Letter: What you know

Sir: Dr Stephen Marsh (letter, 24 May) has missed the point when he dismisses as inconsequential a student's mistaken identification of Portugal as one of the Balearic Isles.

It is not that our dumbed-down education system produces students who do not know where (or what) Portugal is. The point is that there is absolutely no use in knowing where the requisite information is to be found if they are convinced they already know the right answer. Garbage in, garbage out, as is said these days.

ROGER CHAPMAN

Keighley, West Yorkshire