop their careers and their understanding with online courses and through web-based information.

It is certainly true that the internet has made a fantastic difference to adult education. Not only has it broadened the horizons of many people, it has also helped lower the price of returning to learning.

Previously, in order to study, an adult had to take an expensive residential or correspondence course - or to leave their work and go to college. Part-time studying was one of the few educational options which allowed people to support their families while they learned - and then only just.

Thanks to the internet, there is a vast amount of information available, as well as accessible support. Education remains beneficial but is now flexible and affordable too.